Tag: prostitution

Reviews of my book

October 22, 2017

American Journal of Sociology: “well-researched and compelling,” “Mattson’s use of key informant interviews provides a specific and substantial contribution to our understanding of how social problems are articulated ‘in the trenches’ by activists and bureaucrats.” European Union Studies Association Review: “intriguing,” “striking insights,” “an absorbing and welcome contribution to prostitution policy analysis,” “truly innovative in … More Reviews of my book

ILiADs 2016

July 24, 2016

Attending ILiADs this week to work on http://onprostitution.oberlincollegelibrary.org  with my Oberlin College colleagues Libby Murphy and Meghan Mitchell.

How do Black Finns celebrate hockey victories?

January 8, 2016

By screaming, stripping in -10°F, and sauna, of course: the same as everyone else: From Dosdela‘s Instagram. On January 6th, Finland’s Young Lions won the 2016 World Juniors Hockey championship over Russia in overtime before a home audience. The title comes on the heels of the National Ringette Team winning its world championship the day … More How do Black Finns celebrate hockey victories?

Against moral panic (for cultural politics)

January 4, 2016

Pundits, sociologists, and activists frequently use the term “moral panic” to describe what they perceive as a public overreaction to an issue (or non-issue). Examples include “Prostitution and Human Trafficking – The Anatomy of a Moral Panic,” “What’s Flakka and is it Real? A Guide to the New Moral Panic Drugs,” From Miasma to Ebola: … More Against moral panic (for cultural politics)

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

December 17, 2015

December 17th is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Pause a moment today to consider how the stigma against the women and men called whores and sluts endangers their lives, and the ways in which those everyday insults justify violence from police, partners, clients, strangers, and family members. International Day to End … More International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Most downloaded, now Free: The Modern Career of the Oldest Profession

December 7, 2015

My article on metaphor theory and the history of the phrase “oldest profession” was the second “most downloaded” social science article for Palgrave in 2015. Now it’s FREE for everyone! I wrote about it here. I’m going to credit the bump from the ‘students’ of Hot Dog University, a collaboration between Belt Magazine and Happy … More Most downloaded, now Free: The Modern Career of the Oldest Profession

How prostitution presaged the failure of Europe

November 30, 2015

Is the European Project Falling Apart? asks one of several headlines as the European refugee crisis moves into chronic mode. Where the Greek debt crisis exposed the problems of the Eurozone currency union, the refugee crisis shows how strikingly different even the core European countries treat refugees and asylum seekers. Even before the disastrous failure … More How prostitution presaged the failure of Europe

The Modern Career of “The Oldest Profession,” and the Social Embeddedness of Metaphors

June 15, 2015

This article was fun to write, and it’s even more fun to play with Google n-grams to track the usage of metaphors about prostitution in the UK vs US (such as this or this). Among many nuggets I uncovered: Rudyard Kipling coined the metaphor “the most ancient profession!” “Sex work” initially referred to sexuality research! … More The Modern Career of “The Oldest Profession,” and the Social Embeddedness of Metaphors