Sex Work in Popular Culture provides an in-depth feminist exploration of North American representations of sex workers in popular culture, highlighting how these portrayals challenge broader stereotypes and the stigma surrounding sex work. Kirshner examines, theorized through a feminist labour lens, the shifting depictions of sex workers in films, TV shows, documentaries and viral YouTube videos to assert that sex work is real work and, moreover, is a human rights issue. This shift—from two-dimensional victim to legitimate labourers—presents a deeper understanding of the social issues that affect sex workers’ lives through an intersectional analysis of the labour challenges that sex workers face. These shifting portrayals of sex workers play a crucial role in the destigmatization of sex work, presenting sex workers as entrepreneurs who are navigating inequitable and oppressive working conditions. Although Kirshner argues that these evolving depictions of sex work serve as key resources for advocating sex workers’ rights, empowerment and solidarity, the author provides nuanced analyses that acknowledge post-feminist sensibilities in popular culture representations of the new sex worker. Enriching this analysis with the incorporation of interviews with sex workers themselves, Kirshner effectively bridges lived experiences of sex work with the representations of sex workers in pop culture, prioritizing ethical, intersectional and feminist research practices that bridge workers into discussions of their labour issues.

To capture the evolution of the “new sex worker”—or, more specifically, what Kirshner commonly refers to as “she”—the introduction provides a crucial historical analysis of how sex workers have been portrayed on screen, dating back to 1896. While these depictions do not explicitly criminalize sex workers, Kirshner demonstrates how on-screen portrayals have shaped cultural and stigmatic understandings of sex work, influencing the treatment and perception of sex workers more broadly. Building on the real-life implications of pop culture depictions, Chapter One outlines the theoretical framework for this book, offering a historical overview of the social construction of sex work in relation to contemporary feminist theories. Kirshner details how the portrayal and treatment of sex workers have been shaped by, and reflect, feminist prohibitionist, empowerment and labour paradigms. The labour paradigm acknowledges the legal and employment rights of sex workers within neoliberal capitalism, forming the theoretical core of this book.

In Chapter Two, Kirshner examines a series of documentaries and films on erotic dancing, including Power of Pussy (P.O.P) (2012), Magic City (2015), “Road Strip” (2014), Afternoon Delight (2013) and Hustlers (2019), presenting “new stories of hustling in heels for the American dream” (p. 49). These narratives dignify the difficult work of professional erotic dancing—illustrating the long hours of choreography, aesthetic labour, display work, stigma management, erotic capital and resiliency of workers—situated within an unequal and “crumbling economy” (p. 48). Revealing the challenges, rewards and labour of erotic dancing, this chapter utilizes the inequalities that are present between clientele and dancers to discuss the disparities that are produced under the conditions of neoliberal capitalism.

Chapter Three explores the binary-breaking TV film and series The Client List (2010; 2012–13), which portrays single mothers who are working in massage parlours as “mompreneurs”. These narratives challenge the virgin–whore dichotomy by showing how these women navigate employment and childcare while adhering to intensive mothering ideologies. Prioritizing realistic storylines, the series reimagines the trope of the fallen woman, highlighting the challenges that sex workers face in new careers. At the same time, the series celebrates the camaraderie and allyship among sex workers. Kirshner recognizes how these depictions, which are rarely seen in popular culture, contribute to broader efforts of legitimizing sex work and, moreover, efforts to destigmatize mothers’ participation in the industry. In a similar fashion, Chapter Four examines how the documentary Cam Girlz (2015) and the films Teenage Cocktail (2016) and Cam (2018) portray webcam modeling as an entrepreneurial alternative to low-wage jobs, exploring the intersection of authenticity and sex work. By acknowledging the emotional labour, alienation and toll of using webcams under neoliberal capitalism, these films navigate themes of labour, identity formation and whorephobia. While Kirshner critiques Cam Girlz (2015) for its post-feminist emphasis on personal empowerment, this chapter explores how these depictions foreground labour paradigms in representing the challenges and successes of webcam models.

Chapter Five examines the commodification of intimacy and transactional relationships in The Girlfriend Experience (2009; 2016–21), exploring how the film and TV series dignify call girls’ labour while revealing the hidden emotional and logistical costs of their work. Situating their experiences within the framework of neoliberal capitalism, criminalization and stigma, these depictions illustrate how call girls face alienation, disconnection from their authentic selves and personal relationships, and a forced secrecy that leaves them vulnerable and deprived of emotional support. Kirshner expands this analysis to sex surrogacy in Chapter Six, focusing on professionals who use touch and intimacy for healing. While The Sessions (2012) and She’s Lost Control (2014) depict the care work of sex surrogates as providing life-enriching services, they also highlight how the criminalization of sex work reinforces existing power structures, isolates sex workers, creates unsafe working conditions and heightens sex workers’ vulnerability to violence.

Chapter Seven explores the series The Deuce (2017–19). Portraying porn as work through an intersectional lens and relating the exploitation sex workers face to that of all women in neoliberal capitalism, this series explores the multifaceted working conditions of porn work. Illustrating negotiations of their labour conditions, this series also demonstrates how porn workers challenge stigma, social inequities and patriarchy. Kirshner highlights the importance of feminist portrayals and labour paradigms of porn work (which is historically male-centered) altogether, disrupting the “so-called” feminist sex wars.

Prioritizing an expansive review of pop culture artifacts, in combination with sex workers’ own voices, this book underscores the importance of representing sex workers as dynamic labourers, challenging feminist prohibitionist representations and simplistic empowerment narratives to mass audiences. To expand on this intersectional analysis, centering the voices and portrayals of sex work by sex workers themselves, further research should incorporate pop culture representations on TikTok, Instagram and in music, to address the labour paradigms in evolving representations of all sex workers, including but not limited to trans, Indigenous, male and migrant workers.