Stories in prostitution: embodiments, refusals and (co)productions of perspectives

• Grant number: 24/16676-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Heloisa Buarque de Almeida
• Grantee: Ana Carolina Braga Azevedo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims to understand, through an ethnographic approach, how women engaged in prostitution in the Luz area of São Paulo elaborate and experience this practice. I intend to investigate how different perspectives on prostitution have influenced the ways in which they narrate their own stories of entry, experiences, and desires to either leave or remain in prostitution. To this end, I seek to analyze the meanings of the categories they use, such as "programa", "bico" and "trabalho", considering the impact of time, different practices, and the possible multiplicity of meanings attributed to these categories. Lastly, I aim to examine how different forms of control and regulation, both state and non-state, affect how these women elaborate prostitution, taking into account how generation, class, gender, and race shape these experiences.