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THE NEGOTIATION OF SPACE AMONG SEX WORKERS IN CEBU CITY, THE PHILIPPINES
Author(s) -
McIlwaine Cathy
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
singapore journal of tropical geography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1467-9493
pISSN - 0129-7619
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9493.1996.tb00090.x
Subject(s) - residence , space (punctuation) , negotiation , sex workers , construct (python library) , population , sociology , seclusion , gender studies , perspective (graphical) , service (business) , geography , demography , psychology , social science , business , research methodology , linguistics , philosophy , artificial intelligence , psychiatry , computer science , programming language , marketing
The paper examines the experiences of space among sex workers in Cebu City, a major service and commercial centre in the Visayan region of the Philippines. It explores the issue of space from a number of perspectives and scales: first, at the national level in terms of migration patterns among sex workers; second, at the local level in relation to how sex workers experience and construct urban spaces through residence and working patterns; and finally, from a community perspective, the nature of domestic spaces among these women. The underlying theme of the paper centres around the contradictory ways in which social opprobrium is often reflected in spatial seclusion among sex workers. On the one hand, they are constrained in their experiences of space. On the other, the construction of their own particular spaces reflects a high degree of resourcefulness and resistance. This is corroborated further by the fact that involvement in the sex industry creates a different set of spatial aspirations and awareness among sex workers compared with those of the wider population.