Part VIII
Chapter 44
 Discussion of feelings of satisfaction gay
couples have with each other
 Contrasts the commitment and expectations
that compare/contrast homosexual &
heterosexual relationships
 Describes how some couples maintain
commitment in the face of sexual nonexclusivity by being discreet, while others
stay together for opposite reason: a searing
commitment to honesty
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Sexual exclusivity is one of the most
researched areas in studies of gay male
couples – one of five most prominent themes
 In a gay couple, it’s one of major issues
partners grapple with
 Kurdek (1991) reported that sexual nonexclusivity is ranked 3rd closely behind
“partner’s non-responsiveness & “partner’s
personal problems”
 Research suggests that majority of gay male
partnerships are sexually non-exclusive
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Most researchers define it in terms of
behavior of partners
 A partnership exclusive of both partners
don’t have sexual encounters with others
 Some researchers define it in terms of
expectation where sexual exclusivity is
acknowledged by both partners (Hickson,
1991)
 Author supports Hickson’s argument that a
partnership can be exceptionally exclusive
but behaviorally non-exclusive
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Unlike heterosexual couples who share a
general cultural ideal of sexual exclusivity &
disapproval of non-exclusivity, gay male
couples don’t have such a cultural
assumption
 Thus they have to resort to actively
negotiating the arrangement of their
partnership
 Most might use a trial-and-error approach to
construct relationship rules due to lack of
structural & cultural guidelines
Part 8: Ch. 44
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Semi-structured interviews with 30 gay male
Christian couples in Britain (N = 30)
 Ages 20s to 70s, mean duration of
partnerships 12 years & 3 months
 Recruited primarily through personal
contacts & three national gay Christian
organizations
 Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement (LGCM)
 QUEST (lesbian & gay Catholics organization)
 Anglican Clergy Consultation (ACC)
 Fieldwork was carried out between June &
September 1993
Part 8: Ch. 44
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Typology takes into consideration both
expectation & behavior throughout duration
of partnerships
 Category A: Expect partnership to be sexually
exclusive & are behaviorally (n = 9)
 Category B: Expect partnership to be sexually
exclusive but behaviorally non-exclusive
(n =8)
 Category C: Expect partnership to be sexually
non-exclusive & are behaviorally (n = 13)
 Category D: Expect partnership to be sexually
non-exclusive but are behaviorally exclusive
(n = 0)
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Typology reveals contradictory scenario to
Blasband &Peplau’s (1985) argument that
this is consistency between partners’
agreements about sexual exclusivity & their
actual behavior
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Research suggests that gay male couples
tend to demonstrate trend towards sexual
non-exclusivity over time (McWhirter &
Mattison, 1984; Davies et al., 1993; Harry &
DeVall, 1978)
 Findings of current study don’t confirm this
 Six partnerships longer than 5 years
 Longest: 27 years
 Shortest: 1 year
 Mean: 9 years & 5 months
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Reasons for sexual exclusivity:
 (1) Sexual exclusivity considered symbol of
total commitment
 (2) Sexual exclusivity perceived as symbol of
complete mutual satisfaction
 (3) For some, explicit attribution of their
belief in sexual exclusivity to conventional
Christian sexual ethics for intimate
relationships
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Couples began partnerships with
expectation of exclusivity, but either one or
both partners violated expectation at certain
point during partnership
 Non-exclusivity became feature of these
couples within six months to two years
 Reasons for sexual non-exclusivity:
 (1) Natural progression
 (2) Dissatisfaction with aspects of partnership
 (3) Desire for sexual experimentation
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Four mechanisms developed to manage their
non-exclusive lifestyles:
 (1) Establishment of explicit ground rules
 (2) Concealment of information outside sexual
encounters
 (3) Disclosure of information about outside
sexual encounters
 (4) Prevention of casual sexual encounters
from developing into ongoing affairs
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Partnerships began with expectation of non-
exclusivity, behaviorally as well
 Three reasons cited:
 (1) Search for sexual variety & excitement as
main reason
 (2) Related to absence of normative guidelines
for same-sex partnerships
 (3) Egalitarianism – prevent interpartner
possessiveness
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Stems from perception of lack of recognition
from institutionalized Church & its silence
on sexual ethics for gay Christian
partnerships
 Results in distancing of many respondents
from the Church & its official stance on
homosexuality
Part 8: Ch. 44
Part 8: Ch. 44
 Research evidence suggests there’s no
significant difference between sexually
exclusive & non-exclusive couples in terms of
relationship satisfaction, adjustment &
commitment (Peplau, 1981; Blumstein &
Schwartz, 1983; Blesband & Peplau, 1985;
Kurdek & Schmitt, 1986; and Kudek, 1988)
Part 8: Ch. 44
 What distinguishes homosexual couples and
heterosexual ones in the context of sexual
exclusivity?
Part 8: Ch. 44
Part VIII
Chapter 45
 Focuses on the mechanisms employed by
pimps to lure women into prostitution, and
eventually, into obligatory relationships that
support his flashy lifestyle
 Pimp – one who controls actions & lives off
proceeds or one or more women who work
the streets. They call themselves:
 “Players” – pimps
 “The game” – their profession
 “The life” – context of subculture
Part 8: Ch. 45
 In the 1960s & 1970s, social scientists
devoted much time & research on exposing &
understanding pimp-controlled prostitution
within street-level prostitution, which entails
sexual acts for money or barter that occurs
on & off streets & include sexual activities:
 In cars & motels
 As dancers in gentlemen’s clubs
 Massage parlors work
 Truck stops
 Crack house work
Part 8: Ch. 45
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Examines pimp-related violence toward women
involved in street-level prostitution within
context of pimp-controlled prostitution
 Data obtained from larger study including both
independent & pimp-controlled women
 Snowball, purposive sampling (n = 21)
 Six had pimps
 Criteria for inclusion
 18 years or older (18 to 28 years)
 No longer prostituting (Avg. 4 to 8 years)
Part 8: Ch. 45
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Pimps, players and macks are those at top of
pimping game
 To these men in power, it’s a game where
they control & manipulate actions of
subordinate others
 Pimping game requires strict adherence to
rules
 To “have” game implies that pimps have
certain amount of charisma & smoothtalking, persuasive conversation toward
women
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Paramount rule – the pimp must get paid
 Another rule – game is “sold and not told”
 Pimps expected to sell prostitution to women
without revealing his entire game plan
 This is done via persuasive conversations
 Final rule – pimp must have woman or
women that want to see him on top
 Macks: most well-respected pimps
 Players: average stable of women, wellrespected & make good living
 Tennis shoe pimps: one or two prostitutes on
street
Part 8: Ch. 45
 For a pimp, gaining a woman’s attention means
looking good, smelling nice, flashing possessions
& presenting himself as someone who can
counter boredom with adventure & excitement
 Must also be skilled at assessing a woman’s
needs & vulnerabilities
 Exploiting these vulnerabilities & fulfilling unmet
needs enable him to prostitute her
 For some, a pimp offers hope for future &
opportunity to be financially successful
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Women in this study who were involved with
a pimp typically didn’t engage in drug abuse
 Pimps realize crack is competition & frown
upon any drug use from their stable
 Two women involved with tennis show
pimps indulged in drug use along with their
pimp
 Pimp-controlled women were told they were
beautiful & that men wanted them
 Pimps didn’t guarantee emotional &
financial security, but potential for these
things inspired women
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Thoroughbreds: women who learn the game
& become proficient in playing
 They are professionals in prostitution &
responsible for maintaining market rates
 Able to handle customers, command money
& conduct business effectively to maximize
profits
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Pimps keen on marketing product &
investing in it in order for maximum profits
 Thus courting or “honeymoon” period
between pimps & prostitutes
 A time when pimp “runs his game”
 Can last one day to several months
 Women can be enticed away from another
pimp – viewed as component of free
enterprise
 This can be done without retaliation from
another pimp
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Each woman in study had a pimp who set
rules, controlled her actions & took her
earnings
 Most reported being infatuated with their
pimp
 The more corporate the pimp, the less likely
women described feelings as love or defining
interaction as a relationship
 With tennis shoe pimps, for example, women
more likely to describe interactions as
relationship
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Wife-in-law: prostituted women in a pimp’s
family that work for his benefit
 May be responsible for ongoing training of
recent inductees
 Some women didn’t tolerate this & moved on
 Others welcomed the prestige of being with a
successful pimp & willingly took on challenge
& responsibilities as a prostituted woman
under his direction
 Bottom bitch: number one lady in pimp
family who might be required to work but
only use her hands and/or mouth, saving
intercourse for pimp
Part 8: Ch. 45
 True talents of a pimp
 Keeping his women happy
 Commanding money
 Portray deep, mysterious & somewhat mean
demeanor about him
 Conveys message that he is not to be crossed,
which gives him title of being “cold-blooded”
or “icy”
 Pimp’s approach is never to cow down to his
woman at any time
 Can’t let love cloud his judgment concerning
business
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Extent to which women felt threatened by
pimp in part function of her evaluation of
likelihood of pimp’s violence
 This threat realized by all women in study
 Pimp violence unpredictable & took many
forms
 Most revealing – immediate attack
 Leaving “ho stroll” or designated work area
early without making daily quota one
violation resulting in violence
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Pimp’s success dependent on arousing love &
fear in women
 Relationships require level of trust & degree
of vulnerability
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Many factors prevent women from pursuing
legal assistance
 Often fear, intimidation
 Love for pimp despite abuses
 Buying into pimping game & blame herself for
violating
 Reluctance to report due to prior experience
of inaction on part of law enforcement when it
came to “customer” complaints
 Women who do leave are escaping
Part 8: Ch. 45
 Why do women remain with pimps that, most
often times, treat them harshly? What is the
appeal?
 To what extent does pimping resemble any
other capitalist, free enterprise?
Part 8: Ch. 45