Becoming a sexademic: Reflections on a ‘dirty’ research project

Abstract

Sex and sexuality research can be understood as a form of ‘dirty work’, as despite its public need, it continues to be marginalised and demeaned within the academy and beyond. Through association, sex and sexuality researchers come to be labelled ‘dirty workers’ and are vulnerable to experiencing a range of stigmatised responses and negative repercussions. This article contributes to knowledge about the challenges involved in doing dirty work, through reflexively examining my experiences as a doctoral researcher investigating pornography’s gendered influence. It explores the various institutional, professional and personal hurdles that I encountered during my dirty work journey and illustrates how these experiences may have been affected by my identity as a young, female researcher.

Institutional Ethics Challenges to Sex Work Researchers: Committees, Communities, and Collaboration

“…RECs have been an integral part of social science research for some time, building integrity, professionalism, and accountability into the research process. For researchers of human behaviour which is considered to be non-normative, deviant, or risky, RECs have at times been a source of tension, challenge, and in some cases, restriction (Bacon and Sanders, 2016;Haggerty, 2016;Keene, 2021;van Zyl and Sabiescu, 2020: 137;Alvesalo-Kuusi and Whyte (2018: 137)), writing in this journal, reflect on a common tension:…”

“…RECs have been an integral part of social science research for some time, building integrity, professionalism, and accountability into the research process. For researchers of human behaviour which is considered to be non-normative, deviant, or risky, RECs have at times been a source of tension, challenge, and in some cases, restriction (Bacon and Sanders, 2016; Haggerty, 2016; Keene, 2021; van Zyl and Sabiescu, 2020: 137; Alvesalo-Kuusi and Whyte (2018: 137)), writing in this journal, reflect on a common tension:We have been trained as social scientists, and this training is grounded in particular professional standards, rules, and codes. Yet when we have applied those rules and codes in our own research, we find them to be inadequate and not fit for purpose.…”

“…RECs also consider, and increasingly so, the potential risks of the research or fieldwork environment to the researcher (Keene, 2021; Webber and Brunger, 2018). The stigma associated with sex work may pose a set of challenges to researchers, particularly women researchers, seeking ethical clearance for their study.…”

Whorephobia in Higher Education: a reflexive account of researching cis women’s experiences of stripping while at university

“…While one university (see University C) assured me they 'believed' I was 'perfectly responsible etc. ', similar to Keene's (2021) experience of not being taken seriously and being considered 'naïve', I questioned whether, as a young woman carrying out doctoral research, if I was also facing additional, hidden and gendered barriers. It was clear that individual members of staff did not want to be held accountable for the decision which meant that I was frequently directed to more senior members of staff and/or to different departments to have any decision seconded.…”

“…Furthermore, such scholarship continues to positively shape public discourse and create more effective laws and policies which also act as clear evidence of the value of researching seemingly 'controversial' topics (Huysamen & Sanders, 2021). Thus, while the understanding of sexuality research-and other fields-as 'lacking rigour' has not completely disappeared from academia (see Keene, 2021), it is fair to say that such thinking is outmoded. On closer inspection, I realised that I was not necessarily being haunted by a dirty past as much as I was experiencing the effects of present-day whorephobia within HE under the guise of 'research ethics'.…”