‘People need to know we exist!’: an exploratory study of the labour experiences of transmasculine and non-binary sex workers and implications for harm reduction

Abstract

This article presents findings demonstrating that transmasculine and non-binary people work in sex industries worldwide. Informed by results from a qualitative study with transmasculine and non-binary sex workers, it provides much-needed demographic information about this population, their clients and workers’ safety concerns. It explores the importance of using an intersectional framework and inclusive methods to gather demographic data regarding gender and sexuality in studies of sex work. Not only is an intersectional framework necessary for empirical studies of sex work, but it is also vital to developing successful harm reduction strategies. Using an intersectional frame in studies of sex work and harm reduction can provide much-needed insight into the development of inclusive services and programmes that help the most marginal. So long as researchers, social service agencies and health providers treat transmasculine and non-binary providers as non-existent, this reduces their ability to meet the needs of all sex workers.

Keywords:

• Sex work
• transmasculine
• non-binary
• harm reduction

Acknowledgements

I thank the editor of Culture, Health and Sexuality and the anonymous peer reviewers for their thoughtful and meticulous feedback, which strengthened the article. I am grateful to research participants for their time and for sharing their labour experiences with me.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interest to report.

Funding

The study was self-funded by the author.

Notes

1 Not all respondents use the term ‘vagina’ to describe their genitals, and one participant had undergone medioplasty and used the language “cock and balls”.

2 The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) (2018) was ostensibly an effort to take down websites enabling labour trafficking. The Bill removed protections for website owners from what has been called ‘safe harbour’. Despite empirical evidence to the contrary, according to Congressional leaders, websites advertising sexual services and hosting pornographic content have been ‘reckless’ and knowingly permitted traffickers to use their platforms. FOSTA was responsible for the disappearance of advertising sites like Backpage and Craigslist personals, free sites escorts used to advertise their services, and online sex worker created review systems. Thus, FOSTA adversely affected harm reduction strategies, only further compounding sex worker vulnerability.