Laura María Agustín
Encyclopedia
Laura María Agustín is a sociologist who studies undocumented migration, informal labor markets, trafficking and the sex industry. She is critical of the conflation of the terms "human trafficking
" with "prostitution
", arguing that the Rescue industry often ascribes victim status to people (most often women) who have made conscious and rational decisions to migrate knowing they will be selling sex and who do not consider themselves to be victims. She states that such views on prostitution originate in what she calls "fundamentalist feminism". She advocates for a cultural study of commercial sex, a theoretical framework she created in the journal Sexualities in 2005.
Agustín carried out research on migration and sex work on the Mexico/US Border, in the Caribbean, in South America and in several European countries. She did participatory research for several years with a range of social actors aiming to help migrants in Spain and received a Ph.D.
in Cultural Studies and Sociology from the Open University
, United Kingdom, in 2004.
Her first book, Trabajar en la industria del sexo, y otros tópicos migratorios, was published in Spain in 2004 (Gakoa, ISBN 848730379X). In 2007 she published her second book, Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry (Zed Books, ISBN 1842778609). In this book she argued that contemporary anti-trafficking 'crusades' have the effect of restricting international freedom of movement, and she compared today's anti-trafficking feminists with the "bourgeois women" of the 19th century who felt the need to save poor prostitutes, seeing women as weak, easily victimized and in need of guidance. Agustín does not deny human trafficking or forced prostitution takes place, but rather argues that the campaigners against prostitution and undocumented migration overestimate figures.
Agustín publishes in Spanish, English and Swedish. In 2010 she was Visiting Professor in Gender and Migration in the Swiss university system, based at the University of Neuchatel and participated in the Battle of Ideas in London.
Agustín has in turn been criticized by anti-sex industry feminists such as Sheila Jeffreys
, who claim that Agustín trivializes the harm done to women and children in trafficking.
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
" with "prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
", arguing that the Rescue industry often ascribes victim status to people (most often women) who have made conscious and rational decisions to migrate knowing they will be selling sex and who do not consider themselves to be victims. She states that such views on prostitution originate in what she calls "fundamentalist feminism". She advocates for a cultural study of commercial sex, a theoretical framework she created in the journal Sexualities in 2005.
Agustín carried out research on migration and sex work on the Mexico/US Border, in the Caribbean, in South America and in several European countries. She did participatory research for several years with a range of social actors aiming to help migrants in Spain and received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Cultural Studies and Sociology from the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
, United Kingdom, in 2004.
Her first book, Trabajar en la industria del sexo, y otros tópicos migratorios, was published in Spain in 2004 (Gakoa, ISBN 848730379X). In 2007 she published her second book, Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry (Zed Books, ISBN 1842778609). In this book she argued that contemporary anti-trafficking 'crusades' have the effect of restricting international freedom of movement, and she compared today's anti-trafficking feminists with the "bourgeois women" of the 19th century who felt the need to save poor prostitutes, seeing women as weak, easily victimized and in need of guidance. Agustín does not deny human trafficking or forced prostitution takes place, but rather argues that the campaigners against prostitution and undocumented migration overestimate figures.
Agustín publishes in Spanish, English and Swedish. In 2010 she was Visiting Professor in Gender and Migration in the Swiss university system, based at the University of Neuchatel and participated in the Battle of Ideas in London.
Agustín has in turn been criticized by anti-sex industry feminists such as Sheila Jeffreys
Sheila Jeffreys
Sheila Jeffreys is a lesbian feminist scholar and political activist, known for her analysis of the history and politics of sexuality in Britain. She is a professor in Political Science at the University of Melbourne in Australia...
, who claim that Agustín trivializes the harm done to women and children in trafficking.
External links
- Website and Blog of Laura Agustín - the Naked Anthropologist, with list of publications
- Guardian Profile
- The Sex in Sex Trafficking by Laura Agustín, in American Sexuality, 28 November 2007
- The Shadowy World of Sex Across Borders by Laura Agustín, in The Guardian, 19 November 2008
- Border Thinking by Laura Agustín, in Re-public, June 2008]
- Radio interview with Agustin, 15 November 2007
- Review of Trabajar en la industria del sexo
- Reviews of Sex at the Margins
- The myth of trafficking, New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, 27 March 2008 - Exploding the myth of trafficking, Spiked Review of Books, April 2008
- All You Need To Know About Sex Trafficking, Harriet, The Erotic ReviewErotic ReviewErotic Review is a monthly UK-based lifestyle publication. Covering eroticism and sex-related topics, it was first published in 1995 as a print magazine, migrating to an eZine format in June, 2010...
, issue 86, February 2008
- The myth of trafficking, New Statesman