Stanford University Press Blog

Beyond Law

Sex work and decriminalization in South Africa

I. INDIA THUSI

Protesters in South Africa organizing for the full decriminalisation of sex work. The protest was organized by by Asijiki Coalition. Photo by  SG ZA - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons

 

SUP is proud to present an adapted excerpt from Policing Bodies: Law, Sex Work, and Desire in Johannesburg.

Though clearly sex work is often dangerous and hazardous, these dangers can be mitigated under decriminalization. Accordingly, decriminalization seems suitable in most contexts in its recognition of the sex worker’s autonomy and liberty. However, a singular model for sex work regulation should not be transposed to all contexts.

The treatment of sex work should be localized. As seen during the course of myethnographic inquiry, Policing Bodies », there is no singular sex work, even within the same city or the same locality. Sex work is continuously shifting, and its formations are vulnerable to minor geopolitical changes. The appropriate regulation of sex work will vary by location, and different sites may require different solutions to accommodate this.

In South Africa, stark economic realities make sex work a viable option for some women. Taking away these women’s clients does nothing to redress their economic situation and treats them as infants incapable of independent decision making. In this way, a perspective that is decidedly intersectional, that is sensitive to overlapping systems of oppression by considering the sex workers’ gender, race, and economic status, allows for a nuanced analysis of the realities of using sex for work.

Association for Jewish Studies Conference 2021

 

To capture some of the spirit of gathering together in the AJS exhibit hall, we offer this virtual space, showcasing our new authors, award-winning books, and highlights from the last year of Jewish Studies at SUP.

 

Meet our New Authors

Recent Award Winners

AJS Resources

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Meet our New Authors

Announcing new books, published in the last year. We’re offering 30% off these and other recent SUP Jewish Studies titles with discount code S21XAJS-FM through our virtual exhibit ».

Jewish Primitivism

Around the beginning of the twentieth century, Jewish writers and artists across Europe began depicting fellow Jews as savages or "primitive" tribesmen. Primitivism—the European appreciation of and fascination with so-called "primitive," non-Western peoples who were also subjugated and denigrated—was a powerful artistic critique of the modern world and was adopted by Jewish writers and artists to explore the urgent questions surrounding their own identity and status in Europe as insiders and outsiders. Jewish primitivism found expression in a variety of forms in Yiddish, Hebrew, and German literature, photography, and graphic art, including in the work of figures such as Franz Kafka, Y.L. Peretz, S. An-sky, Uri Zvi Greenberg, Else Lasker-Schüler, and Moï Ver.