It was 1990, and I was off for my first research project on sex work in Lima, Peru. Neatly packed into my conceptual baggage was the term sex work (trabajo sexual). However, it did not take long to realize that while the term had gained currency in Europe, this was far from the case in Peru. Doctors working in the STD clinics smirked during interviews when I used it instead of prostitution. At the time, I did not ask them why but assumed that it was unfeasible for them to consider prostitution work. Women who worked as sex workers did not really take note of what I called it, as they were used to using euphemisms such as working women, working outside, and working on the streets. Coupling these labels with assertions such as “it’s a job like any other,” I became confident that...

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