A fascinating overview of prostitution and sex work in the United States, from the Colonial era to today, examines the issue as it affects men, women, and transgender individuals of all races and classes. Prostitution and Sex Work is the first book since 1921 to offer a historic overview of this controversial topic—and what our views on it say about American society. Exploring key people, places, and events, the guide includes descriptions of the myriad variations of the sale of sex and of the venues where prostitution occurs, as well as recurring themes such as panics about sexually transmitted diseases and the ever-present issue of violence in the sex trade. After reviewing the history of prostitution and sex work over the past 400 years, the book offers detailed information about the legal context of prostitution in America during the last century. It focuses particularly on the period since prostitution was criminalized during a panic over "white slavery" in the early 20th century, drawing parallels with current "sex trafficking" topics. An appendix of materials produced by sex workers is especially informative for those wishing to truly understand both sides of the issue.

This is a richly detailed account of the way the sex industry works, and one of the few empirical studies that investigates the off street industry in Britain. The book seeks to advance a greater knowledge of the social organisation of the sex industry by uncovering the day-to-day activities of women involved in the indoor markets. What types of occupational risks do women experience in work of this kind? How do these hazards affect their personal lives? A key concern throughout the book is to assess whether women are passive victims of the circumstances of prostitution or whether they understand and calculate their responses to danger. Drawing upon both sociological and criminological theories, and on detailed research in the city of Birmingham, the author addresses these questions by estimating the rationality of those responses and by providing a measure of how women make sense of different risks. Sex Work: a risky business describes how women create complex psychological and emotional techniques to maintain their sanity while selling sex, and goes on to argue that the indoor sex markets in Britain have a distinct 'occupational culture' with a set of social norms, code of conduct and moral hierarchies that make it a high regulated workplace despite its illicit and sometimes illegal nature.

Research tells us of the problems women face when they cross over into male-dominated professions: discrimination, harassment, glass ceilings, exclusion from informal networks. We also know much about female-dominated professions, where pay and prestige are lower than corresponding male professions. What happens to men doing "women′s" jobs? Doing "Women′s Work" represents the first effort to summarize our state of knowledge about the effects of men in "women′s professions," on the men and their views of masculinity, on the occupations, and on the women with whom they work. Do men get preferential treatment in these positions? Higher salaries? Are they treated the same as their female coworkers? Through a series of statistical and demographic analyses as well as qualitative case studies of men in such professions as teaching, secretarial work, caregiving, and stripping, the authors offer an insightful glimpse of the roles of these men in bolstering or undermining the gendered assumptions of occupational sex segregation in the workplace. A fascinating yet scholarly study, Doing "Women′s Work" will be invaluable reading for students, researchers, and professionals interested in gender studies, work and occupations, human resources, sociology, management, human services, family studies, psychology, and education. "The studies lead to a more complex and sophisticated view of occupational segregation. . . . The chapters in Christine Williams′ book are logically arranged, and all are of reasonably good quality." --Contemporary Sociology "The focus on pursuing questions is illustrated most capably by this collection of research on occupational segregation. . . .The book is an excellent collection of essays for those interested in work and gender issues, providing both a rich theoretical background and case studies of men in nontraditional occupations." --Masculinities

This classic has been the most authoritative text in the field since 1924. The thoroughly revised Eleventh Edition continues to provide a sound, sophisticated, sociological treatment of the principal issues in criminology.

Human sexuality researchers often find themselves faced with questions that entail conceptual, methodological, or ethical issues for which their professional training or prior experience may not have prepared them. The goal of this handbook is to provide that guidance to students and professionals interested in the empirical study of human sexuality from behavioral and social scientific perspectives. It provides practical and concrete advice about conducting human sexuality research and addresses issues inherent to both general social scientific and specific human sexuality research. This comprehensive resource offers a unique multidisciplinary examination of the specific methodological issues inherent in conducting human sexuality research. The methodological techniques and advances that are familiar to researchers trained in one discipline are often unfamiliar to researchers from other disciplines. This book is intended to help enrich the communication between the various disciplines involved in human sexuality research. Each of the 21 self-standing chapters provides an expert overview of a particular area of research methodology from a variety of academic disciplines. It addresses those issues unique to human sexuality research, such as: * how to measure sexuality variables; * how to design studies, recruit participants, and collect data; * how to consider cultural and ethical issues; and * how to perform and interpret statistical analyses. This book is intended as a reference tool for researchers and students interested in human sexuality from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, family science, health communication, nursing, medicine, and anthropology.