The psychological construction and management of the prostitute's stigmatised self : a qualitative approach

Abstract

From a symbolic interactionist approach the research explores the construction and negotiation of the Maltese prostitute's stigmatised identities. Qualitative data, based on in-depth interviews with four prostitutes and analysed through a grounded theory approach describe the women's perception of their social reality. This research indicates that prostitution, being a highly stigmatized activity, has various negative implications on the prostitutes' sense of self. It was evident that because of their work, prostitutes are often isolated from mainstream society, with the consequence that their commitment into prostitution is enhanced. Also, it is apparent that prostitutes often need to engage in certain neutralizing and rationalizing techniques in order to negotiate their negative emotions about their stigmatized work.