Description:
(Sub)Urban Sexscapes presents a mix of geographical, sociological, urban planning and legal viewpoints of the commercial sex industry - sex shops, strip clubs, gentlemen's clubs, brothels and sex workers. The collection showcases contemporary and historical examples of the location, impacts and regulation of commercial sex industry activities in the USA, UK, Australia and Morocco.
Review Quotes:
This book is an impressive collection of studies of the geographical and regulatory dimensions of commercial sex. The breadth of the book is reflected in both the various kinds of sexual commerce examined and in its coverage of different nations. The tension between mainstreaming the sex industry and resistance to its growth, is a theme highlighted in several chapters and the book should be of interest to policy makers as well as scholars. Highly recommended.
Ronald Weitzer, George Washington University, USA
This book opens up a series of windows on the sex industry. Readers can dip in and out or read as a whole. Either way(Sub)Urban Sexscapes successfully highlights the importance of spatiality in commercialising sex. It is a must read for anyone interested in issues of sex, sexuality and space.
Robyn Longhurst, University of Waikato, New Zealand
This book is a valuable resource that prompts rethinking sex, work, sexuality, policies, bodies, place and space. Original and empirically rich, the collection advances theorising of commercial sex, adult entertainment, and subcultural sexual practices. Authors draw on contemporary themes and debates in geography, sociology, policy studies, planning, media studies, feminist and queer theories in order to engage with (sub)urban landscapes of sex work. Crucially, at the heart of the book is the critique of heteronormativity and an exposure of the regulation of bodies and places. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of agency and processes of regulation by which (im)moral geographies are constituted.
Lynda Johnston, Professor in Geography, University of Waikato
Feona Attwood, Middlesex University, UK
(Sub)Urban Sexscapes... is a timely reminder of the value of a diverse range of international perspectives on a topic that has become increasingly contentious for policy-makers and communities... This collection is a very vigourous contribution to the field with chapters presenting both theoretical and empirically original work.
Paul Ryan, Maynooth University, Ireland, Built Environment