2019 Labor Studies Workshare Series
"How are Anti-Prostitution Laws Impacting Transgender Individuals in the Sex Trade?" w/Kari Lerum, Associate Professor, UW Bothell The Labor Studies Workshare features UW faculty and graduate students presenting works-in-progress on labor-related topics for feedback from an interdisciplinary audience of labor scholars from across campus. Workshares are typically held over the lunch hour and attendees are invited to bring their lunches. Abstract: Sex workers have a long history of living in a context of hyper criminalization, surveillance, and state abandonment. But the stakes were raised in the U.S. on April 11, 2018 when President Trump signed into federal law FOSTA/SESTA -- a bill that made it much more difficult for sex workers to screen their potential clients online. Since then, anecdotal and empirical evidence points to the reality that FOSTA/SESTA has placed individuals who rely on income from the sex trade are at increased risk of violence, poverty, homelessness. This paper will 1) summarize recent data collected with a local sex work coalition, and 2) argue for centering the needs of QTPOC individuals in policy discussions about sex work and human trafficking. Kari Lerum (PhD sociology) is an Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at University of Washington Bothell, an Adjunct Professor in Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies at University of Washington Seattle. She is an appointed member of the Seattle LGBTQ commission and former Chair of both the UWB General Faculty Organization and the UWB Campus Diversity Council. Professor Lerum’s research has critically evaluated popular discourses about the "sexualization of girls," challenged normative assumptions of workplace sexuality, pushed for emotionally engaged epistemological approaches for critical theory, and advocated for non-carceral strategies for racial, economic, gender, & sexual justice. Her current work focuses on policies about sex work & human trafficking. Workshare Format: Workshare papers are circulated to registered attendees a week in advance of the workshare. Participants are expected to have read the paper before the meeting and be prepared for a discussion. Registration required. To register, e-mail hbcls@uw.edu |