Narratives of self, identity and sexuality: lessons from the margins

This study has two objectives:
1) Critically examine the tensions between culture, identity construction, sexuality and power-relations;
2) Examine how PWSI subjective experiences have been shaped and constrained by dominant cultural scripts and to explore how they construct their agency and negotiate their way around them.
We locate the sex industry in the shadow economy and embedded within a context of social exclusion, discrimination, and ambiguous legal status. We analyze the implicit and explicit messages underlying their narratives to gain an understanding of how notions of self, identity, sexuality and intimate relationships are linguistically and culturally structured (Crossley 2000:527).
 

This study is part of a larger longitudinal mix-methods study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This paper draws upon the qualitative interview data of 120 participants (PWSI). We analyze the transcribed interview data to focusing on questions related to their biographical histories, motivations for entering the sex industry and impact of their work-relations on their lives.
Using techniques of narrative analysis (content and structural analysis of linguistic forms) we unpack these narratives to gain an understanding of their identity work and strategies they employ to counter dominant ideas about gender, sexuality and intimacy.
Preliminary results reveal that PWSI critically assess the benefits and costs of working in the sex industry and engage in a number of strategies to counter their outsider status. However, cultural scripts run deep and constructing a progressive narrative is problematic.