The influence of significant others on the course of the process of leaving sex work Cover Image

Wpływ znaczących innych na przebieg procesu wychodzenia z prostytucji
The influence of significant others on the course of the process of leaving sex work

Author(s): Izabela Ślęzak-Niedbalska
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Applied Sociology, Sociology of Culture
Published by: Uniwersytet Łódzki - Wydział Ekonomiczno-Socjologiczny
Keywords: significant other; sex work; prostitution; symbolic interactionism; qualitative research; identity

Summary/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.

  • Issue Year: XI/2015
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 131-153
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish
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