Sex work in feminist sociological theory

• Grant number: 23/15413-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: July 28, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology
• Principal Investigator: Paula Regina Pereira Marcelino
• Grantee: Maria Laura Arantes Bessa Ferreira
• Supervisor: Helena Sumiko Hirata
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Centre de Recherches Sociologiques et Politiques de Paris (CRESPPA), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/04240-5 - Sex workers and unionism: the case of the Associação Mulheres Guerreiras and the CUT of Campinas, BP.MS

Abstract

This research project aims to explore the classification of sex work as work in feminist sociological theories, with a focus on the Sociology of Work. We will analyze the insertion of sex work in the theoretical fields of the theory of the sexual division of labor and the theory of social reproduction, understanding their intersections and divergences, as well as their implications for the study of sex work in the Brazilian context. The master's degree research, currently under development, in which the research project abroad is part of, is divided into two areas of investigation: (a) the social movement of sex workers and its relationship with trade unionism, and (b) the argument that sex work must be recognized as work and, therefore, its place in the theory of production and social reproduction. Furthermore, we intend to explore the contemporary configuration of sex work and the sex workers movement, as well as international research on the topic, also observing, in an exploratory way, the French sex workers movement, which presents itself as a union. Carrying out a research internship abroad, with the Genre, Travail, Mobilités (GTM) Team, from the Center de Recherches Sociologiques et Politiques de Paris (CRESPPA), linked to Paris VIII University and Paris Nanterre University, with professor Helena Hirata, will provide a good opportunity for guidance and exchange of knowledge with the professor and other prominent researchers in this area. This experience will expand the theoretical basis in the field of feminist sociology of work and the conceptual repertoire on work and gender in the international research scenario.