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CHAPTER SIx Gender Diversity The public’s collective knowledge about sex work is largely formed by stereotypes of and research conducted on female street prostitutes, particularly drug-addicted prostitutes, who often have a difficult time negotiating transactions with customers, are frequently taken advantage of, and are generally viewed as being out of control as a result of their addictions. These representations are given added weight because they dovetail with fears about female sexuality gone out of control, moral decline, and social disorder. While this may not represent an entirely accurate picture of even a small proportion of sex workers, the stereotype pervades many representations of prostitution in the contemporary popular imagination. We know very little, however, about the everyday lives of sex workers, addicted or not, much less about how sex work might be experienced differently by men, women, and transgenders. Among female sex workers, access to professional status increases both the sense of agency as well as actual control over the transaction. Noneffeminate male sex workers can utilize their role as machos, emphasizing their dominance and dangerousness, but because they do not have access to either professional or legal status and because they work in more dangerous settings they are less able to control their transactions with customers. Male and transgender sex workers, the majority of whom do not work legally, are therefore at higher risk for nearly all occupational hazards.While no female, male, or transgender worker is in complete control of the sexual transaction, all are afforded access to various resources based on their gender and sexuality. As we shall see, both attempt to make compromises with their customers on the basis of their self-interest and ability to minimize risk. This sense of agency is removed by customers in the case of violence and rape. Gender-based differences are a significant factor in how work is experienced , the ways in which occupational risks are dealt with, and the kinds of 114 Chapter Six risks that are generally faced. Sex workers’ health and safety are shaped by the social disparities between female, male, and transgender sex workers, the role of gender in shaping their lives prior to sex work, the gendered nature of their experiences as sex workers, the level of agency they have in negotiating with their clients and the police, and the ways they differ in terms of relationships with their customers and work practices. Sex workers are able to exercise varying degrees of personal control in their transactions with clients through their decision to work in particular settings and refusal to service particular customers; they also exercise control in defining the terms of the sexual transaction , including the sexual acts to be performed, the use of condoms, price setting, and time limit. Because the degree of agency involved in one’s work may differ according to one’s gender and background, gender can be said to be a significant factor in health outcomes related to HiV/aiDs, stigma, violence, mental health, and drug addiction. This chapter will illustrate how gender appears to work in defining occupational experiences as well as examine the linkages between gender and occupational health risks. Female, male, and transgender sex workers differ extensively, both in terms of their demographic backgrounds and as to their overall approach to work, work experiences, and occupational risks. Each faces specific challenges in relation to his or her gender both before and after entering sex work. In this section, I discuss the basic differences among the three groups and then move on to examine their work experiences and practices . Table 6.1 illustrates some of the demographic patterns found based on gender. Transgender Sex Workers Most commercial transgender1 work sites are located in the periphery of the Coahuila district, along one street in particular. A few clubs have reputations for employing both female and transgender workers, but for the most part transgender workers face marginal opportunities for employment as compared with females. They are integrated into the regulated system: there are a few popular clubs which employ only transgender workers and are licensed to employ legal workers. In Tijuana, transgenders tend to make less than female sex workers in the upscale clubs but have earnings similar to those of female sex workers in established working- or middle-class type clubs. Transgender sex workers in this study, although they tended to be more highly educated than the majority of female sex workers, faced widespread discrimination in terms of finding other forms of employment because of their...

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