Queering Sex Work and Mobility

Abstract

This paper explores the intersections of sex work, mobility, and gendered sexualities through a queer lens. It is based on a study that made use of digital storytelling and WhatsApp to engage 17 migrant and mobile sex workers in South Africa. Through a queering of sex work and migration/mobility analysis, it demonstrates that because sex work is essentially about using one’s body to perform varying sexual acts with different types of people for financial gain, migrant and mobile sex workers are exposed to different ways of experiencing sexual (dis)pleasure. According to the research participants, this can then broaden the body’s erotic vocabulary and expand one’s range of sexual desires, along with their expressions, to the point where it can also have an influence on one’s gendered sexuality and choice of intimate partner. However, the respondents also stressed the integral role movement plays in this evolution of one’s gendered sexuality. Hence, this paper argues for the recognition of migrant and mobile sex work as intrinsically queer and concludes by unpacking the socio-political implications of this in relation to (sexual) citizenship.