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ABSTRACT
In this research, I explore the social stigmas male strippers experience for engaging in a deviant occupation and the identity work they perform to maintain a positive sense of self. Specifically, I draw from 22 in-depth interviews with male exotic dancers and 18 months of fieldwork at a strip club. Overall, participants experienced three social stigmas as a result of stripping. These were reactions of shock and disgust, being targets of the “fag discourse,” and being falsely accused of being gay. Dancers used different techniques to manage these stigmas, such as passing, relying on narratives of professionalism, resisting feminine characterizations of themselves, and avoiding male patrons. Overall, these strategies proved to be effective in protecting their self-views.
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to Peter Adler and the anonymous reviewer from Sociological Spectrum for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.
Notes
1This is a seven-point scale developed by Alfred Kinsey that measures one’s sexual interactions with men and women.
2Katy Perry is an American songwriter and singer who has a very girlie and feminine presentation of self.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Maren T. Scull
Maren T. Scull is an Assistant Professor, Clinical Teaching Track in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research interests include sexualities, gender, deviance, and social psychology.