This major 2-volume set is the first to treat in an inclusive reference what is usually considered a societal failing and the underside of sexuality and economic survival.
Alphabetical List of Entries Topical List of Entries Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Timeline The Encyclopedia Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D Selected Bibliography Index About the Editor, Advisors, and Contributors
Melissa Hope Ditmore is the coordinator and founder of the Trafficked Persons Rights Project, a consultant on trafficking, and a Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Women and Society, Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
This two-volume encyclopedia provides a comprehensive overview of
prostitution and related areas of interest. Editor Ditmore serves
as research consultant at the Sex Workers Project in New York, and
the inclusive, nonjudgmental nature of that organization is
reflected in this reference work. Its entries are written in an
objective, scholarly tone by professionals and academics; a few
contributors are sex workers themselves, according to their
biographical information. Readers will find many access points to
information, including alphabetical and topical lists of entries,
and thorough cross-referencing. Appendixes contain various types of
documents….The real strength of this reference work is its breadth:
entries cover prostitution's relevance in the arts,
gender/sexuality studies, history, legal studies, politics, public
health, and sociology, all with a global focus. However, this work
will most likely be considered for purchase in support of
criminology or women's studies collections….Recommended.
Upper-level undergraduates and above.
*Choice*
Courtesans, strumpets, harlots, hookers; the colorful vocabulary of
the world's oldest profession hasn't garnered the academic
treatment accorded lesser subjects-until now. This informative
two-volume collection of essays, edited by Ditmore, forms a broad
view of prostitution around the world but particularly in the
United States. Historical details are abundant, ranging from
first-person accounts to entries on ancient Greece, the Bible, and
19th-century New York City. The 341 alphabetically and topically
arranged entries, written by an expert panel of contributors, are
readable and balanced, with little social commentary. Articles on
serious subjects, like soiled doves and rape, contrast with essays
on, e.g., Gunsmoke and shoes. Included are a time line, historical
accounts, poems, documents, and suggestions for further reading….As
an initial attempt to define this topic, the encyclopedia will
serve academic libraries well. Public libraries seeking research
materials on social issues may find the work less useful, except
where collections in human sexuality are particularly strong.
Recommended for specialized public and all academic libraries.
*Library Journal*
A path-breaking encyclopedia… I found this encyclopedia very
informative and the two volumes kept me engrossed and mesmerized
for weeks together. Every page is so full of new information.
Highly recommended for social scientists, social workers, social
reformers, workers in the field of community medicine, … NGOs,
gynecologists and obstetricians and even forensic pathologists. In
addition, writers, authors, bibliophiles, teachers, professors and
educators, and above all a general well-informed layman would enjoy
this encyclopedia immensely. The non-technical language used in the
encyclopedia makes this encyclopedia accessible to everyone.
*Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology*
[A]n absorbing read, which offers an insight into social behaviour
as well as the oldest profession, It would be a useful addition to
most academic collections, and support workers in this field may
also find this of some interest.
*Reference Reviews*
Five thousand words, much less the 500 allowed here, are
insufficient to review critically and appreciate properly a
reference work this exciting, valuable, unique and scrupulously
edited….[w]ith equal parts authority and freshness, a dazzling
array of intellectual, political, medical, historical and sexual
concerns have been covered. Colonialism, AIDS, religion, the
Internet, globalization and migration and mobility are each
explored in always sober, often lively prose….The editor,
contributors and advisory board members are to be congratulated
also for having responsibly walked that razors edge of attempting
to write and edit fairly about something as protean as sexual
networking, something that so vividly reveals tensions between
structure and agency, Church and State, labor and capital,
exploitation and choice, horror and love.
*Feminist Review*
If prostitution is indeed the world's oldest profession, a
comprehensive reference source covering sex work has been a long
time coming. Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work is well
worth the wait. It proves to be an excellent starting point for
learning about this universally fascinating and controversial
topic. This work is very clear in defining its scope and purpose.
Becuase it represents one of the first real forays into collecting
and condensing the body of research on sex work, it is meant to
present an overview that can be built upon by future works. That
being said the coverage is expansive….[t]his work is highly
recommended for most any public or academic library. In addition to
filling a void in the literature, it also strikes a balance between
rigorous reseach and readability.
*Reference & User Services Quarterly*
Given the cliche about the worlds oldest profession, it is curious
that this is the first encyclopedia to explore prostitution and the
many issues it touches. Apparently, its only published antecedent
is a 1998 Russian title that is, according to WorldCat, available
in just two OCLC member libraries. This new encyclopedia, then, is
for all practical purposes sui generis….This encyclopedia provides
historical context and contemporary analysis of the complex issues
related to prostitution, issues easily reduced to shibboleths. It
will fill a void in academic reference collections. In communities
where prostitution is a concern, it will provide informative
background for public-policy discussions.
*Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin*
. . . the first reference work of its kind, successfully bringing
together 341 entries about prostitution worldwide, with a heavy
focus on the United States and a user-friendly format and timeline
for easy reference. . . . This encyclopedia is an absolutely
essential reference work, especially for those academic libraries
that support women/gender studies, sociology, human sexuality,
psychology, and other related courses of study for undergraduates
and beyond.
*Feminist Collections*
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