A Constellation of Stigmas: Intersectional Stigma Management and the Professional Dominatrix

Abstract

In this article, we explore stigma management among dominatrices, a relatively understudied profession within the literature on sex work. Our analysis is based on in-depth interviews with current and former dominatrices and published memoirs and blogs written by women who have worked in the industry. We argue that the professional dominatrix occupies a unique position within the sex industry, responding to stigma directed toward her both as a sex worker and practitioner of sadomasochism. Our research has implications for understanding the management of intersecting stigmas and the relationship between stigma management and social ideologies of gender, sexuality, and sex work.

Notes

¹ It is important to note that we view sexuality as a social construct, and that in using these terms we recognize that we are limited by the linguistic legacy that pathologized “deviant” sexuality (Beckmann 2009; Foucault 1990 [1978]).

² Because Scott only interviewed women who work in dungeons, she may be overestimating the number of clients and days worked (xii). For the women we interviewed who work independently, most worked less than five days a week and saw one or two clients a day, meeting with them longer. Her research was also conducted in the 1980s, and the numbers of pro-dommes have likely increased due to technological advancements such as websites and chat rooms.

³ Much of the previous writings on pro-dommes came from the perspective of a single dominatrix. See, for example: Lupe in Chapkis (1997); Mistress Lilith Lash in Delacoste and Alexander (1987); Mistress Vena in McClintock (1993); Liz Highleyman aka Mistress Veronika Frost in Nagle (1997); Juliette in Weinberg (1995).

⁴ We prefer terms such as “commercial eroticism” and “erotic labor” to describe dominatrix work (Chapkis 1997) as used by scholars to describe a range of jobs from phone sex workers to exotic dancers and actors in the pornography industry. Nonetheless, out of respect for our informants who are more likely to use the term “sex work,” we include that language throughout much of the article.

⁵ We are using SM or BDSM for shorthand for a wide range of acts that a dominatrix session might include, such as consensual humiliation, bondage, flogging, and foot worship.

⁶ Bedford (2007); Febos (2010); Kenney (2002); Mansfield and Mendelssohn (2002); Nan (1995); Parry (2007); Pearl, (2008); Shamburg (2001); Spider (2006); Winemaker (2007).

⁷ renaissancediva.blogspot.com; deadcowgirl.com; mistressmatisse.blogspot.com; mistressaurelia.wordpress.com; http://www.misskittydevil.com; audacityof2.blogspot.com; laanisblog.blogspot.com; mistresswylona.blogspot.com; mistresshae.com/wp; kittenwithawhip.com/kittychat.

⁸ For instance, prostitutes might overstate their income to justify their choice of work (interview with Jo Doezema in Chapkis 1997:104).

⁹ See also Sanders (2007) for a discussion of the legal status in the United Kingdom.

¹⁰ See, for example: http://audacityof2.blogspot.com/2010/03/unruly-oral-orchestra-occasional.html?zx=d074723ad9282489 and http://darlingpropaganda.com/2008/06/wait-what-is-it-you-do-for-a-living/.

¹¹ #1, #2, and #4 of Pheterson’s schema of social dishonor.

¹² See Appendix B in Lindemann (2012) for a discussion of the legal contexts in New York and San Francisco.

Additional information

Funding

Support for this project was provided by a PSC-CUNY Award, jointly funded by The Professional Staff Congress and The City University of New York, and a Faculty Development Grant, Arcadia University.

Notes on contributors

Tania G. Levey

TANIA G. LEVEY is Associate Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York, York College. Her interests include gender and sexuality, work, research methods, and higher education, with a recent focus on the intersections of gender, sexuality, and work.

Dina Pinsky

DINA PINSKY is Associate Professor of Sociology at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and coordinator of the gender and women’s studies minor. Her specialties include gender and sexuality, social movements, Jewish studies, and research methods, with a recent interest in the intersections of sexuality and deviance.