Transgender and Non-Binary Sex Workers: A Scoping Review of the Research

Around the world, the lives of transgender and non-binary individuals have become ever more prominent in public discourse, as have the rights and lives of sex workers. To date, an extensive number of scoping reviews exist documenting the lives and issues faced by both vulnerable populations. However, few scoping studies exist at these intersections. This scoping review takes its starting point by looking at the intersections of these two populations - transgender and nonbinary sex workers. The review demonstrates that there is an overrepresentation of transfeminine sex workers in the literature, with far less research existing on transmasculine sex workers, and even less on non-binary sex workers falling under the trans umbrella. There is abundant research from public health scholars, which has helped advance knowledge, shaping policy and direct services and clinical support for trans women sex workers, especially regarding HIV prevention and harm reduction. The ongoing public health focus in studies has left wide gaps in the literature, eclipsing the much scarcer yet vital work in gender and labor studies. In this article, I synthesize these findings from studies in public health, labor studies, and gender studies and explore dominant, developing, and emerging themes across these three primary fields. In charting new developments in the latest studies, I pinpoint new directions for future lines of inquiry in research studies focused on transgender and non-binary sex workers of various identities.