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Selling Sex: A Hidden History of Prostitution
Selling Sex provides the first comprehensive history of prostitution in Australia from before European colonization to the present, and situates this history within an international context of labor migration and policy formation. It draws on extensive archival research and interviews to chart the ways in which prostitution contributed not just to women’s economic survival but also to broader processes of colonization and nation-building.
368 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 16, 2015
Australian history is redelivered through the lens of women's sexuality. This book moves from convict era thorough to the contemporary experiences of sex workers. Each chapter begins with the story of a female sex worker, and the themes are teased out through this narrative. It is also a book that reminds us that Australia has a history of damaging and racist policies. The attention to the domestic details of the women's lives was excellent.
October 19, 2016
This book is very much a mixed bag, although it is a good effort for a non-peer.
Frances is a decent academic historian, and much of her research into the long-lost aspects of sex worker history, is absolutely invaluable. I learned a lot I didn't know, especially in areas such as convict times, the colonial frontiers and around the start of the twentieth century, and her footnotes provide a lot of opportunities for further reading. I will definitely be referring back to it for these aspects.
However, Frances' analysis can be a bit lacking: she often seems to have no clue as to how historical events connect to current debates, and although she clearly tries to keep the stigma in check, her privileged, academic gaze gets increasingly frustrating over time: for instance, in trying to be "neutral" about the impact of police containment policies on sex workers, she seems not to understand the gravity of their impact.
Strangely, after the 1950s - where sources get much easier to find - the book seems to run squarely off the rails. The 1970s through to the 1990s are almost totally absent from this book, which is bizarre because it was such an intensely important (and fairly dramatic) chapter of sex worker history, of which whole books have been written. Sex worker organisations are broadly skimmed over for their contribution to the success of the HIV/AIDS response, but almost nothing of their history is included: Scarlet Alliance is mentioned once.
The chapters after 2000 are absolutely dismal - Frances seems to double-down on the stigma and seems totally disconnected from debates that, by that point, were current ones. She really seems to have skimped on her research here: these chapters appear totally clueless about how the industry worked at that time, she (or at least I would argue) gets sex worker response to various state laws wrong, and there are some random conclusions in these parts that are totally laughable. (Strange conclusions about recent history seems to be a bit of a thing with Frances: I read an academic paper of hers about the impact of the women's movement on decriminalisation that doesn't even so much as implicitly acknowledge that, like, a lot of the opposition to sex worker rights came from there too.)
I would still recommend this book for the historical context of sex work because so much of early sex worker history has been lost; however, the modern chapters should be taken with a serious grain of salt (which also makes me cast a bit more of a critical eye over her approach to the earlier decades as well).
Frances is a decent academic historian, and much of her research into the long-lost aspects of sex worker history, is absolutely invaluable. I learned a lot I didn't know, especially in areas such as convict times, the colonial frontiers and around the start of the twentieth century, and her footnotes provide a lot of opportunities for further reading. I will definitely be referring back to it for these aspects.
However, Frances' analysis can be a bit lacking: she often seems to have no clue as to how historical events connect to current debates, and although she clearly tries to keep the stigma in check, her privileged, academic gaze gets increasingly frustrating over time: for instance, in trying to be "neutral" about the impact of police containment policies on sex workers, she seems not to understand the gravity of their impact.
Strangely, after the 1950s - where sources get much easier to find - the book seems to run squarely off the rails. The 1970s through to the 1990s are almost totally absent from this book, which is bizarre because it was such an intensely important (and fairly dramatic) chapter of sex worker history, of which whole books have been written. Sex worker organisations are broadly skimmed over for their contribution to the success of the HIV/AIDS response, but almost nothing of their history is included: Scarlet Alliance is mentioned once.
The chapters after 2000 are absolutely dismal - Frances seems to double-down on the stigma and seems totally disconnected from debates that, by that point, were current ones. She really seems to have skimped on her research here: these chapters appear totally clueless about how the industry worked at that time, she (or at least I would argue) gets sex worker response to various state laws wrong, and there are some random conclusions in these parts that are totally laughable. (Strange conclusions about recent history seems to be a bit of a thing with Frances: I read an academic paper of hers about the impact of the women's movement on decriminalisation that doesn't even so much as implicitly acknowledge that, like, a lot of the opposition to sex worker rights came from there too.)
I would still recommend this book for the historical context of sex work because so much of early sex worker history has been lost; however, the modern chapters should be taken with a serious grain of salt (which also makes me cast a bit more of a critical eye over her approach to the earlier decades as well).
April 12, 2012
pretty good for a non-sex worker.
pretty detailed history of sex work since colonization of australia and actually talks a fair bit about race especially in regard to japanese sex workers in australia and the effects of the white australia policy and also the influence of ideas about race and women pre the implementation of this policy. and a bit about Aboriginal sex workers and workers all around australia and on boats to australia during convict era.
worth reading to contextualize sex workers place in australian colonial history (up to current day) and law changes/cycles.
pretty detailed history of sex work since colonization of australia and actually talks a fair bit about race especially in regard to japanese sex workers in australia and the effects of the white australia policy and also the influence of ideas about race and women pre the implementation of this policy. and a bit about Aboriginal sex workers and workers all around australia and on boats to australia during convict era.
worth reading to contextualize sex workers place in australian colonial history (up to current day) and law changes/cycles.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews