Abstract
This paper examines how language assists in the construction of fictive kinship networks amongst U.S. street-level sex workers, thereby establishing affective ties and obligations as well as a definitive power structure between various members of their community and social hierarchy. Research findings suggest that these kin structures impact sex workers’ sense of agency in relation to others while simultaneously providing an additional means of insulation, alienation, and even exclusion from the dominant culture. This study indicates that language use within this community operates as a discursive framework that plays a critical role in relationship formation and maintenance.
Recommended Citation
Weinkauf, Kathleen
(2010)
"‘Yeah, he’s my Daddy’: Linguistic Constructions of Fictive Kinships in a Street-Level Sex Work Community,"
Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies: Vol. 8:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/wagadu/vol8/iss1/2