Repugnant Work

Abstract

This chapter discusses the repugnant income generating activities ("RIGA") of phase I medical research ("guinea pigging"), sex work, and plasma donation. Though each is a robust industry and substantial source of income and professional identity for many providers, significant debate surrounds whether participants in these industries are engaged in work, despite the subjective attitudes of participants themselves and objective similarities to other jobs. The continued invocation of false distinctions between RIGA and other work is thus best explained by discomfort with "dirty work" than to any unique concerns about effort, excellence, meaningfulness, or community. Whether RIGA is work carries consequences, albeit not the ones that many observers believe. But recognizing RIGA as work could impact the stigma faced by RIGA participants and subtly empower them to advocate for fair treatment by acknowledging their important role in the economy and society.