What subjects are we talking about when we talk about sex work?

Contributions to think about Sex Work from an Emancipating and Feminist Social Work.

Abstract

The present seeks to open the door Social Work to the debates that currently exist among feminisms, and that fight to define, abolish or regulate the exercise of Sex Work. To answer this question, it is necessary to consider a theoretical, methodological and political horizon oriented towards the emancipation of the subjects based on feminist bases. That is why, initially, Sex Work is considered feasible to be thought of as a Complex Social Problem. Subsequently, the main paradigms in relation to Sex Work will be discussed theoretically; -abolitionism and labor regulation- stressing their theories from points of analysis: the conception that underlies each paradigm about the activity itself, the causes that motivate it, the implicit conception about the subjects, the moral disputes around sexuality, unraveling at each point the specific implications for the subjects, in order to return to the initial question on which profession we want to build, and specifically, from where to position ourselves to walk towards the construction of a feminist and emancipatory profession. The theoretical journey allows us to understand why I consider it appropriate to position ourselves scientifically from the paradigm of labor regulation when thinking about the subjects that are linked to Sex Work.