'Queen Bees and Wannabees' the Power of Virtue, Decency, and Domesticity in the Kampala Sex Trade

Posted: 22 Mar 2018

Date Written: 2018

Abstract

During the course of a 15-month ethnography exploring how women manage daily risks associated with sex work, criminalization, and HIV/AIDS in the Kampala sex trade, I learned the importance of what Kyomuhendo and McIntosh (2006) call the "Domestic Virtue Model" (2006: 2) and its implications for how women living and working in a brothel manage risks. The women in my study strove to be seen as respectable, virtuous, and decent (i.e., through domesticity). Herein lies a compelling dimension of my research: in the brothel, domesticity serves as a means of social control. Referencing Wiseman (2002), women atop the social hierarchy in the brothel (i.e., "Queen Bees") socially determine who has access to resources and means of mitigating daily risks. These resources include access to condoms, savings groups, and alerts to police raids on the brothel. Fundamentally, the Queen Bees' social control is about power. Their power arises through an interpretive process, wherein the patriarchal imperative for women to be perceived as chaste, demure, and virtuous (i.e., the Domestic Virtue Model) within the broader Ugandan society is redefined by the Queen Bees, as self-referential and beneficial to their own risk management, even if such standards imperil their peers (i.e., "Wannabees").

Suggested Citation

Cruz, Serena, 'Queen Bees and Wannabees' the Power of Virtue, Decency, and Domesticity in the Kampala Sex Trade (2018). ASA 2018 Annual Meeting Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3145819

Serena Cruz (Contact Author)

University of Amsterdam ( email )

Spui 21
Amsterdam, 1018 WB
Netherlands

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