The Madam as Entrepreneur: Career Management in House Prostitution - Hardcover

Heyl, Barbara Sherman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0878552111 ISBN 13: 9780878552115

Publisher: Routledge, 1978

Synopsis

A sociological analysis of prostitution as an occupation, this book studies the experiences of the madam of a small house and her career as a prostitute, from her entry into the profession as a teen­ager until her departure in her early for­ties. Of her twenty years in prostitu­tion, ten were spent as a house prostitute, and ten as a madam. Using in-depth interviews, the author investigates the madam's own interpretations of her life, including a term in prison and her revealing experiences after deciding to leave prostitution.

Following the best tradition of life history research, Heyl supplements her discussions with the madam with in­formation from other prostitutes, mem­bers of the madam's estranged family, and other sources; observations made in the house; and a review of the existing literature. Official records, newspaper reports, and personal papers are used in developing a complete, multi­dimensional account of the madam's experiences. Heyl analyzes the career contingencies and identity crisis of prostitutes, as well as the madam's role as teacher and her struggles to keep the house functioning in the face of growing problems with the police, pimps, and the prostitutes themselves.

These two topics — the madam as "madam" and as "businesswoman" — reinforce the central theoretical con­cern of this study.

About this title

Review:

“The book is, in part, a richly detailed, carefully corroborated analysis of a single individual’s movement from a somewhat unconventional childhood through entry into prostitution, and across a twenty-year career as both prostitute and madam, culminating in a return to the ‘square’ world. However, its primary contribution lies in its careful examination of extant theories of prostitution and in the development of a new processual model of entry into and solidification of a deviant career. . . . For the serious student of deviance, the processual model Heyl has created is worth considerable study, not only for its applicability to prostitution, but also for its potential applicability to other forms of deviant careers. Heyl’s work may considerably enhance our understanding of how deviant identities come into being and solidify.”

—Mary Riege Laner, Contemporary Sociology

“Students of deviant careers will find this a highly readable and valuable contribution, with implications /or law enforcement and programs of corrections. The analysis is relevant to the sociology of occupations, especially to strains resulting from efforts to maintain professional norms in an ambiguous and changing social context. It is a careful and imaginative illustration of the use of an interactionist approach to life history research.”

— F. James Davis, Illinois State University                    

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1978
• ISBN 10: 0878552111
• ISBN 13: 9780878552115
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 276