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‘He is the customer, I will say yes’: Notions of power, precarity and consent to sexual harassment by customers in the gay tourism industry

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  • Anastasios Hadjisolomou
  • Dennis Nickson
  • Tom Baum

Abstract

This article explores the sexualized nature of the gay tourism industry and examines how ‘pink dollar’ organizations tacitly encourage incidences of sexual harassment from customers. Drawing on qualitative data from two popular gay tourism destinations, the article shows the embeddedness of sex, as a selling point, in the industry which creates blurred lines between service, sexuality, and sex. This consequently leads to sexual harassment by customers which is accepted and to which workers consent. Consent is driven by the hyper‐sexualization of the workplace and the power imbalance within the service triangle and the interaction with the customer and the precarious nature of the sector. Mirroring Burawoy’s (1979) idea of employees consenting (giving in) to organizational norms, we contribute to theory by suggesting that the power imbalance constructed within the service triangle gives high interactive power to the customer to harass workers without evident consequences for their misbehavior, whilst the latter consent and accept this as part of the job, due to the limited support from management.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasios Hadjisolomou & Dennis Nickson & Tom Baum, 2023. "‘He is the customer, I will say yes’: Notions of power, precarity and consent to sexual harassment by customers in the gay tourism industry," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1407-1428, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:30:y:2023:i:4:p:1407-1428
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12998
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hughes, Howard L. & Deutsch, Richard, 2010. "Holidays of older gay men: Age or sexual orientation as decisive factors?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 454-463.
    2. Consuelo Reguera & Antonio L. García-Izquierdo, 2021. "Women as Victims of Court Rulings: Consequences of Workplace Harassment in the Hospitality Industry in Spain (2000–2016)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Kristina Zampoukos, 2021. "The hospitable body at work—A research agenda," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 1726-1740, September.
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