Abstract

Female sex work in the nitrate era in Tarapac & aacute; and Antofagasta was crucial in the construction of a "pampina" identity. Thus, the portrayal of sex workers in written supports such as Chilean literature and historical writings. Herein, we critically review a selection of these archives, which reveal certain representations and archetypes about these women (literature sources), and about sex work in Chile in general (sources written by historians) projected by those who observed the nitrate sex work from outside. We take an explicit positionality regarding these representations as external observers, to visibilize and claim sex work as a work option, without ignoring their social and economic precarities. Thus, we intend to contribute to future studies about nitrate sex work, understanding that our position about it will affect research in one way or another.