Lifestyle of women working in the sex business in the context of everyday life

Stanislav Ondrášek, Alena Kajanová
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Social and Special-paedagogical Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Korespondenční autor: Stanislav Ondrášek (ondrasek@zsf.jcu.cz)

ISSN 1804-7181 (On-line)

Full verze:

Submitted:14. 7. 2020
Accepted: 15. 10. 2020
Published online: 31. 12. 2020

Summary

This article aims mainly to describe the lifestyle of women working in the private sex business in the context of everyday life. The study made use of qualitative research strategy and chose biographic-narrative interview for the data collection. The research set consisted of 36 women working in the private sex business, who advertised their services through web advertisements at Naprivat.cz, Agamaseznamka.cz and other portals in the South Bohemian Region and the capital, Prague. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed in the ATLAS.ti computer software. We used the method of anchored theory for data analysis. The following categories were identified based on the analysis: content of the day – waiting for the client; leaving home; social isolation; care for appearance and “normal work”. The results show that sex workers feel a freedom that is, however, only subjective, as they subordinate their day primarily to the clients’ orders. The sex workers’ everyday activities include beautifying activities, fitness centre visits and shopping for clothing. The results also showed that the sex workers lose the perception of their flat as a home where they spend time with family or friends, and they often leave their flat and spend time away from it.

Keywords: Everyday life; Lifestyle; Sex business; Sex work; Sex worker

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