Tania Levey

Women who use social media are often subjected to blatant sexual harassment, facing everything from name calling to threats of violence. Aside from being disturbing, what does this abuse tell us about gender and sexual norms? And can we use the Internet to resist, even transform, destructive misogynistic norms? Exploring the language of shaming and …

Read moreSexual Harassment Online: Shaming and Silencing Women in the Digital Age

Through research on the emotional labor of the professional dominatrix, this case study highlights the importance of an inductive approach for exploring new topics and uncovering the complexities of lived experiences. This case study also demonstrates the value of using mixed qualitative methods, including conducting in-depth interviews and analyzing the content of written memoirs and …

Read moreThe Emotional Labor of the Professional Dominatrix

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 …

Read moreA Constellation of Stigmas: Stigma Management and the Professional Dominatrix

The professional dominatrix, who has been underrepresented in the literature on sex work, complicates our understanding of the emotional labour 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 …

Read more‘The World Turned Upside Down’: Emotional Labor and the Professional Dominatrix