Getting Past 'the Pimp': Management in the Sex Industry

by Chris Bruckert, Colette Parent

Overview

The issue of third parties in the sex industry – individuals who are neither the client nor the service provider – has become especially urgent in our current socio-political context. Surprisingly, in spite of an emergence of critical scholarship on the sex industry, as well as recommendations by key governmental committees, little attention has been extended to examining the role of individuals labelled pimps, procurers, and traffickers.

Addressing the function of third parties on the street and indoors , Getting Past 'the Pimp' incorporates solid empirical evidence including documentary analysis, 75 interviews with third parties, and 52 interviews with sex workers to unpack the roles and relationships of third parties in three sectors of the sex industry‒ incall/outcall, stripping, and street-based prostitution. Contrary to prevailing stereotypes that portray third parties as inherently abusive and controlling, these workers fulfill important roles and provide vital services as associates, fee-for-service hires, and agency owners or managers responsible for scheduling and arranging transportation and security. The sex industry, like mainstream businesses, rarely depend exclusively on client and worker to operate efficiently, and safely.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487522490
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	01/17/2018
Pages:	185
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Chris Bruckert is Professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa.
Colette Parent is a professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa.

Table of Contents

1. The Representation of the "Pimp": A Barrier to Understanding the Work of Third Parties in the Adult Canadian Sex Industry
   Maria Nengeh Mensah
2. Who Are Third Parties? Pathways in and out of Third Party Work
   Chris Bruckert
3. Through the Voices of Female Sex Workers: The Street Managers
   Patrice Corriveau and Colette Parent
4. The Business of Sex Business: Third Parties in the Incall/Outcall Sector
   Chris Bruckert and Tuulia Law
5. Third Parties and the Employment Relationship: The Erotic Dance Sector in Ontario
   Tuulia Law
6. Managing Sex Work: Bringing the Industry in from the Cold
   Leslie Ann Jeffrey

What People are Saying About This

Ummni Khan

"Getting Past the Pimp is a crucial body of work in its presentation of the issues that both sex workers and third parties face as they navigate within this stigmatized and criminalized area. The authors never idealize sex work, or exaggerate their findings. Instead, they follow the evidence, acknowledging, for example, that abusive managers exist, and demonstrating how blanket criminalization, in fact, makes it harder for sex workers to leave dangerous situations, or access protection or justice."

Shawna Ferris

"Getting Past the Pimp presents a clear, cohesive, soundly researched, and important contribution to scholarship in sex work studies. Placing sex workers and third parties in conversation with one another produces especially rich and complex findings and mitigates effectively against the stigmatizing gender and race dynamics that have limited sex workers' agency and undermined their voices in this field of study."

Editorial Reviews

" Getting Past the Pimp presents a clear, cohesive, soundly researched, and important contribution to scholarship in sex work studies. Placing sex workers and third parties in conversation with one another produces especially rich and complex findings and mitigates effectively against the stigmatizing gender and race dynamics that have limited sex workers’ agency and undermined their voices in this field of study."

—Shawna Ferris, associate professor in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, University of Manitoba

" Getting Past the Pimp is a crucial body of work in its presentation of the issues that both sex workers and third parties face as they navigate within this stigmatized and criminalized area. The authors never idealize sex work, or exaggerate their findings. Instead, they follow the evidence, acknowledging, for example, that abusive managers exist, and demonstrating how blanket criminalization, in fact, makes it harder for sex workers to leave dangerous situations, or access protection or justice."

—Ummni Khan, associate professor in the Department of Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University

From the Publisher