Self-Narratives of Persistent Pimps and Those Anticipating Desistance: Emotions, Conventional Work, and Moral Profitability Calculus

Abstract

ABSTRACTIdentity, values, and emotional processes underlying desistance and persistence in the illicit sex trade have received little empirical attention. An analysis of qualitative interviews of 49 active pimps or drivers managing sex workers showed that persisting pimps and those leading double lives assigned different meanings to their participation in legitimate employment. Persisters valued legitimate work as a strategy to evade arrest, whereas pimps with “double lives” emphasized legitimate work as providing long-term financial security and enhanced social identity. Analysis yielded contextualized understanding of their self-narratives (e.g.) that underlie reflections upon who they are and who they want to become, and the moral contemplations and emotional processes involved in stigma management.