https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1459-4578
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ABSTRACT
Building on insights drawn from feminist theory and masculinity studies, this qualitative research project explores Alberta's oil production culture, frontier masculinity, and the industry's connection to the sex trade. Major findings suggest that within the oil production culture, negative views of women, the objectification of women, and the normalization of purchasing sex, are products of frontier masculinity. We conclude that the frontier masculinity found in the Albertan oil production culture is a liminal expression of masculinity specific to the context of the oil industry. These conclusions are based on in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with Alberta-based oil industry workers.
Acknowledgements
The author(s) would like to thank the University of Alberta Sociology Department for their support in completing this research project, specifically Dr Jana Grekul, Dr Sandra Bucerius, and Dr Sara Dorow. The authors would also like to thank the participants who gave up their time to take part in this project.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2022.2160386)
Notes
1 A version of this paper was presented by Landry as ‘Booms & Busts: The Sex Trade in Alberta’s Oil Industry’ at the Canadian Sociological Associations Annual Meeting in Calgary, AB on June 1, 2016.
2 Started in 1912, the Calgary Stampede is an annual event that takes place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is one of the largest rodeo and exhibitions in Canada and hosts over a million visitors every year (Kelm, Citation2009, p. 712).
3 Kassandra Landry is the principle investigator in this project and any use of first-person pronouns going forward refers directly to her substantial work on this project.
4 Six women, all of whom were indoor sex workers, were also interviewed as a part of this research project. For the purpose and scope of this article, however, the interviews with the male oil industry workers are the primary focus.
5 See Table One for more information.
6 This research occurred prior to the legalization of cannabis in Canada.
7 Miller (Citation2004) explains that the ubiquity of masculinity in the Albertan oil industry is expressed through three “themes, or processes”: “everyday interactions… based on shared masculine interests that exclude women from power; individualistic competition… to [help] reinforce the division of work by gender; and… powerful symbols of the frontier myth and romanticized cowboy hero” (p. 48).
8 Of note, our participants informed the primary researcher they rarely worked with women who held similar and/or equal positions to them. They informed us that most of the women they interact with while at work are in administrative roles, on site medics, and/or camp support staff.
9 Karl expresses ‘no snatch in the patch' means that his co-workers do not like having women around. A gatekeeper, an acquaintance who worked in the oil industry and assisted with recruitment, however, suggested ‘no snatch in the patch' is also a phrase used to indicate how oil workers are not ‘getting women and/or sex;' hence ‘no snatch in the patch.’
10 Parker is referring to women in Fort McMurray, which is an oil rich city in northern Alberta, in his reference to ‘women in the north.’
11 This dynamic is similar to how pornography and “hook-up” rumours work within college dorms and bachelor parties (see Grazian Citation2007; Kimmel Citation2008; Willey Citation2015).
12 The sex workers interviewed as a part of this research project further confirmed this argument. Sex workers informed us their oil worker clientele were usually respectful and polite in their interactions with them.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Kassandra Landry
Kassandra Landry is a Senior Policy Analyst for the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Community & Social Services. She received a Master’s Degree in Sociology, and a Bachelor’s Degree with Distinction in Criminology, from the University of Alberta. Her research interests lie in gender studies and feminist criminology.
Robin D. Willey
Robin Willey is an assistant professor of sociology at Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE). He has previously published articles that focus on Evangelical Christianity in Canada, and social theories of religion, such as Liminal practice: Pierre Bourdieu, madness, and religion (2016), and Shifting the sacred: Rob Bell and the postconservative evangelical turn (2019). Willey’s most recent research looks to investigate the changing theo-political orientations and practices of Canadian Evangelicals and faith-based humanitarians.