Beyond the Screen: Unveiling the Layers of Intimacy in Digital Sex Work
(2024) SOCM05 20241Sociology
- Abstract
- This is a study that explores how digital sex workers create intimacy for their customers. It furthers not only the literature regarding sex work but also the research on digitally mediated relationships. I conducted semi-structured interviews with six women who have experience with digital-only sex work. Three of these interviews were also complemented with a body mapping session. The data was analyzed using Forstie’s (2017) framework regarding intimacy as well as Hoschilds (2012) theory of emotional labor. The finding show that all four factors, Affect, Mutual action, Knowledge, and Norms, were part of and affected digital sex workers' creation of intimacy. Moreover, to create intimacy all the participants partook in emotional labor,... (More)
- This is a study that explores how digital sex workers create intimacy for their customers. It furthers not only the literature regarding sex work but also the research on digitally mediated relationships. I conducted semi-structured interviews with six women who have experience with digital-only sex work. Three of these interviews were also complemented with a body mapping session. The data was analyzed using Forstie’s (2017) framework regarding intimacy as well as Hoschilds (2012) theory of emotional labor. The finding show that all four factors, Affect, Mutual action, Knowledge, and Norms, were part of and affected digital sex workers' creation of intimacy. Moreover, to create intimacy all the participants partook in emotional labor, which was both mental and embodied. The sex workers bodies act as a way to create a convincing performance of intimacy that is supposed to be experienced by the customers as authentic. The participants discussed different ways to cope with the consequences that came with doing emotional labor which culminated in the term emotional currency. Having a lot of emotional currency makes the creation of intimacy both easier and more successful. Intimacy as a phenomenon in digital sex work is therefore linked to the interaction between the sex worker and their customer, but also the individual emotional processes of the sex worker. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9159864
- author
- Linell, Mikaela LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOCM05 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Sex work, Intimacy, Emotional labor, Embodiment, Online
- language
- English
- id
- 9159864
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-11 15:48:45
- date last changed
- 2024-06-11 15:48:45
@misc{9159864,
abstract = {{This is a study that explores how digital sex workers create intimacy for their customers. It furthers not only the literature regarding sex work but also the research on digitally mediated relationships. I conducted semi-structured interviews with six women who have experience with digital-only sex work. Three of these interviews were also complemented with a body mapping session. The data was analyzed using Forstie’s (2017) framework regarding intimacy as well as Hoschilds (2012) theory of emotional labor. The finding show that all four factors, Affect, Mutual action, Knowledge, and Norms, were part of and affected digital sex workers' creation of intimacy. Moreover, to create intimacy all the participants partook in emotional labor, which was both mental and embodied. The sex workers bodies act as a way to create a convincing performance of intimacy that is supposed to be experienced by the customers as authentic. The participants discussed different ways to cope with the consequences that came with doing emotional labor which culminated in the term emotional currency. Having a lot of emotional currency makes the creation of intimacy both easier and more successful. Intimacy as a phenomenon in digital sex work is therefore linked to the interaction between the sex worker and their customer, but also the individual emotional processes of the sex worker.}},
author = {{Linell, Mikaela}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Beyond the Screen: Unveiling the Layers of Intimacy in Digital Sex Work}},
year = {{2024}},
}