Love Actually : Reflections on the Importance of a Love Ethic in Practice

Informed by the phrase bell hooks uses in her work on love and social justice (hooks, 2001: 22), this paper explores what a ‘love ethic’ looks like in a practice context. It explores the idea of ‘professional love’ (Page, 2011) and the ways in which this form of love is both expressed and performed at the Joanna Project, a faith-based initiative offering support to sex workers in Leeds. The Joanna Project embraces the idea of ‘professional love’ as a foundation of its practice, and consciously promotes a loving practice as central to their work. It is a faith-based project, operating outside of the confines of the statutory sector and because of this, can weave into its narrative a vocal, positive and performative ‘love ethic’. The following discussion reflects on six interviews with the workers at the project, during which they were asked to reflect specifically on the importance of love in their professional lives. The research findings suggest that incorporating a discussion about the ways in which love is integrated into our practice is a necessary foundation for building authentic relationships, and radically transforming practice.