The Self-Concept as a Side Bet: How Stripping Enhances the Self-Views of Men who Dance for Women

Because stripping is considered a form of “dirty work,” it has the capacity to negatively influence exotic dancers’ self-definitions. While some researchers have looked at the ways in which stripping impacts the self-concepts of women who dance for men and men who dance for men, there have been very few studies of the self-views of men who dance for women. Using qualitative methods, I examine how stripping shapes the self-concepts of male strippers. Overall, I found that the positive effect on dancers’ self-definitions was an important side bet that kept them committed to the occupation.