Male strippers stay in work to boost their self-esteem
A positive feeling of self-worth, rather than money, is what keeps male strippers committed to their job, a new study from the University of Colorado Denver shows. Published this month in the scientific journal Deviant Behaviour, researcher Maren Scull spent two years interviewing and observing male strippers who dance for women in an American strip club. Unlike many female strippers who report money motivates them to remain in the job, men (who earn substantially less than female dancers in the same club) do it for self-esteem. “Initially women who dance for men may experience a boost in self-esteem, but after time they suffer from a diminished self-concept,” says Scull, an instructor of sociology. “My research finds men who dance for women generally experience positive feelings of self-worth. So much so, those men will continue to strip even when it is no longer financially lucrative.” She suggests this is because men and women ascribe different meanings to the sexual objectification they experience. While females are more inclined to define it as negative, males feel positive about being desirable.
