Topless Dancers Research Paper
Topless Dancers
About a decade ago conducted interviews with over 40 topless dancers in seven Gentlemen's Clubs in a major metropolitan city in the Southwest with a population of approximately one million people. The research focused on how the dancers managed the stigma of their deviant occupation. It was found that while the dancers used a variety of stigma management techniques, for analytical purposes they could be collapsed within two "umbrella categories": dividing the social world (Goffman 1963); and rationalization and neutralization (Sykes and Matza 1957). This study replicates that study a decade later. The research for this current study was conducted at five gentlemen's clubs, three of which were included in the earlier …show more content…
I went and had a few drinks and watched. She kept trying to get me up on stage, but I wouldn’t do it. That night she made over $500! I thought, ‘wait a minute, I have to work my butt off to make $500, then with takes and everything… and I’ve got a better body than her… this is crazy.’ Danced the next night and made $400 and didn’t even know what I was doing. At first I kept my job and started dancing three times a week. Before long, I was making a lot more dancing then selling houses. I quit the real estate job and have been dancing ever since.” (Topless Dancer, …show more content…
I figure if I can make enough money doing this and raise her right, she won’t ever have o stoop to doing the same thing.” (Topless Dancer, p.307)
These dancers may feel ashamed about what they do to get their money but they are making enough of it to improve their social position. Many lie about being topless dancers. Instead they call themselves entertainers. This would be an appropriate term for them as well, since they pretty much are entertaining men.
How is society divided? Goffman (1963) indicated that information control was one of the most effective methods for managing stigma and suggested that one of the most practical ways to control information was to divide the social world. This involves establishing a small group with which the discrediting information is shared, while keeping it hidden from the rest of the world. Dividing the social world also creates a strong sense of in-group alignments and cohesion that contributes to dancers identifying with one another and working to help conceal their stigmatizing occupational identities in other social arenas. Some dancers would tell one parent and that parent would look out for her and make sure the other parent won’t find out, since the occupation is a shameful one. They would give themselves another name for what they do. Instead of calling themselves strippers they would call themselves entertainers, or they would just say they are waitresses
About a decade ago conducted interviews with over 40 topless dancers in seven Gentlemen's Clubs in a major metropolitan city in the Southwest with a population of approximately one million people. The research focused on how the dancers managed the stigma of their deviant occupation. It was found that while the dancers used a variety of stigma management techniques, for analytical purposes they could be collapsed within two "umbrella categories": dividing the social world (Goffman 1963); and rationalization and neutralization (Sykes and Matza 1957). This study replicates that study a decade later. The research for this current study was conducted at five gentlemen's clubs, three of which were included in the earlier …show more content…
I went and had a few drinks and watched. She kept trying to get me up on stage, but I wouldn’t do it. That night she made over $500! I thought, ‘wait a minute, I have to work my butt off to make $500, then with takes and everything… and I’ve got a better body than her… this is crazy.’ Danced the next night and made $400 and didn’t even know what I was doing. At first I kept my job and started dancing three times a week. Before long, I was making a lot more dancing then selling houses. I quit the real estate job and have been dancing ever since.” (Topless Dancer, …show more content…
I figure if I can make enough money doing this and raise her right, she won’t ever have o stoop to doing the same thing.” (Topless Dancer, p.307)
These dancers may feel ashamed about what they do to get their money but they are making enough of it to improve their social position. Many lie about being topless dancers. Instead they call themselves entertainers. This would be an appropriate term for them as well, since they pretty much are entertaining men.
How is society divided? Goffman (1963) indicated that information control was one of the most effective methods for managing stigma and suggested that one of the most practical ways to control information was to divide the social world. This involves establishing a small group with which the discrediting information is shared, while keeping it hidden from the rest of the world. Dividing the social world also creates a strong sense of in-group alignments and cohesion that contributes to dancers identifying with one another and working to help conceal their stigmatizing occupational identities in other social arenas. Some dancers would tell one parent and that parent would look out for her and make sure the other parent won’t find out, since the occupation is a shameful one. They would give themselves another name for what they do. Instead of calling themselves strippers they would call themselves entertainers, or they would just say they are waitresses