Singapore's sex workers tell their own stories in new literary anthology

A professional femme fatale who sees her career in solving economic inequality. A transgender woman leaves for Malaysia after national service and finds her community on the streets. A magical realist play in which two "chickens" spill secrets into a condom.

- Shawn Hoo

Sex workers are used to others telling their stories — from director Sean Baker's Academy Award-winning film Anora (2024) to the latest report on another police raid in Geylang. But a new literary anthology which puts the pen in their hands has thrown up dreams, ideas, philosophies and fantasies — some violent, others funny.

"I think it's very powerful to have almost full control over your own narrative. That's a very powerful way of saying 'We exist,'" says co-editor Vanessa Ho.

The executive director of Project X has 14 years of experience working with the community. The non-profit organisation's six full-time staff at its Kitchener Road office provide social, emotional and health services to the over 10,000 sex workers in the industry.

Ho has encountered the whole gamut of stereotypes about sex workers — from helpless victims to glamour girls. "There's no room for complexity or nuance."

The Missing Anthology: Stories From Singapore's Sex Workers aims to address the gaps, hence the title. Ho adds: "It's not just sex workers' voices which are missing, but among sex workers, there are also missing voices."