Sundown and lights up: Does risk produce a gendered meaning of ‘paradoxical space’?

My research project seeks to contribute to the understanding of the social construction and reconstruction of subjectivity. This process involves a tension between the socially determined and that which is uniquely individual and I aim to investigate how this confrontation plays out in space/place. My work attempts to explore the intricate dynamics of female social interaction in nighttime economies, locations of ostensible exclusivity for its customers and dancers where privacy is an element of conspicuous consumption. By studying how dancers’ behavior can be one of the elements that define the fluid boundaries of space, I contend that the notions of edgework and boundary crossing (transgression) could be developed synthetically as a possible theoretical framework from which to engage with the study of these spaces of sexual entertainment. In the spirit of contributing to the literature on the topic, I consider the concept of paradoxical spaces of importance to cultural criminology. Lap Dancing venues are a prime example in that they simultaneously reinforce the social order and allow the women that work there to step out of place. Finally, the study seeks to investigate possible connections with the wider context of the ongoing war on organized crime in Mexico and the internal dynamics of this most exclusive high-end Lap Dancing club.