Sep 3, 2026 · 40 min · 10 segments
In this video, author and researcher Dr. Melissa Lavin is interviewed about her ethnographic research on strip clubs. She is interviewed by sociology professors Beverly Yuen Thompson and Akello Stone…
Melissa LavinGuest
Beverly Yuen ThompsonHost
Akello StoneHostAnd so I love to talk about, you know, deviant subcultures, really talking about stigma and moral panics.
And so sex work is something that I really like to talk about my students.
And I'm always trying to get them to move away from just this kind of moral panic around sex work that they were raised with.
And I really try to orient their thinking process about it into one of this is an industry, a work labor issue.
And so I always focus on the labor aspects of, you know, what is the sex industry? How do workers come into it? How is the industry structured? And so all three of us are sociologists.
And so we're going to really focus on those kinds of structures that uphold this system in our society.
And I would say as a micro level sociologist, I'm really interested in the way in which that dynamic plays out, not only in the strip club, but the way in which gender is performed.
And then that whatever happens in the strip club is that kind of behavior taken outside of the strip club.
And she is a sociology researcher and ethnographer, but also, you know, really focuses on the concept of symbolic interaction.
And so just like you're saying, Akello, you know, she really focuses on her work on this kind of micro interaction between people.
So Melissa, if you want to just kind of introduce yourself and, you know, where do you teach? What do you teach? And what kind of research do you do in general?
And so I love to talk about, you know, deviant subcultures, really talking about stigma and moral panics.
And so sex work is something that I really like to talk about my students.
And I'm always trying to get them to move away from just this kind of moral panic around sex work that they were raised with.
And I really try to orient their thinking process about it into one of this is an industry, a work labor issue.
And so I always focus on the labor aspects of, you know, what is the sex industry? How do workers come into it? How is the industry structured? And so all three of us are sociologists.
And so we're going to really focus on those kinds of structures that uphold this system in our society.
And I would say as a micro level sociologist, I'm really interested in the way in which that dynamic plays out, not only in the strip club, but the way in which gender is performed.
And then that whatever happens in the strip club is that kind of behavior taken outside of the strip club.
And she is a sociology researcher and ethnographer, but also, you know, really focuses on the concept of symbolic interaction.
And so just like you're saying, Akello, you know, she really focuses on her work on this kind of micro interaction between people.
So Melissa, if you want to just kind of introduce yourself and, you know, where do you teach? What do you teach? And what kind of research do you do in general?
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