Gender Dynamics and Social Perceptions

Gender is a very important topic when considering the role of the pimp throughout time, especially considering the shift that has occurred within the business from a female-dominated activity to a male-dominated one. In reality, it wasn't only  women pimps back then, and there are not only male pimps now, but we still largely associate the activity of pimping in the 19th century to the female “Madam” and the activity now to the male “pimp”. And with that comes a different consideration of how the job was and is carried out by both genders, based often on a more contractual relationship with prostitutes for madams, and a more coercive one for male pimps. The gender aspect has therefore largely influenced the public perceptions that exist in society about the “respectability” of the role that pimps carry out, and therefore their place in society. In this part, we will therefore examine perceptions of gender, social roles, and gender dynamics.