Framing the Windows of Prostitution:Unfolding Histories in Amsterdam’s Redesign of Its Famous Red-Light District

Introduction: This research is about the power of documents as recorders of history and preservers of institutional memory. Specifically, the study examines Project 1012, a municipal reform project in Amsterdam’s famous Red-Light District. Methods: We performed a critical discourse analysis on 10 policy briefs leading up to and following the implementation of Project 1012 between 2007 and 2020. Results: Our study reveals that the documents actively evoke certain narratives about sex work, its historical connections to the city, and its social problems to support the reduction of the industry. The documents omit other information about the history and origins of the problems experienced in Amsterdam’s Red-Light District, including policymakers’ own roles in the creation of these issues.Conclusions: The research concludes that policy documents have deontic powers and can be considered “folded objects” that consistently present certain narratives as truthful by omitting or downplaying the historical context of social issues. By folding these narratives in themselves, they have the power to shape the futures of the city and its citizens, executing a myriad of changes that have significantly impacted the lives and work conditions of local sex workers. Policy Implications: This research highlights the importance of being aware of the power and potential biases inherent in policy documents. Policymakers should strive to create policies that are based on accurate and comprehensive information and consider the voices of marginalized groups, such as sex workers, who are disproportionately affected by the policies.</p

The Civil Savage:How Young People Living Rurally ‘Do’ Distinction at Regional Festivals in the Netherlands

Building on previous work about cultural informalisation and the growing urban–rural divide in western democracies, this article studies symbolic boundary work as performed by white youths living in rural areas in the Netherlands. We conducted a micro-sociological analysis of how these youths celebrate regional festivals in the Netherlands, and particularly the meanings they attach to their affective displays of intoxication and sexuality. We show how distinction is ‘done’ here by many of these youths taking pride in drinking too much beer, sexual directness and impropriety, which they argue are expressions of conviviality and down-to-earthness. In doing so, they appear to be finding dignity and redemption in an image of themselves as savages and reappropriating it as part of their own ‘civility’, contrasting their revelry with what they perceive to be urban, middle-class snobbery.</p

Techno’s Sexual Counter-Space: Ecstasy and Electronics as Technologies of White Sex

This article aims to lift the veil on white sexuality by studying how young people ‘perform’ this within the Rotterdam techno scene. It relies on previous work that has highlighted that white sexuality is, like whiteness itself, rarely recognized, let alone referred to as white. This is also true of the sexuality practised by young people in the techno world. Our extensive observations and in-depth interviews conducted for this study identified that both ravers and cultural studies scholars construct an image of techno as a sexual ‘counter-space’ in which erotic agency can be experienced away from the confines of traditional hook-up sex. This space, they argue, is produced by the affective powers of ecstasy and electronics, which help young ravers to have a heightened sense of control over their sexu

Performing the 'fun' self: how members of the Red Hat Society negotiate cultural discourses of femininity and ageing

Since its foundation in 1998 the “Red Hat Society” (RHS) has become a popular international movement of women over fifty that is known for its distinct group performances. Red Hatters show up in public spaces wearing red hats, purple clothing and – sometimes – red gloves, and engage in various fun and frivolous activities. Previous studies about the RHS have found that the RHS’s main appeal is that it creates an escape from women’s day-to-day life experiences. Such outcomes, however, ignore the fact that the RHS’s appeal is also motivated by the particular life histories of its members. To explore the relevance of these life histories, we conducted interviews with RHS members in the Netherlands. Our findings indeed show that to understand the cultural meaning of the RHS it is necessary to include a diachronic dimension in the research, articulating members’ current negotiations of femininity and aging with those of their past