Beneath the Red Umbrella

Genevieve Fuji Johnson is a professor of political science at Simon Fraser University.Kerry Porth is an independent scholar, writer, and activist with a BA in English literature from Simon Fraser University.

• AcknowledgmentsList of Text BoxesPrologueComic Strip: "What is sex work? On a late summer day, Selina, Jaz, and Julie start a conversation…"Chapter One: Sex and SolidarityComic Strip: "Hey, who are the experts anyway? Selina and Julie discuss…"Chapter Two: A Methodology for Political SolidarityChapter Three: Surface Explorations – Everyday InjusticeChapter Four: Digging Deeper – Injustice at the BedrockChapter Five: Ontological and Epistemic Injustices IllustratedChapter Six: Toward Justice and Liberation – Sex Workers as Governance ActorsComic Strip: "It’s June, and time to celebrate at the Red Umbrella March – Selina, Jaz, Julie, Kerry, Genevieve, and the whole crew put their T-shirts on and get on out there!"Chapter Seven: Sex and Solidarity, Justice and LiberationComic Strip: "Hey! The future is decriminalized and destigmatized: justice, empowerment, and liberation for all!"BibliographyIndex

"Genevieve Fuji Johnson and Kerry Porth have demonstrated solidarity in co-research and authorship, solidaristic research design, and consequently contribute to an important shift in the normative underpinnings of how society should think about sex work. Moreover, this research demonstrates the potential for "collaborative governance" to transform how we think about injustice while we try to address its intractability." - Brooke Ackerly, Vanderbilt University"This is not your typical academic book. By combining thorough scholarship with an engaging graphic novel format, it remains accessible while offering depth and practical guidance for students, researchers, activists, policymakers, and the general public. It invites readers to reconsider ideas about sex work and human trafficking and to thoughtfully explore complex issues with curiosity, empathy, and respect. At a time when conflating sex work and trafficking increasingly stifles meaningful dialogue and evidence-informed policy, this book fosters nuanced, critical engagement. It is a vital resource for anyone seeking deeper insight into some of today's most debated social policy issues." - Alison Clancey, Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women Canada"Beneath the Red Umbrella offers a smart, creative, and engaging account of the challenges sex workers face in our contemporary political economy, while also illuminating how scholars, activists and other allies may learn with and support sex workers' liberatory projects. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in sex work, research methods, and building solidarity to fight injustice." - Samantha Majic, City University of New York"Vancouver-based scholar-activists, Johnson and Porth, distill years of rich collaboration into an electrifying hybrid: Beneath the Red Umbrella vividly intermingles illustrated comics with trenchant, accessible analysis of ontological and epistemic injustices that impede sex workers' sovereignty, safety, and security. Repudiating harmful laws and whorephobic stereotypes, the authors insist that sex workers are curious, skilled, funny, creative, and compassionate policy actors who fight for a future industry that is decriminalized and destigmatized. Unapologetically rooted in solidaristic research, this transformative text sets a new benchmark for emancipatory knowledge-making. A binge-worthy must-read, it crackles with verve and insight." - Becki L. Ross, University of British Columbia"Through everyday conversations, this book introduces readers to the person before the stigma. With storytelling grounded in reality and evidence, it challenges assumptions about sex workers and the policies that continue to harm them. The combination of academic research and comic illustrations makes this book an engaging and important read." - SWAN Vancouver