Whores and Other Feminists fleshes out feminist politics from the perspective of sex workers - strippers, prostitutes, porn writers, producers and performers, dominatrices - and their allies. Comprising a range of voices from both within and outside the academy, this collection draws from traditional feminisms, postmodern feminism, queer theory and sex radicalism. It stretches the boundaries of contemporary feminism, holding accountable both traditional feminism for stigmatizing sex workers, and also the sex industry for its sexist practices. Recent theorists have pointed out that the exchange of sex for money has no inherent meaning. Contributors Nina Hartley, Candida Royalle and Debi Sundahl, sex industry feminists, discuss creating women-oriented products and entertainment for an ever-increasing female consumer demand. Annie Sprinkle offers sex-worker-positive tips for self-care in a challenging profession. Together with other contributors, they problematize traditional feminism's dismissal of sex work as inherently antifeminist by revealing its myriad of forms and contexts.
Each contributor ellucidates a particular intersection, or series of intersections, of feminist theory and sex work practice: a butch lesbian offers herself for hire by femmes; after years of studying the holy whore archetype, a forty-two year old woman has a spriritual awakening and decides to become a prostitute; and a stripper demystifies questions about sex and objectification she has only intellectualized. The result of these contributions is a more complex definition of both feminism and sex work, and a new context for debate-one in which the voices of feminist sex workers are primary and central.