Doing research on sex work: Pitfalls and joys

Every researcher has their own way of doing research on sex work. This story is that of a cultural anthropologist who has done her work in a sex establishment in Tokyo and also in one of the Red Light Districts in Amsterdam. 

Although her experiences are very personal, they can serve as good and bad examples to be considered for those who are planning their own research.

About the speaker

Yoko Kumada specializes in cultural/social anthropology, Gender/Sexuality Studies, and Sex Work Studies. She has done fieldwork in Tokyo and Amsterdam. She is the author of A World Woven by Sexual Play: An Ethnography of 'Onna no ko' or female workers in the Japanese Sex Industry (Akashi Shoten, 2017).

• Organiser: SOAS Japan Research Centre
• Contact email: centres@soas.ac.uk