Reading the Prostitute

First published in 1997, this study aims to forge new connections between debates on prostitution, media processes and everyday life in its exploration of depictions of female prostitution in British and Irish broadsheet newspapers between 1987 and 1991. Lorna Ryan first examines a range of discourses on prostitution before proceeding to areas including signals of prostitution and images in the press. Encompassing both textual and visual analyses, Ryan demonstrates that these newspapers relied on appearance, place, time, motive and intent in categorising women as prostitutes.

Lorna Ryan

1. Introduction and Background to the Research. 2. Discourses of Prostitution. 3. Selection of Materials and Findings from a Content Analysis. 4. Methodology and Methods of Analysis. 5. Identifying 'the Prostitute': Information Signs. 6. Zones of Prostitution and Localised Times: Formulating Identity by Place and Time. 7. The Photographic Dimension: Visual Images in the Press. 8. The Contextual Web: Finding the Connections.