Gender Stereotypes In The Exotic Dancing Industry
Discussion
In this essay, I have chosen to focus on the exotic dancing sector of sex work. My thesis argues that gendered stereotypes are primarily responsible for the stigmatization and power relations within sex work. However, in the exotic dancing industry, these stereotypes are utilized to promote success and maintain clientele and employment. Generally speaking, sex work as a form of employment is heavily stigmatized and therefore, the labour of women is delegitimized in comparison to paid and domestic labour. Stigmatization considerably leads to silencing women in this industry when it comes to the many aspects of their occupation, even if their jobs depend on their own bodies. These women are subjected to opinions of outsiders …show more content…
However, many women who participate in non-trafficked, voluntary forms of sex work frequently seek to disprove that claim. Along with disproving this claim, they seek to display the many issues prevalent within the industry and steps/ideas for they can be solved. Within sex work, women face constant stigmatization, which ultimately affects not only their occupational life but also their personal life. Considerably, sex work happens to be one of the only occupations where the worker is defined by the work they do. Moreover, sex workers are not granted similar legal protections as mainstream forms of employment. This prevents workers from possessing legal worker rights to no benefits such as paid sick or vacation days, maternity leave, etc. or from being granted status as an employee opposed to an independent contractor. Ultimately, it enables business owners and managers to exploit the labour of sex workers. It pushes sex workers (specifically women), to the bottom of a hierarchy, giving those on the top the power to control numerous aspects of sex workers labour (e.g. surveillance, setting wages and prices, controlling schedules and shifts, etc.). Furthermore, the sex/red-light industry function on the basis of gender performativity and its role in acquiring and …show more content…
(2005). Exotic dancing and unionizing: the challenges of feminist and antiracist organizing at the Lusty Lady Theater. SIECUS Report, (2), 12.
In this paper Brooks (2005), explores a peep show theatre named the Lusty Lady and the workers steps towards unionization. She addresses the aspect of exotic dancers having difficulty with being granted legal labour rights due to not being considered as employees (pg.14). Unionization granted dancers paid sick days, wage increases, free shift trades, etc. This paper addresses how important unionization is to receive legal protection and better working conditions. This research is useful as I seek to explore how unionization is a form of empowerment for women specifically, in the sex work industry.
Lewis, J. (1998). Learning to strip: the socialization experiences of exotic dancers. Canadian Journal Of Human Sexuality, 7(1),
In this essay, I have chosen to focus on the exotic dancing sector of sex work. My thesis argues that gendered stereotypes are primarily responsible for the stigmatization and power relations within sex work. However, in the exotic dancing industry, these stereotypes are utilized to promote success and maintain clientele and employment. Generally speaking, sex work as a form of employment is heavily stigmatized and therefore, the labour of women is delegitimized in comparison to paid and domestic labour. Stigmatization considerably leads to silencing women in this industry when it comes to the many aspects of their occupation, even if their jobs depend on their own bodies. These women are subjected to opinions of outsiders …show more content…
However, many women who participate in non-trafficked, voluntary forms of sex work frequently seek to disprove that claim. Along with disproving this claim, they seek to display the many issues prevalent within the industry and steps/ideas for they can be solved. Within sex work, women face constant stigmatization, which ultimately affects not only their occupational life but also their personal life. Considerably, sex work happens to be one of the only occupations where the worker is defined by the work they do. Moreover, sex workers are not granted similar legal protections as mainstream forms of employment. This prevents workers from possessing legal worker rights to no benefits such as paid sick or vacation days, maternity leave, etc. or from being granted status as an employee opposed to an independent contractor. Ultimately, it enables business owners and managers to exploit the labour of sex workers. It pushes sex workers (specifically women), to the bottom of a hierarchy, giving those on the top the power to control numerous aspects of sex workers labour (e.g. surveillance, setting wages and prices, controlling schedules and shifts, etc.). Furthermore, the sex/red-light industry function on the basis of gender performativity and its role in acquiring and …show more content…
(2005). Exotic dancing and unionizing: the challenges of feminist and antiracist organizing at the Lusty Lady Theater. SIECUS Report, (2), 12.
In this paper Brooks (2005), explores a peep show theatre named the Lusty Lady and the workers steps towards unionization. She addresses the aspect of exotic dancers having difficulty with being granted legal labour rights due to not being considered as employees (pg.14). Unionization granted dancers paid sick days, wage increases, free shift trades, etc. This paper addresses how important unionization is to receive legal protection and better working conditions. This research is useful as I seek to explore how unionization is a form of empowerment for women specifically, in the sex work industry.
Lewis, J. (1998). Learning to strip: the socialization experiences of exotic dancers. Canadian Journal Of Human Sexuality, 7(1),