Pomirenje paradigmi o prostituciji uz pomoć naracije
Reconciling Paradigms Of Prostitution Through Narration

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on the sex work / violence controversy in debates about prostitution both theoretically and empirically, with an emphasis on Central/South-Eastern Europe, and Slovenia in particular. The article first analyses studies and debates on prostitution in the region during the (post)socialist years. It then moves on to discuss the twofold effect of the liberalization of prostitution during the transition period: while, on the one hand, prostitution was destigmatized, on the other it was commodified to serve the economic interests of the emerging globalized sex and trafficking industry. Interviews with various protagonists involved in prostitution in Slovenia show how these processes affected their living and working conditions. The experiences of prostitutes reveal the complexity of their situations, showing that there is no clear- -cut distinction between prostitution and trafficking and that both voluntary and involuntary elements are involved. By evaluation of arguments of both the sex work and the violence paradigms, the article proposes to study prostitution beyond binarism, in its heterogeneity, i.e. by thematizing its various aspects and by taking into consideration the realities of actors engaged in prostitution.

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