Reconciling Selves: Pimps’ Plans to Desist and Their Neutralizations of Managing Sex Workers

• In Event: Quitting the Sex Trade: Pimps and Sex Workers and their Various Forms of Exiting

Abstract

Pimping is often characterized as a long-term criminal career, involving offenders who are willing to commit a variety of offenses from drug dealing to violence. Identity theory of desistance asserts that a permanent exit from illicit activity requires offenders to change their working self-identity as a criminal toward a conventional, law-abiding citizen (Paternoster & Bushway, 2009). We analyze qualitative interviews with active pimps or drivers who have legitimate work (N = 20) and those who do not have legitimate work (N = 29) to explore the neutralizations that allow them to participate in the illicit sex trade, and their plans, if any, to exit the sex trade. The two most frequent neutralizations were denial of responsibility, often noting that they could not find legitimate work, and minimization, often comparing self to a stereotyped pimp that used force, violence, or took a larger percentage of the earnings. Seventeen pimps had made plans to quit and taken active steps such as investing in legitimate businesses, and saving money. A couple of drivers alternated between the illicit sex trade and legitimate work. Three participants reported exiting from the illicit sex trade. Some of the themes in their plans to terminate included: having children and wanting to be a better role model, being tired of the ‘party’ and drug lifestyle, and being weary of the stress associated with the deviant lifestyle. Implications for theory and policies are discussed.

Authors

• Loretta J. Stalans, Loyola University Chicago

• Mary Finn, Michigan State University