Majesty in the city: experiences of an Aboriginal transgender sex worker in Sydney, Australia

Abstract

This paper explores the lived experiences of Majesty. She is transgender, a former sex worker, and identifies as an Aboriginal Australian. Her status as a sex worker is embodied in both her previously held male identity and her transgender identity, however it is her transgender identity which challenges Majesty’s own notions and ideas about sex and sex work. The lines between intimacy, sex, and sex work are connected to Majesty’s identities in ways that are both fluid and complex. Drawing on Indigenous Standpoint Theory and trans geographies, this paper explores the tensions and possibilities of including Indigenous trans voices to unsettle the white and heteronormative thinking of sexually based services. In doing so, it complicates concepts of race, gender and sexuality, contributing a narrative from Indigenous Standpoints that enrich the trans geography literature.

Keywords:

• Aboriginal Australian
• identity
• indigenous standpoint theory
• intimacy
• sex work
• transgender

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge and thank Majesty for her time and generosity in sharing her story. Thanks to A/Prof Sandie Suchet-Pearson and Dr Jess Mclean for their guidance, energy and endless support. Finally, I thank the anonymous journal reviewers who provided invaluable feedback on this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Corrinne is an Indigenous woman from the Wiradjuri Nation, New South Wales, Australia. Her research interests are multi-disciplinary and focus broadly on experiences and effects of body and Identity in relation to Indigenous Australian people. Corrinne's knowledges stem from the disciplines of Indigenous Studies and Human Geography, and she utilises both to understand the ways in which Indigenous people are affected by their experiences of space and place.