自我培力與專業操演：與台灣性工作者的對話

Self-Empowerment and Professional Performativity: Conversations with Taiwanese Sex Workers

何春蕤(Josephine Ho)

《台灣社會研究季刊》 41期 (2001/03) Pp. 1-51

https://doi.org/10.29816/TARQSS.200103.0001

摘要

反色情／反性工作的女性主義者常常把性產業描繪成一個在結構上使得從業女性無力自主或反抗的場域，以證明女性與色情／性工作的必然勢不兩立。然而本文的訪談研究卻恰恰顯示：許多性工作者早已在這樣一個看似缺乏善意約場域中發展出頗為自主的力量與能動性，甚至能夠主動在性工作的實踐中創造某些形式的「專業操演」和論述建構，以重新描繪女人與身體情慾之間的可能關係，具體而積極的改寫女人的情慾宿命，甚至重新打造有關性工作的文化想像。在另一方面，這樣的培力壯大並非個人的存活措施而已；相反的，它同時也是性工作專業的自我轉化。1997年台北妓權運動的興起是因為市政府在保守婦女團體及民意代表的操作下逕行廢除公娼的營業工作證，公娼們的抗爭也因而圍燒著「性」作為女性的一種「工作權利」而展開，這個發展不但有別於西方妓權運動聚焦於性工作的勞動條件和環境，也因而為本地女「性」開拓了文化想像。從這個角度來思考，在基本態度和自我描述上把性當成「工作」，甚至當成「專業」，是性工作者所採取的一種積極介入主流論述、重新定義性工作、甚至重新塑造女「性」的策略。

關鍵字

性工作 ； 專業化 ； 操演 ； 培力 ； 女性主義

並列摘要

The question of female sexual power and agency has been the focus of feminist sex wars in the past decades. Based on conversations with active sex workers in Taipei, the present paper explores the self-empowering discourses and practices that some Taiwanese sex workers have forged out of limited cultural resources barely available to them. These discourses and practices not only help sex workers maintain better control of their work condition, but also provide images of professionalism for the purpose of self protection from physical harm and social defamation. As sex workers empower themselves with such performative acts, the newly engendered discourses and practices also rewrite women's relation to sexuality as well as the cultural imaginary of sex work. The articulation of self-empowerment and image of professionalism thus serves as an important locus for understanding the struggle of Taiwanese sex workers.

並列關鍵字

sex work ； professionalism ； performativity ； empowerment ； feminism

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