The objective of this article is to discuss the ambivalent meanings from the locus of female prostitution from a study conducted with young women in the countryside of the State of Paraíba (North Coast and swamp regions), from rural families. The life histories of these women reveal a family history characterized by various types of violence and different autonomy strategies in order to overcome these experiences of deprivation, although they often recur in their relation with the pimps and customers. Prostitution is seen as a strategy of empowerment regarding their own body, the mastery over unconventional sexual practices and, at the same time, as a temporary situation, seen as a means to build future projects, at least ideally, outside of prostitution. Our socioanthropological study reveals that the mechanisms for the acquisition of autonomy reproduce a model of domination and offer few opportunities for these young people to resist current norms and morals.
Female prostitution; Youth, rural environment; Paraíba; Family