Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience
Sex workers’ humor has received comparatively little attention in the literature to date, and work that does consider this phenomenon focuses on humor in face-to-face contexts. Increasingly, elements of sex workers’ labor and community building take place online. This article examines the emergence...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Sexes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/4/2/21 |
| _version_ | 1797592637813817344 |
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| author | Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith |
| author_facet | Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith |
| author_sort | Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sex workers’ humor has received comparatively little attention in the literature to date, and work that does consider this phenomenon focuses on humor in face-to-face contexts. Increasingly, elements of sex workers’ labor and community building take place online. This article examines the emergence of sex work humor in online spaces, considering how this humor provides evidence of resilience within this community. The article uses a critical discourse analysis approach blended with a cultural studies lens to examine 171 discrete texts drawn from sex work communities in Australia and New Zealand. These include social media postings from peer-led organizations and correspondence between sex workers and their clients, which was profiled in news media during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The humor evident within these texts falls into three major categories: humor about clients; humor as a mechanism of discussing stigma and discrimination; and humor as an agent of activism and social change. The findings indicate that humor can be evidence of resilience among sex-working communities, that it is politically productive and effective from a communications perspective, and present the possibility that it may also contribute to resilience. The presence of humor in online sex work spaces of sociality further highlights the importance of these spaces for community building, and draws attention to additional harms created by deplatforming. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:55:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c1b602227154978b7cc3e1cd924ef5c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2411-5118 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:55:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexes |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c1b602227154978b7cc3e1cd924ef5c2023-11-18T12:36:39ZengMDPI AGSexes2411-51182023-06-014231032610.3390/sexes4020021Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of ResilienceGwyn Easterbrook-Smith0School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communications, Massey University, Wellington 6021, New ZealandSex workers’ humor has received comparatively little attention in the literature to date, and work that does consider this phenomenon focuses on humor in face-to-face contexts. Increasingly, elements of sex workers’ labor and community building take place online. This article examines the emergence of sex work humor in online spaces, considering how this humor provides evidence of resilience within this community. The article uses a critical discourse analysis approach blended with a cultural studies lens to examine 171 discrete texts drawn from sex work communities in Australia and New Zealand. These include social media postings from peer-led organizations and correspondence between sex workers and their clients, which was profiled in news media during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The humor evident within these texts falls into three major categories: humor about clients; humor as a mechanism of discussing stigma and discrimination; and humor as an agent of activism and social change. The findings indicate that humor can be evidence of resilience among sex-working communities, that it is politically productive and effective from a communications perspective, and present the possibility that it may also contribute to resilience. The presence of humor in online sex work spaces of sociality further highlights the importance of these spaces for community building, and draws attention to additional harms created by deplatforming.https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/4/2/21prostitutionsex workhumorcritical discourse analysisstigmaresilience |
| spellingShingle | Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience Sexes prostitution sex work humor critical discourse analysis stigma resilience |
| title | Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience |
| title_full | Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience |
| title_fullStr | Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience |
| title_short | Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience |
| title_sort | sex workers online humor as evidence of resilience |
| topic | prostitution sex work humor critical discourse analysis stigma resilience |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/4/2/21 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gwyneasterbrooksmith sexworkersonlinehumorasevidenceofresilience |