Mobile Orientations - An Intimate Autoethnography of Migration, Sex Work, Humanitarian

Despite continued public and legislative concern about sex trafficking across international borders, the actual lives of the individuals involved-and, more importantly, the decisions that led them to sex work-are too often overlooked. With Mobile Orientations, Nicola Mai shows that, far from being victims of a system beyond their control, many contemporary sex workers choose their profession as a means to forge a path toward fulfillment. Using a bold blend of personal narrative and autoethnography, Mai provides intimate portrayals of sex workers from sites including the Balkans, the Maghreb, and West Africa who decided to sell sex as the means to achieve a better life. Mai explores the contrast between how migrants understand themselves and their work and how humanitarian and governmental agencies conceal their stories, often unwittingly, by addressing them all as helpless victims. The culmination of two decades of research, Mobile Orientations sheds new light on the desires and ambitions of migrant sex workers across the world.  

About the author

Nicola Mai is professor of sociology and migration studies at Kingston University, London.

Product details

• Authors: Nicola Mai, Mai Nicola
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2018
• EAN: 9780226585000
• ISBN: 978-0-226-58500-0
• No. of pages: 256
• Dimensions: 151 mm x 229 mm x 14 mm
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Humanities, art, music > Education > Social education, social work; Soziologie, Untersuchungen zu Homosexualität / LGBTQ, Sex und Sexualität, soziale Aspekte, Sociology, Ethische Themen und Debatten, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, Migration, immigration & emigration, Social issues & processes, Migration, immigration and emigration, Sociology: sexual relations, Gay & Lesbian studies, Sex and sexuality, social aspects, Of specific Gay interest, SOCIAL SCIENCE / LGBTQ+ Studies / Gay Studies, Relating to gay people, Sexual Behaviour, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Sexuality, LGBTQ+ Studies / topics