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sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

Abstract

Recent legislation has increased scrutiny and vulnerability to sex worker communities. Sex work has been a highly contested issue in academia and politics, despite its long history. By centering works of thinkers from historically marginalized communities, this research will act intentionally in solidarity with sex workers most vulnerable to harm. Theorizers in Black and Indigenous Feminisms, Queer theory and Trans studies have crafted methodologies to (re)cover and (re)member histories lost to colonial structures of violence. This project centers the epistemologies of these communities in order to account for the variety of intersecting identities held by sex workers. Archival (re)search, oral history, and visual (re)mapping will be used to (re)member sex workers' legacies in San Luis Obispo. As a predominantly white, and wealthy city, this project will give meaning to larger structures that enact this violence and silencing. This paper aims to highlight the unwavering resilience fostered within sex work communities by prioritizing the lived experiences of sex workers as experts in their own identities and experiences.

Publication Date

9-2020

COinS