Reinforcing Gender Roles at the Male Strip Show: A Qualitative Analysis of Men who Dance for Women (MDW)

While stripping has been an attractive topic among sociologists for several decades, much of the existing research concentrates on women who dance for men (WDM) and men who dance for men (MDM). In this study, I use qualitative methods to understand the experiences of men who dance for women (MDW). I spent 18 months at a strip club that I call “Dandelion's,” and conducted 22 in-depth interviews with male strippers. Specifically, I explore how the male strip show reproduces traditional, stereotypical gender roles in two main ways: dancers’ physical interactions with customers, and their hypermasculine presentations of self.