Imagined ruralities and the spatial regulation of sex work in Queensland

This research examines the importance of space as a socially constructed concept in political discourse on sex work. In particular, this thesis analyses the extent to which the rural imaginary, and its related values of Christian conservatism, and monogamous heterosexual families, has influenced the creation of the brothel exemption provision in state sex work legislation for small rural towns in Queensland, Australia. The findings of the research indicate that rural and urban political attitudes to sex work are inherently similar, ranging from a moral threat, to a public nuisance or to a grudging acceptance. The thesis argues that the concerns raised by rural political representatives regarding sex work in rural contexts are most indicative of their anxieties about the transformation of 'traditional' rural spaces to modern urban spaces. Sex work thus becomes an exemplar of the disruption that the urban can make to the rural.