William E. Thompson

Topless dancers: Managing stigma in a deviant occupation

This paper describes and analyzes how topless dancers manage the stigma related to their deviant occupation. It represents approximately nine months of limited participant observation and ethnographic interviewing at seven topless bars in a major metropolitan city in the Southwest with a population of approximately 1 million people. A structured interview schedule was utilized to obtain data from over 40 topless dancers in six different clubs. In addition, free‐flowing interviews were conducted with at least 20 other dancers, numerous waitresses in the clubs, one club manager, two assistant managers, and four former dancers still associated with the clubs (as bartenders, waitresses, or admission takers). This study indicates that two of the most common stigma management techniques used by topless dancers are dividing the social world as outlined by Goffman (1963) and techniques of neutralization described by Sykes and Matza (1957), especially denial of injury, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to...

Handling the stigma of handling the dead: Morticians and funeral directors

This paper analyzes the ways in which morticians and funeral directors—people who make their living by handling the dead—attempt to overcome the stigma associated with their work. It reflects over 2 years of field work involving extensive ethnographic interviews with 19 morticians and funeral directors in four different states. The qualitative analysis reveals that morticians and funeral directors are acutely aware of the stigma associated with their work, most of which comes from handling the dead and being viewed as profiting from death and grief. Within the general theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism, the author identifies and examines the symbolic and dramaturgical techniques employed by morticians and funeral directors to neutralize and diminish the stigma associated with their work. Among these are symbolically redefining their work, practicing role distance, emphasizing professionalism, cloaking themselves in the “shroud of service,” and enjoying socioeconomic status over occupational ...

An empirical test of Hirschi's control theory of delinquency

Hirschis control theory of delinquency (1969) contends that lack of attachment to peers, parents, and school leads to a lack of conventional attitudes, which ultimately leads to juvenile delinquency. In order to test this theory, data were collected from questionnaires administered to 724 students in four high schools and three juvenile correctional institutions in the Southwest. Findings from this study indicate that when subjected to path analysis, Hirschis contention is only supported when delinquent companions is included; that is to say the extent of explained variation in delinquency is greatly enhanced when delinquent companions is introduced as an additional antecedent variable in Hirschis causal scheme. In addition, the findings are more consistent with a social learning or differential association theory than the original theory proposed by Hirschi in Causes of Delinquency (1969).

Pseudo-Deviance and The “New Biker” Subculture: Hogs, Blogs, Leathers, and Lattes

This article explores the pseudo-deviant world of the “new biker” subculture, comparing and contrasting it to previous research on “outlaw bikers.” Using participant observation and ethnographic interviews, the author uses a symbolic interactionist perspective to describe and analyze how and why contemporary “bikers,” many of whom are well-educated middle- and upper middle-class professionals, use the symbols of outlaw bikers and earlier motorcycle gangs to perpetuate an image of pseudo-deviance in the “new biker” subculture. Although the “new biker” subculture is markedly different than the “outlaw biker” subculture of the past, many similar characteristics persist.

Myth, identity, and social interaction: Encountering Santa Claus at the mall

Each year during the Christmas season Santa Claus appears at shopping malls across the country. This qualitative study shows how Santa actors and the public respond to the typification of the Santa myth. Using the dramaturgical approach, the authors examine the meanings that people of various age and gender identities attribute to the mall environment, and how these understandings influence their interactions with Santa. Behaviors are analyzed in age cohorts ranging from infancy to the elderly. Gender strongly influenced peoples interactions with Santa across all age cohorts. Adult behaviors varied widely, but in the presence of children, both males and females promoted the Santa Claus fantasy. In the mall setting, where ones social identity is subject to public scrutiny, interactions with Santa help define, reinforce, and confirm ones sense of self.

Mature Motorcyclists: Violating Age Norms and Loving It

Age norms tell us at what ages members of society consider it appropriate for us to become potty trained, enter and exit school, start and stop driving a car, get married, have children, retire from work, and even die. So, at what age, if any, should a person start riding a motorcycle? More importantly, at what age should a motorcyclist stop riding? The author conducted ethnographic interviews with approximately 90 motorcyclists over the age of fifty. Findings in this study indicate that just as society has established “social clocks” for other personal and social activities, informal norms operate to establish age boundaries for riding motorcycles. Todays Baby Boomers, in their quest to be “forever young,” however, seem to be stretching and breaking those boundaries, redefining previous limitations on a wide variety of activities, including motorcycling. Although the stigma once associated with motorcycling is waning rapidly, some people still view motorcyclists as deviant. Even those who see riding a motorcycle as a non-deviant mainstream activity, however, tend to view motorcycling as the domain of the young and view motorcyclists over the age of fifty as violating age norms.

Politics and the Emergence of Alhajis Among the Bokkos Fulani

ALHAJI is a religious title used throughout Nigeria and elsewhere to describe persons who have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca.’ According to Islamic theology both the pilgrimage and the title of alhaji are purely religious phenomena. The hajj, as the Fifth pillar of Islam, is the religious duty of every adult Muslim and its fulfillment results in a higher moral standing within the Islamic community. Despite Islamic interpretations of the hajj, a number of authors have suggested that the pilgrimage is motivated by a variety of religious, social, economic and political factors (Hickey 1979). Further, they note that throughout the world there are numerous, even contradictory, understandings about the alhaji role. Interestingly, in the literature on Sub-Saharan African societies, the religious explanations for the hajj are de-emphasized. The majority of authors suggest that among African societies pilgrimages are made

Don't Call Me “Biker Chick”: Women Motorcyclists Redefining Deviant Identity

The majority of literature on women who participate in the world of motorcycling focuses on females associated with outlaw motorcycle clubs and hardcore bikers. Roles for those women tended to be subservient and demeaning. Women are the fastest growing segment in todays contemporary world of middle- and upper-middle-class motorcycling, where they fulfill more meaningful roles whether they are passengers or riders of their own bikes. This descriptive exploratory study utilizes a symbolic interaction framework to analyze approximately four years of participant observation and ethnographic interviews with some of these women. Findings indicate that female motorcyclists manipulate several meaningful symbols in order to redefine what has largely been viewed as a deviant identity. Riding motorcycles is what they do, not who they are. Women who ride feel a sense of freedom, excitement, and empowerment as they maintain their femininity while participating in what has traditionally been viewed as a masculine endeavor.

A High By Any Other Name: Exploring the Motivations for Consumption of “Legal Highs”

ABSTRACT A large number of legal, semi-legal, synthetic, and organic drugs are sold online or through commercial vendors as novelties, often labeled as “not for human consumption.” It is fairly common knowledge, however, that many, if not all, of the purchasers of such products buy them for personal use. This study conducted ethnographic interviews with 26 synthetic and organic drug users over a five month period. Using a grounded theory approach, the authors created a typology of users that fell into three general categories: Risk reducers (who saw these drugs as either safer or less likely to be detected than illegal drugs), plan “B” users (those who preferred illegal drugs but used these drugs when their preferred drugs were unavailable), and novelty seekers (who used these drugs experimentally, or simply for fun and recreation).

Note on Thorson and Powell: undertakers' sense of humor.

Recently Thorson and Powell reported in this journal that morticians scored significantly lower on a multidimensional sense of humor scale than another group of similarly aged men from other occupations. These findings differ markedly with some in 1991 from a 2-yr. ethnographic study conducted with morticians and funeral directors in four states regarding how they managed the stigma associated with their occupation.