Disreputable Women explores how some Black women in San Diego have used sex work to assert control over their bodies, lives, and economic futures—especially in a city shaped by military presence and attempts to push them out. The book challenges assumptions about “red-light districts” and reveals how these women’s actions complicate the idea that they were simply victims or nuisances. Carney introduces the concept of “disreputability” as a more thoughtful lens for understanding how people navigate hostile environments and reshape the cities they live in.