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“Wear Some Thick Socks If You Walk in My Shoes”: Agency, Resilience, and Well-Being in Communities of North American Sex Workers

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Abstract

Using a participatory action research (PAR) paradigm, this study investigated how 35 individuals involved in the sex work industry exemplified aspects of agency and intentional well-being under harsh work environments. Using PAR and qualitative research, sex workers were asked to identify research questions and help to design a study investigating the relationship between well-being and sex worker agency. Participants in the study each completed one semi-structured individual interview to share their experiences in the sex work industry. Data from these interviews were analyzed using constructivist phenomenology; standards of trustworthiness were accounted for using multiple tools. Four themes emerged from the data that described how the participants understood their own resilience and areas of needed attention with respect to their mental health: (1) validating sex work and eliminating whorephobic oppression; (2) safety and mobility within practice environments; (3) sexual boundary setting; and (4) social support for sex workers. Implications of the findings on theory, research, practice, and advocacy are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This study was not funded by any grants or outside funding sources.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Theodore R. Burnes

    Present address: Research and Quality Assurance for the Counseling Center, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Psychology Programs, Antioch University, 400 Corporate Pointe, Culver City, CA, 90230, USA

    Theodore R. Burnes

  2. Psychological Associates, La Puente, CA, USA

    Elizabeth M. Rojas

  3. Independent Practice, La Puente, CA, USA

    Irena Delgado

  4. Independent Practice, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Tianna E. Watkins

Authors
  1. Theodore R. Burnes
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  2. Elizabeth M. Rojas
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  3. Irena Delgado
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  4. Tianna E. Watkins
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Theodore R. Burnes.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The four authors of this manuscript individually and collectively declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional and/or National Research Committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by the authors.

Appendix: Individual Interview Protocol

Appendix: Individual Interview Protocol

  1. 1.

    How do you label your work within the sex industry? What do you call yourself?

  2. 2a.

    Describe your work settings as a sex work.

  3. 2b.

    Have your work settings changed since you entered the field of sex work? If so, how? when?

  4. 3.

    Describe how, when, and why you entered the field of sex work.

  5. 4.

    What relationship(s) do you have with the other sex workers in your setting(s) (you can use aliases if you would like when referring to other people)?

  6. 5.

    What relationship(s) do you have with employers of sex workers (e.g., pimps, bar owners) in your setting(s) (you can use aliases if you would like when referring to other people)?

  7. 6.

    Describe how you know if and when you are safe when at work.

  8. 6a.

    What are feelings associated with such safety/lack of safety?

  9. 6b.

    What are thoughts associated with such safety/lack of safety?

  10. 6c.

    What are behaviors associated with such safety/lack of safety?

  11. 7.

    How has your experience of sex work impacted how you know yourself as a person? In what specific ways has such an impact occurred?

  12. 8.

    How have you learned about your strengths and growth edges since you’ve been involved in the sex work industry?

  13. 9.

    We, the researchers in this project, define a critical incident as a “meaningful emotional or behavioral interpersonal experiences that make an impact on effectiveness.” Describe a critical incident that has happened to you as a sex worker. What impact did it have on you?

  14. 10.

    How do you take care of yourself?

  15. 11a.

    What are aspects of your work that impact your safety? How do you respond to these aspects?

  16. 11b.

    What are aspects of your work that impact your perceptions of safety (if different than 11(a)? How do you respond to these aspects?

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Burnes, T.R., Rojas, E.M., Delgado, I. et al. “Wear Some Thick Socks If You Walk in My Shoes”: Agency, Resilience, and Well-Being in Communities of North American Sex Workers. Arch Sex Behav 47, 1541–1550 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0915-z

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