Squirming in the Dark: Playful Occupations for Sex Workers in the 1870 Census

By Holly Marquess Archives of Desire, Sexual Labour

Uncovering the playful occupations listed for sex workers in the 1870 census.

Love for Sale: Representing Prostitution in Imperial Russia

By Colleen Lucey Author Interviews, Modern Europe, Sexual Labour

How was prostitution represented in Imperial Russia?

Wolfenden’s Women: Prostitution in Post-war Britain

By Julia Laite Author Interviews, Sexual Labour, United Kingdom

How was prostitution presented in the Wolfenden Report?

The Brothel of Pompeii

By Sarah Levin-Richardson Ancient World, Author Interviews

Pompeii’s brothel is the only verifiable brothel from Greco-Roman antiquity.

Out of the Closet, Into the Archives: Researching Sexual Histories

By Jaime Cantrell LGBTQ

Can an archive offer “proof” that historians often seek out?

Resisting the Virus of Prejudice: Sex Workers Fight the AIDS Panic

By Mindy Chateauvert HIV/AIDS, Medicine and the Body

Sex workers, working as peer researchers, mapped the epidemiology of HIV in 1985.

Histories of Sexuality and the Carceral State—Part 2

By Regina Kunzel 20th and 21st Century United States

How do race, gender, and sexuality intersect in order to shape policing and imprisonment?