Seeking Sex Workers for Study on Sexual Arousal and Desire - Montreal

[researchassistant 100]

Sexual Arousal: Is it in your mind...or your body?

 

McGill University is seeking medically healthy women between the ages of 18-50, who are working in the sex industry, to participate in a study examining how 'what you want' and 'what turns you on' impacts how your body responds.

 

Participation involves one testing session and takes place in our laboratory at McGill University. If you choose to participate, you will receive a full assessment of your sexual history and functioning. You will also complete questionnaires and interviews, which give participants the opportunity to have their say on how they experience sexual desire and arousal. Lastly, you will watch both neutral and sexually explicit film clips while having your genital temperature measured remotely by a thermal imaging camera.

 

Participating in this study involves NO health risks and we guarantee your confidentiality and anonymity. Furthermore, we would like to stress that the purpose of this study is not to make claims about the pros and cons of sex work, but rather to delve into the important knowledge about arousal and desire that sex workers can bring to the table. Following participation, treatment referrals and self-help resources will be available to you, and financial compensation of $75.00 will be provided.

 

For more information, please contact

Emma at (514) 398-5323

or via email at [email protected]

 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

[Liv Waters 52360]

I see this research as so problematic!...to engage a study about the sexual lives and insights of sex workers is one thing....to expose us to various stimuli and read our bodily responses (using thermal measurement)...to make inferences about the sexualities of Service Providers as a result, reeks of the age old scientific methods that have been used to speak authoritatively about the lives and bodies of sex workers. Interviews and structured questionnaires are hardly the makings of 'having our say'; be realistic and forthcoming about the limited range of responses implied by such methods, especially in a controlled laboratory setting (think institutional violence). There may be no supposed 'health risks' involved but there are social risks...social impacts involved. But, everything will be ok right? Just keep 'replicating' your study ongoing and soon you'll have the go-ahead to generalize your findings to all of us. Keep beefing up your database :(

 

One word, gross.

[fortunateone 156618]

I don't know why they aren't just seeking anyone, why it needs to be sex workers, to find out the response of arousal and desire, and stimulation.

 

I don't object per se to what is going to be done, i think it is fairly standard to hook people up to devices. I just wonder why they would think maybe that sex workers are more likely to do this, versus curious regular random females, especially random university student females.

 

Usually i also like to see more than a gmail address, like a link to the actual study information.

 

here is an example of one study also done at a university to show the difference

 

http://www.sexsafetysecurity.ca/

[fortunateone 156618]

* edit, i had forgotten about the delay lol

 

i had a great reply all lost now.

 

basically uncomfortable with the idea sex workers are the focus of this study, and not just any woman. It seems to segregate sex workers as something else, not normal.

 

The other issue was I am familiar with a few research studies, and rarely see just random names and a gmail address. I see there is a phone #, that helps, but if I were to even consider participating in anything, i would want to see something with clear legit links to the university.

 

Something like this has more credibility for example http://www.sexsafetysecurity.ca/

 

It shows a kind of disregard for sex workers need for privacy and discretion, or that we would be OK with objects inserted while the regular female may not be, maybe? Or just doesn't realize that we are used to scams and just not that gullible when it comes to offers and posts like this one ?

[amyburns 379]

I don't know if we're looking at things the right way.

 

If the purpose of the study is to see if sex workers are aroused differently than other women, it wouldn't make sense for them to ask any other woman to participate. The study would probably use a few non sex workers also, as a "control" group, a group to compare sex workers to, to see how different we actually are.

 

I don't really see much wrong with this. Grad students in universities across the world are trying to answer different types of questions about different types of issues, and in this one instance it happens to be about sex workers. I'm fine with that.

 

I get how just a Gmail address can throw someone off but being a university student who has participated in these things before, I know that once you do email the poster they actually provide a lot of information.

 

Even if you don't want to participate I think it might be a great idea to email the poster of the study and ask some of the questions you asked before we draw too many conclusions.

[7Eris 180]

This sounds like a fascinating study! I wouldn't mind participating, although I am wondering what this means: "Following participation, treatment referrals and self-help resources will be available to you". I love to talk about sex, and have no problem participating in a study about sex or sex working, but I'm a little concerned to possibly be categorized as "needing help" for what I love to do... Also, my other question is, how long does this study last? I am trying to move to Toronto but I have no idea when that will be possible (depends on finding a place to live, a job, etc).

[waterat 20911]

there are (a very few) others who have responded to this (relatively) ancient thread.