Transdisciplinary's inspirational thoughts on interviews in sex work's projects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46661/relies.12671Keywords:
interview, methodologies, sex workAbstract
This article takes a critical look at the practice of interviewing in the arts, social sciences, and activism, seeking inspiration to establish ethical guidelines for research involving the lived experience of sex work. From a situated and anti-disciplinary perspective, it seeks to shift hegemonic strategies toward horizons of care and justice for those involved. It is structured around five axes: (1) sensitivity, silences, and secrets as surfaces of resistance that limit transparency and demand ethical protection; (2) authorship and authority, questioning epistemic privilege and default anonymity, and opening up to co-authorship and consented appearances; (3) radical consent for the qualitative and quantitative in the face of biased datafication; (4) reflexivity and discomfort, articulated through asymmetrical reciprocity and attention to positions of power; and (5) economies of exchange, including retributions, returns, and economies of friendship beyond the moment of the interview. Based on previous research, opaque, counter-visual, and low-tech procedures are suggested in accordance with precarious and stigmatized conditions. The article hypothesizes that the interview could function as a space for co-production, refuge, transmission, and transformation, and is offered to organized communities of sex workers for their evaluation as more ethical practices in research involving them.
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