Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Offer eller aktör? En kvalitativ intervjustudie om föreställningar kring sex mot ersättning, frivillighet och utsatthet

Höjgaard, Emelie LU and Kent Trevéus, Alicia LU (2025) SOPB63 20251
School of Social Work
Abstract
This study aimed to examine how professionals understand and talk about sex in exchange for compensation, with a particular focus on how the boundary between voluntariness and vulnerability was described. The study was based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with professionals who encounter individuals with experience of selling sex. The analysis was conducted using Gayle Rubin’s theory of the sexual hierarchy and Erving Goffman’s theory of stigma. The results showed that perceptions of sex in exchange for compensation were marked by complexity and ambivalence. On the one hand, it was described as an expression of vulnerability, trauma, or external pressure; on the other hand, as a voluntary and strategic choice. The professionals... (More)
This study aimed to examine how professionals understand and talk about sex in exchange for compensation, with a particular focus on how the boundary between voluntariness and vulnerability was described. The study was based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with professionals who encounter individuals with experience of selling sex. The analysis was conducted using Gayle Rubin’s theory of the sexual hierarchy and Erving Goffman’s theory of stigma. The results showed that perceptions of sex in exchange for compensation were marked by complexity and ambivalence. On the one hand, it was described as an expression of vulnerability, trauma, or external pressure; on the other hand, as a voluntary and strategic choice. The professionals highlighted that the understanding of the phenomenon was influenced by language, norms, and legal frameworks, and that individuals’ experiences were shaped by a variety of factors such as gender, sexuality, context, and personal interpretation. The study concluded that there is no single way to understand sex in exchange for compensation. Instead, it pointed to the importance of listening to individual stories without preconceived assumptions, and of acknowledging that agency and vulnerability can coexist. The findings also emphasized the need for more nuanced discussion on the topic. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Höjgaard, Emelie LU and Kent Trevéus, Alicia LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOPB63 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
prostitution, sex work, sex in exchange for compensation, sugar dating, prejudices, perceptions, attitudes, sexarbete, sex mot ersättning, sugardejting, fördomar, föreställningar, attityder
language
Swedish
id
9200183
date added to LUP
2025-06-17 09:10:28
date last changed
2025-06-17 09:10:28
@misc{9200183,
  abstract     = {{This study aimed to examine how professionals understand and talk about sex in exchange for compensation, with a particular focus on how the boundary between voluntariness and vulnerability was described. The study was based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with professionals who encounter individuals with experience of selling sex. The analysis was conducted using Gayle Rubin’s theory of the sexual hierarchy and Erving Goffman’s theory of stigma. The results showed that perceptions of sex in exchange for compensation were marked by complexity and ambivalence. On the one hand, it was described as an expression of vulnerability, trauma, or external pressure; on the other hand, as a voluntary and strategic choice. The professionals highlighted that the understanding of the phenomenon was influenced by language, norms, and legal frameworks, and that individuals’ experiences were shaped by a variety of factors such as gender, sexuality, context, and personal interpretation. The study concluded that there is no single way to understand sex in exchange for compensation. Instead, it pointed to the importance of listening to individual stories without preconceived assumptions, and of acknowledging that agency and vulnerability can coexist. The findings also emphasized the need for more nuanced discussion on the topic.}},
  author       = {{Höjgaard, Emelie and Kent Trevéus, Alicia}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Offer eller aktör? En kvalitativ intervjustudie om föreställningar kring sex mot ersättning, frivillighet och utsatthet}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}