Sex Slaves and Discourse Masters : The Construction of Trafficking

Why is the international community so concerned with the fate of prostitutes abroad? And why does the story of trafficking sound so familiar? In this pioneering new book, Jo Doezema argues that the current concern with trafficking in women is a modern manifestation of the myth of white slavery.

Combining historical analysis with contemporary investigation, this book sheds light on the current preoccupations with trafficking in women. It examines in detail sex worker reactions to the myth of trafficking, questions the current feminist preoccupation with the 'suffering female body' and argues that feminism needs to move towards the creation of new myths.

The analysis in this book is controversial but crucial, an alternative to the current panic discourses around trafficking in women. An essential read for anyone who is concerned with the increased movement of women internationally and the attempts of international and national governments to regulate this flow.

“Jo Doezema sheds new light on the meanings of the myth of “white slavery” and its contemporary, the trafficking of women. Rejecting stories about innocence lured, betrayed, and destroyed, this book importantly argues for a re-articulation of the trafficking narrative through an engagement with sex worker emancipatory struggles and a politics of social change. A must for any student or scholar of prostitution and human trafficking.” —Kamala Kempadoo, York University in Canada.

“Everyone who loves sex workers or who is horrified by prostitution, everyone interested in what prostitution 'means' should read this book.” —Melissa Hope Ditmore, Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work

“Sex Slaves and Discourse Masters offers an analytically sophisticated and politically astute analysis of myth and ideology in the creation of sex trafficking as a social issue. Doezema's work is not only smart but also lively and engaging.” —Wendy Chapkis, University of Southern Maine