Citation

Pinsky D, Levey TG. Sexualities 2015; 18(4): 438-458.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1363460714550904

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The professional dominatrix, who has been underrepresented in the literature on sex work, complicates our understanding of the emotional labor of sex work. The professional dominatrix is paid by clients to perform the role of the dominant in scenarios involving bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadomasochism, and 'fetishism.' Unlike other sex workers, who must often feign interest and act flirtatious in order to make clients feel desired, the dominatrix is asked, at times, to express emotional displays such as indifference or displeasure. At the same time, our analysis of in-depth interviews, published memoirs, and blogs reveals multifaceted and dynamic constructions of emotional labor that would typically be considered contradictory and unpredictable from the point of view of normative emotional displays in work. While her job is defined by dominance and can at times involve aggression, the compassionate and care-taking traits are perhaps just as important in defining her emotional labor. In contrast to research that poses dichotomous models of gender and emotional labor, we present a more fluid paradigm that resists simplistic connections between gender, emotions, and work.

Language: en