如何理解晚近從日本移植至臺灣的一個新興消費空間：「女僕喫茶（咖啡館）」？媒體輿論多半採取兩種極端態度：一方面是嚴厲的批判，認為這是一種歧視／剝削女性的工作場域；另方面則寬容以待，單純將之視為一種動漫迷群次文化的商業衍生行為。本文認為研究這個經驗案例，將有助於我們發展一個鑲嵌在次文化框架中的性別與勞動社會學分析。據此，兩位作者分別以不同身分進行了前後長達三年的參與觀察和深度訪談，透過圈內人觀點深描「女僕」工作者的規訓過程、勞動實作、認同協商與人際互動；進而提出「表演勞動」的新概念，嘗試與情緒勞動概念進行對話並作出增補。本文認為：表演勞動並非只是既有情緒勞動的一種次類型，而是在新興服務業與都會後現代消費主義等發展脈絡中所孕生的一種獨特勞動形式。而表演勞動的實作，是有可能賦權於女僕，使之在性別化結構及其情緒勞動之外，依循迷文化脈絡而得以進行各種日常戰術、甚至凝聚群體共識，找到另類的能動性出路。

Several Taiwanese cities are witnessing the opening of ”Maid Cafes,” in which waitresses are dressed as housemaids. They have received strong criticism regarding the commodification and exploitation of female bodies, but many view them simply as commercialized ACG fan activities with no connection to gender inequality. In this paper we attempt to develop a new sociological analysis of gender and labor embedded in a fan subculture framework, based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over a period of three years and a thick description of maid-waitress disciplinary processes and labor practices, as well as identity negotiation and daily interactions with ”master-customers.” We propose a new concept of performing labor to establish a dialogue with and to supplement the well-known emotional labor concept. We argue that performing labor (a) is not only an emotional labor subtype, but also a unique form of labor generated by a combination of an emerging entertainment/service industry and postmodern urban consumerism; and (b) is based on fan culture, thereby enhancing the potential for empowering maid-waitresses to escape from the existing gender structure and to create daily tactics, group consensus, and alternative agency.