Acknowledgements 1. Sexual Commotion 2. Working to Travel, Travelling to Work 3. A World of Services 4. The Rise of the Social - and of 'Prostitution' 5. Grasping the Thing Itself: Methodology 6. From Charity to Solidarity: In the Field with Helpers 7. Partial Truths Works Cited Primary Sources
Explores several myths: that selling sex is different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. This book is aimed at those who want to understand the relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice.
LAURA AGUSTIN is a lecturer in sociology at Liverpool University.
Agustin ... offers new insights into development
*Critical reading for those studying mobility, migration and
transportation ... of particular interest to international
criminologists and development specialist, who may be surprised at
the overlap with their work and the prevalence of possibly criminal
income-generating activity*
Sex at the Margins elegantly demonstrates that what happens to poor
immigrant working women from the Global South when they ‘leave home
for sex’ is neither a tragedy nor the panacea of finding the
promised land. Above all, Agustín shows that the moralizing bent of
most government and NGO programs have little to do with these
women’s experiences and wishes. This book questions some of our
most cherished modern assumptions, and shows that a different
ethics of concern is possible.
*Arturo Escobar, University of North Carolina*
Agustín's insightful study of commercial sex workers provides the
most comprehensive and sophisticated treatment of this profoundly
controversial topic...This is a bold and accessible book which
raises many interesting questions and poses some challenging
answers...Agustín confronts her readers with a thoughtful account
of migration, sex and social justice.
*Body & Society, 2008*
This book should be recommended to everyone who works for any type
of ‘rescue industry.
*Gender and Development*
In Sex at the Margins, Agustín combines ethnographic observations,
anthropological theory, and historical insights to critique the
current trafficking regimes and moralizing discourses around
migration and prostitution. Sex at the Margins reads primarily as a
series of essays, each of which may be read independently and
stands alone as a topic of interest.
*International Migration Review, 2008*
In restoring those living on the fringes of western societies to
their full humanity, this invigorating book undermines our
stereotypes and provides a challenging but unforgettable
picture
*Jeffrey Weeks, London South Bank University*
Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants,
service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of
the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer
in the study of sexuality.
*Lisa Adkins, Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of
London*
What a relief to have a different conversation about sex and
economics outside of the usual morality/rescue mentality. My first
reaction to reading the book was to want to meet the author, talk
to her all day, and then take her on tour to discuss it with
everyone else. This is the wave of the future, when it comes to
discussing "prostitution," which already seems like quaint
terminology. If you're someone who's interested in progressive
sexual politics and how the world works, you are going to EAT THIS
UP. The author does write like a scientific observer, an academic.
I appreciated her style and perspective. I would almost say it's
not beach reading but actually I read it lying under a mosquito net
in one of the most beautiful beachside locations in California.
Everyone kept passing me food and tabloid gossip magazines, and I
refused them until I got to the last page.
*Susie Bright "http://susiebright.com" (Santa Cruz, CA USA)*
Agustin herself is a class act who deserves a wider audience.
*The Erotic Review*
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