Using creative methods in understanding lesbian/queer women sex worker identities in South Australia

Historically, medical discourses have dominated sex work research alongside assumptions of heterosexuality. Lesbian sex workers, that is, lesbians or queer women who provide sex work services to men, remain a neglected cohort in research. This article seeks to contribute to the epistemic break that has characterised sex work research over the past decade or so in line with the shift towards better understanding sex workers’ experiences and demedicalising the field. We report on our South Australian study that sought to examine sex workers’ identities as lesbian/ queer people providing sexual services predominantly for men. We argue for the creative queering of traditional research methods which, for our study, was a creative method made up of three factors: centring peer research; using paper dolls as a method; and the production of capsule biographies. Using paper dolls with a peer researcher, participants (n = 20) reported the ways in which their identities were navigated. Utilising capsule biographies, participant narratives embed identity outside of medicalised notions of sex work as well as point to the creative ways participants navigated work and personal identities. The peer researcher led the study and narrated the capsule biographies. This article contributes to the literature by providing a methodological counterpoint to a history of medicalised research on sex workers.