Hey LJ Hivemind!

[silk_noir]

O my LJ brothers and sisters--

Do y'all know of any specfic out there that deals specifically (heh--see what I did there?) with sex workers?

Yes, for real, I'm asking this in the hopes of serious answers.

Comments

[danima]

Of the top of my head, Le Guin's "Matter of Seggri" -- but that's probably more removed than you're looking for. I will think more.

[silk_noir]

That's a very good one though.

[gxdm]

I agree with Tibor. I have a number of options, but its going to depend on what you're looking for.

[diermuid]

I wqas thinking Kushiel myself, I took care never to read it while in a Scout uniform. Only the first one had me feeling like I was going to be arrested for reading it though.

[valr]

SpecFic.

Other than the aforementioned Firefly, Dollhouse also had some elements of sex-work early on.

Heinlein hit the topic about a dozen or twenty times, first back into my mind Lazarus Long having been a bordello manager, and the supporting character Tamara.

Crygender, by Thomas Thurston Thomas, I believe fits your definition for Sex Work in SpecFic, but another core element of the concept would completely skew what you are looking for, I believe.

Freehold by Michael Z Williamson, the main protagonist dabbles in sexwork at one point, while a major supporting character is a professional sexworker.

The "Metamor City" stories have a few inferences.

[evil_fionn]

OOOOH!!!
I actually sorta have an answer to this one!
The "Lady Sally's" books by Spider Robinson!
Callahan's Lady and Lady Slings The Booze were the names of the books. They take place in a bordello, and the main character in one of them is a sex worker, and in the other the main character is a private eye who goes undercover as a sex worker.)
Those deal specifically with sex workers, and characters from those two books show up in some of his "Callahan's" stuff as well.
I don't know if I still have my copies... they were pretty tattered the last time I saw them because I read them so often.
Aliens, Time travelers, and plots to destroy the world.

(Vel's comment about Lazarus Long triggered my memory, because Robinson mentions a lot of other sci-fi writers in his books.)

[tim_pratt]

Delany's "Aye, and Gomorrah" is the one the first comes to mind. I have a vague memory of some John Varley stories involving future prostitution or sex work, but can't remember specifically, and a quick flip through my copy of Blue Champagne didn't hit upon it. Cordwainer Smith's "Ballad of Lost C'Mell"'s title character is a sort of courtesan/geisha (and revolutionary). Mike Resnick has a whole series about a brothel in space, the Velvet Comet, but I haven't actually read any of those.