Searching for Miss Menzies : Tracing the ghosts of eighteenth-century sex workers in Edinburgh.

  • Beth Simpson Student
Keywords: ghosts, sex work, Edinburgh, spectral ethnography

Abstract


Historical records allow the lingering presences of people of the past to be traced. This study documents a search for recorded eighteenth-century sex workers in Edinburgh, assessing whether ghosts can be brought under anthropological inquiry. I find that through informing myself of the history of these women, I was able to construct a sense of their presence. Insofar as I created these ghosts, I argue that the political dispositions of the ethnographer drive attempts to locate the past in the present. I conclude by reflecting on the ethnographic significance of this attempt at conducting an ethnography of the spectral.

Published
15-Jun-2021
How to Cite
Simpson, B. (2021). Searching for Miss Menzies : Tracing the ghosts of eighteenth-century sex workers in Edinburgh. Re:Think - a Journal of Creative Ethnography, 3(1), 5-10. Retrieved from http://journals.ed.ac.uk/rethink/article/view/5586
Section
Academic Essays