Connecting the gendered door: women, violence and doorwork

Authors: Hobbs, Dick¹; O'Brien, Kate²; Westmarland, Louise

Source: The British Journal of Sociology, Volume 58, Number 1, March 2007 , pp. 21-38(18)

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Abstract:

This paper explores the emerging role of women who work as `bouncers', or doorstaff, in the night-time economy and examines how the cultural capital of the female bouncer is connected to the methods utilized to control licensed premises. It is drawn from a study that combined ethnographic observations and interviews in five major UK cities which explored a diverse range of issues such as gendered bodies, femininities and violence; the changing needs of the night-time economy in the UK and the experiences of women engaged in `non-traditional' occupations. In this paper, we draw on interview data with one particular category of female door staff; women who share similar histories of exposure to violence and violent cultures, and we examine how their experiential knowledge of violence equips them with the resources to `work the doors'. Our attention focuses on this group of women, who we refer to as `The Connected', and examine how they are `doing gender' when they negotiate violence `on the door'

Keywords: Night-time economy; bouncers; door security; gender; violence

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2007.00137.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science 2: School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent

Publication date: 2007-03-01