As práticas informacionais das Profissionais do Sexo da zona boêmia de Belo Horizonte

Abstract

This text describes and analyzes the information procedures of the sex workers at the prostitution district in Belo Horizonte. For this purpose it was used the theoretical basis of the information users studies, and also the social paradigms from the Information Science. Our investigation is focused on the procedures of a heterogeneous group which hasnt yet achieved the official status of workgroup: sex professionals. Four main lines were established for this analysis: labour aspects on the activity, penal law, womens health, and the workers quotidian particularfeatures. The research used as subject the sex professionals that work in hotels at Rua dos Guaicurus (Guaicurus Street). During our work we have realized that neither all the lines would have the same importance on the sex professionals views. The transient character of the job provokes a low identification with the legal and labour aspects. On the other hand, health gets a large importance due to the aspect that this issue has on their quotidian lives, with a special detach to the subjects associated to sex transmitted diseases. We have noticed that those sex workers areinserted in several information contexts, and they have access to different informative products and speeches. Although their procedures are ruled by transitoriness, they also are guided by the dynamic informative environment where they are included. It was possible to establish that information is received and rebuilt by them, who give new signification and new relevance to the issue. Those sex workers are users andproducers of information about their quotidian, according to the dynamic context which they are inserted.