Bio:
Gayle MacDonald, PhD, is a Professor of Sociology and (Interim) Dean of Research, St. Thomas University. She has three edited books and one co-authored text. Dr. MacDonald works on issues relating to sex work, AIDS and marginalization, sexuality as deviance, and sociology of law. She lives and works in Fredericton, NB with two teenagers, a dog, and a cat in a house she affectionately calls ?the wild kingdom.?
Title of paper:
'Stigma, Sex Work and Criminalization: Will Sex workers ever achieve Equality?? [with Laura Winters]
Abstract:
Sex workers are among the most marginalized and stigmatized of women. This presentation will examine the role of stigma as experienced by sex workers from two perspectives. First, is stigma directly related to the criminalization of the work and if so, will it be reduced if sex work is decriminalized? This question is especially timely given the recent Bedford decision holding that some criminal provisions relating to sex work violate the Charter of Rights. Second, can stigma be re-theorized past Goffman's early work to take into account the lived experiences of women who do sex work? What would theory on stigma look like if it addressed time, space, and context? Answers to these questions can give us a more political/analytical look at stigma, sex work and law that moves beyond the descriptive to the analytical.