Sex work and online platforms: what should regulation do?

Cowen, Nick; Colosi, Rachela

doi:10.1108/jepp-03-2019-0009

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 91 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…Ma et al (2022) find that digital platforms are 'gender-agnostic' and allow for vulnerabilities to persist for women using them. Despite the presence of digital sex work platforms other online platforms such as intermediary payment sites and cloud storage prohibit association with digital sex work, therefore, excluding workers from formal online labour market processes (Cowen & Colosi, 2020;Swords et al, 2021).…”

Section: Digital Work: Beyond the Usual Suspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sex work is invisibilised due to social stigma and its status as illegitimate labour (Rand, 2019). Cowen and Colosi (2020) maintain that scholars are beginning to challenge the notion that digital sex work is feminised however, we must question whether the gendered perspective on sex work historically has influenced the invisibilisation of this work in modern labour markets. The platform economy has facilitated a new workspace for this industry and the interconnectedness between platform capitalism and sex work has presented a multitude of opportunities and challenges for workers (Swords et al., 2021).…”

Section: Digital Work: the Gig Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2022) find that digital platforms are ‘gender‐agnostic’ and allow for vulnerabilities to persist for women using them. Despite the presence of digital sex work platforms other online platforms such as intermediary payment sites and cloud storage prohibit association with digital sex work, therefore, excluding workers from formal online labour market processes (Cowen & Colosi, 2020; Swords et al., 2021). Furthermore, although the digital economy appears to break down geographic boundaries, migrant sex workers face barriers to inclusion in the digital workspace as a result of identity and residence verification processes (Cunningham et al., 2018).…”

Section: Digital Work: the Gig Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond the usual suspects: Invisible labour(ers) in futures of work

Gilbert

2023

Geography Compass

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Invisible labour exists within all forms of work. In looking to the future of work (FoW), this article reviews the literature on two separate examples; digital work and the 4IR, to uncover invisible labour within these futures. The focus of this article remains on paid work but recognises that ‘employed’ does not correlate with visible. In contributing to feminist labour geography, this review aims to collate, regroup and evaluate the literature on the FoW in a way which recognises ‘invisible labourers’ through redefining ‘work’ and expanding our perception of the ‘workplace’. It does so in three parts. First, feminist labour geography literature is reviewed to situate the article within its call to broaden the definition of ‘work’. Second, the review addresses digital work and the gig economy, to establish which labourers are receiving the most current academic attention and are, therefore, visible. Feminist literature on work and labourers within unrecognised economic spaces is explored through the example of digital sex work to draw on the concept of ‘invisible labour’ in digital FoW. Third, literature on technologies of the 4IR and labour will be reviewed, with particular reference to the global north bias in FoW studies. Finally, the review will apply the regrouping of the literature to the impending wave of automation in the global garment industry. The article identifies a risk of further invisibalising already precarious and marginalised garment workers and the FoW narrative moves beyond low‐skill labour. Highlighting the wider impacts on the FoW, beyond technology itself, this article calls for the labour geography literature to recognise the shift in our conception of ‘industry’ and women's experience of work within it to encompass invisible labourers' roles which are created, mediated and maintained by new technologies.

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Section: Digital Work: Beyond the Usual Suspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Digital Work: the Gig Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Digital Work: the Gig Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond the usual suspects: Invisible labour(ers) in futures of work

Gilbert

2023

Geography Compass

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“…The Vivastreet blog hosts sex-positive articles ( Yoga poses for better sex ) and sex worker-friendly posts ( How to be safe as a sex worker). Whereas other platforms such as PayPal use Terms and Conditions to exclude sex workers – often with implications for the welfare of sex workers (Cowen and Colosi, 2021; see also Blunt et al, 2020; Blunt and Wolf, 2020). Other platforms simply advise users that they may encounter material ‘which is offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate’ (Twitter, 2020: n.p.).…”

Section: The Platformization Of Sex Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Platforms are increasingly involved, directly and indirectly, in the production, consumption, mediation and exchange of many sexual services, as well as a vast array of free or purchasable sexual content. They provide (in many contexts) legal spaces of work and help to facilitate safety strategies for sex workers – for instance, enabling the vetting of customers (Clancy, 2020; Cowan and Colosi, 2021; Sanders et al, 2018). In addition, sex workers utilize platforms to advertise and communicate with potential customers and consumers, take payment and provide services or content.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Platforms, sex work and their interconnectedness

2021

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This article examines the interconnectedness of sex work with the platform economy. It does this by mobilizing two concepts from the platform economy literature: the platform stack (which captures the structure of platforms) and interpenetration (which describes the processes through which platforms intersect). Exploring these concepts, the article draws on a dataset of linked platforms used by 54 cam workers and documented observations of 55 different platforms. These platforms include those designed for sex workers as well as those with a more generalist function. In mapping this platform ecology, the article highlights some of the opportunities, barriers and risks that platform interpenetration presents for sex workers.

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