The politics of everyday life as a sex worker: “Affect”, stigma and resistance

This study involves an analysis and rethinking of sex workers’ perceptions of stigma, using Goffman’s theory of stigma management contrasted with Thirft’s non-representational theory (NRT). We begin with a discussion of sex work experience in a unique locale in Atlantic Canada, an urban area removed from the rest of the country by distance, policing history, religious oversight and custom. We chose examples from sex worker interviews of their ‘felt moments’ of criminalization and stigma which we will be discussing against a backdrop of theory of NRT (Thrift) and stigma management (Goffman) in order to better acknowledge the agency and resistance of sex workers. We propose to demonstrate that sex workers can be considered active agents, fully capable of informing and re-thinking the sociological concepts and theories that have traditionally been used to research them and their lives.