Freedom Means

Abstract

Prostitution, drug addiction, and their surrounding issues have long been topics of political, theoretical, and practical import. Furthermore, they offer a particularly insightful lens through which to interrogate concepts of freedom and justice. This paper is a qualitative ethnographic study that examines the experiences of women previously involved in drug addiction and street prostitution, who are now living and working in a recovery community. In this dissertation, I discuss some of the many material, social, and political conditions that influence women’s freedom. Furthermore, I explore community members’ understandings of the concept of freedom, and the ways in which their freedom is affected by the recovery community of which they are a part.