The Influence of Significant Others on the Course of the Process of Leaving Sex Work

Authors

  • Izabela Ślęzak University of Lodz

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.11.3.08

Keywords:

significant other, sex work, prostitution, symbolic interactionism, qualitative research, identity

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present the barriers to leaving sex work which are related to the influence of significant others on decisions made by sex workers. The analysis was applied in the case of two categories of significant others (organizational and intimate), which through interactions in escort agencies and on family grounds, respectively, may exert a destructive influence on sex workers’ intentions, referring to their life and the act of leaving sex work. Therefore, the relationships with significant others described in the article interfere in the process of these women’s identity transformation, hindering the development of a self-concept outside prostitution. The article is based on qualitative research carried out in escort agencies in one of the biggest Polish cities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Izabela Ślęzak, University of Lodz

Izabela Ślęzak, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Organization of Management of the University of Lodz. Main spheres of scientific interests focus on methodology of social research, especially qualitative methods of work, symbolic interactionism, sociology of work and organization. Currently performing field studies related to the phenomenon of prostitution.

References

Adler Patricia A. and Peter Adler. 1994. “Observational Techniques.” Pp. 236-246 in Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by N.K. Denzin, Y.S. Lincoln. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Google Scholar

Berger, Peter L. and Thomas Luckman. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality. A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden City, New York: Doubleday.
Google Scholar

Bindel, Julie, et al. 2012. Breaking down the barriers: A study of how women exit prostitution. London: Eaves/London South Bank University (LSBU). Retrieved June 10, 2014 http://www.catwinternational.org/Home/Article/490-breaking-down-the-barriers-a-study-of-how-women-exit-prostitution
Google Scholar

Blumer, Herbert. 1986. Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
Google Scholar

Denzin, Norman K. 1972. “The Significant Others of a College Population.” Pp. 185-196 in Symbolic Interaction. A Reader in Social Psychology, edited by J.G. Manis, B.N. Meltzer. Boston, London, Sydney, Toronto: Allyn and Bacon.
Google Scholar

Glaser, Barney G. and Anselm L. Strauss. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York: Aldine Publishing Company.
Google Scholar

Glaser Barney G. and Anselm L. Strauss. 1972. “Awareness Context and Social Interaction.” Pp. 447-461 in Symbolic Interaction. A Reader in Social Psychology., edited by J.G. Manis, B.N. Meltzer. Boston, London, Sydney, Toronto: Allyn and Bacon.
Google Scholar

Goffman, Erving. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Google Scholar

Golczyńska-Grondas, Agnieszka. 2014. “Wychowało nas państwo”. Rzecz o tożsamości dorosłych wychowanków placówek opiekuńczo-wychowawczych. Cracow: Zakład Wydawniczy NOMOS.
Google Scholar

Hughes, Everett C. 1958. Men and their work. Glencoe: Free Press.
Google Scholar

Konecki, Krzysztof. 2000. Studia z metodologii badań jakościowych. Teoria ugruntowana. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Google Scholar

Kuhn, Manford H. 1972. “The Reference Group Reconsidered.” Pp. 171-184 in Symbolic Interaction. A Reader in Social Psychology., edited by J.G. Manis, B.N. Meltzer. Boston, London, Sydney, Toronto: Allyn and Bacon.
Google Scholar

Månsson, Sven-Axel and Ulla-Carin Hedin. 1999. “Breaking the Matthew effect - on women leaving prostitution.” International Journal of Social Welfare 8:67-77.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2397.00063

Mayhew Pat and Elaine Mossman. 2007. Exiting Prostitution: Models of Best Practice. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Justice. Retrieved June 10, 2014 http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy/commercial-property-and-regulatory/prostitution/prostitution-law-review-committee/publications/exiting-prositution-models/documents/report.pdf
Google Scholar

Merton, Robert. 1968. Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: The Free Press.
Google Scholar

Rapley, Tim. 2007. Doing Conversation, Discourse and Document Analysis. London: Sage Publications.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849208901

Sanders, Teela. 2007. “Becoming an Ex-Sex Worker: Making Transitions Out of a Deviant Career.” Feminist Criminology 2:74-95.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085106294845

Shibutani, Tamotsu. 1962. “Reference Group and Social Control.” Pp. 128-147 in Human Behavior and Social Processes. An Interactionist Approach, edited by A.M. Rose. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Google Scholar

Schütze, Fritz. 1981. “Prozesstrukturen des Lebensablaufs.” Pp. 67-156 in Biographie in handlungswissenschaftlicher Perspektive, edited by J. Matthes, M. Pfeinfenberger, M. Stosberg. Nürnberg: Verlag der Nürnberger Forschungsvereinigung.
Google Scholar

Strauss, Anselm L. 1997. Mirrors and Masks. The Search for Identity. New Brunswick, London: Transaction Publishers.
Google Scholar

Strauss, Anselm and Juliet Corbin. 1990. Basics of Qualitative Research. London: Sage Publications.
Google Scholar

Szulik, Małgorzata. 2006. “Psychologiczna sytuacja ofiary handlu ludźmi.” Pp. 369-378 in Handel ludźmi – zapobieganie i ściganie, edited by Z. Lasocik. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Google Scholar

Ślęzak, Izabela. 2014. “Kolektywny wymiar budowania zaangażowania w pracę seksualną kobiet świadczących usługi seksualne w agencjach towarzyskich.” Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej 10(4):56-79. Retrieved March 21, 2015 http://www.przegladsocjologiijakosciowej.org/Volume28/PSJ_10_4_Slezak.pdf
Google Scholar

Ziółkowski, Marek. 1981. Znaczenie, interakcja, rozumienie. Warsaw: PWN.
Google Scholar

Downloads

Published

2015-08-31

How to Cite

Ślęzak, I. (2015). The Influence of Significant Others on the Course of the Process of Leaving Sex Work. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, 11(3), 132–153. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.11.3.08