Currency, Control, and Stigma: The Complex Lives of Soviet Ukraine's Currency Prostitutes
Journal: Gender and Research
Year: 2025

This article discusses the phenomenon of currency prostitution in Soviet Ukraine in the late 1980s, a period marked by glasnost – a policy of wider dissemination of information initiated under Mikhail Gorbachev – and increased public discourse on sexuality. The growing visibility of currency prostitutes in the mass media – predominantly women who engaged in relationships with foreigners in exchange for hard currency – challenged the state’s narrative of economic equality and justice. Drawing on