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| NCJ Number:
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NCJ 163944
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| Title:
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Hidden in the Light: Occupational Norms Among Crack-Using Street-Level Sex Workers
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| Journal:
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Journal of Drug Issues Volume:26 Issue:1 Dated:(Winter 1996) Pages:143-173
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| Author(s):
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L Maher
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| Sponsoring Agency:
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| Publication Date:
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1996 |
| Pages:
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31 |
| Type:
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Studies/research reports |
| Origin:
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United States |
| Language:
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English |
| Annotation:
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This article examines the "hypersexuality" hypothesis and, in particular, the sex-for-crack phenomenon by drawing on recent ethnographic research with women crack users engaged in street- level sex work in New York City. |
| Abstract:
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It explores the relationship between crack use and what have been described elsewhere as "hypersexual" behaviors (Inciardi et al. 1993), including "deviant" or "non-normative" sexual activity and sex-for-crack exchanges. Viewing sex work as work, the study identifies the existence of a set of occupational norms that cohere around the concept of discrimination as a central organizing principle in street-level prostitution. The article describes the ways in which these norms -- in relation to price, sex acts, clients, and bartering practices -- govern commercial sex transactions at the street level and examines their effects in regulating both individual and collective conduct. By contextualizing women crack users' sexual practices within this framework, these data strongly refute claims that they are prepared to "do anything" and "at any price" for the drug. In doing so, the analysis draws attention to the deficits of previous research, particularly the absence of context and the lack of attention to shared cultural practices and occupational norms, that have made possible the erasure of agency from representations of these women's lives. 17 notes and 76 references |
| Main Term(s):
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Drug related crimes |
| Index Term(s):
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Female offenders ; Prostitution ; Economic analysis of crime ; Crack |
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To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=163944
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