1st Edition
Male Sex Work A Business Doing Pleasure
An interdisciplinary study of the male sex industry The male sex industry receives far less attention from social scientists than its female counterpart. Male Sex Work: A Business Doing Pleasure fills this gap in the literature, providing a multifaceted and nonjudgmental examination of the entire male sex industry. Expanding beyond the single category of street-based prostitute, the book encompasses other areas, such as stripping, performing in pornography, and escorting for an agency or on the Internet. Leading experts in wide-ranging disciplines employ methodological tools such as naturalistic observation, surveys, and personal interviews to provide an important interdisciplinary exploration of the topic. Rather than concentrate specifically on psychological profiles of sex workers, Male Sex Work: A Business Doing Pleasure focuses on the less studied aspects of the industry, such as the relational dynamics of street prostitutes, the personal experiences of racism in a gay strip club, and others. Employing researchers from disciplines such as anthropology, English, psychology, and sociology, this unique resource provides a revealing look at what really goes on in the clubs, on the streets, on the Internet, and behind the scenes of the gay porn industry. The book includes extensive references. Areas studied in Male Sex Work: A Business Doing Pleasure include:
- interpersonal relationships among male street prostitutes
- gay sex tourism
- strippers and the performance of sexuality
- the environmental context of male street prostitution
- racism and the male sex industry
- escorts and professional self-identity
- performers in pornography and the retrogressive dynamic
- the personal and community needs of Internet escorts
- the fluidity of power dynamics between stripper and customer
- Foreword (Benjamin Scuglia)
- Acknowledgments
- INTRODUCTION
- “It’s a Business Doing Pleasure with You”: An Interdisciplinary Reader on Male Sex Work (Todd G. Morrison and Bruce W. Whitehead)
- ON THE STREETS
- Male Prostitution: Pathology, Paradigms and Progress in Research (David S. Bimbi)
- Sex and the Unspoken in Male Street Prostitution (Kerwin Kaye)
- Exploring the Interpersonal Relationships in Street-Based Male Sex Work: Results from an Australian Qualitative Study (David Leary and Victor Minichiello)
- IN THE CLUBS
- Power and Control in Gay Strip Clubs (Joseph R. G. De Marco)
- Alienation of Sexuality in Male Erotic Dancing (David M. Boden)
- The Closing of Atlantis (Jonathan David Jackson)
- ON THE NET AND BEYOND
- Porn Star/Stripper/Escort: Economic and Sexual Dynamics in a Sex Work Career (Jeffrey Escoffier)
- “Nobody’s Ever Going to Make a Fag Pretty Woman”: Stigma Awareness and the Putative Effects of Stigma Among a Sample of Canadian Male Sex Workers (Todd G. Morrison and Bruce W. Whitehead)
- Looking Beyond HIV: Eliciting Individual and Community Needs of Male Internet Escorts (Jeffrey T. Parsons, Juline A. Koken, and David S. Bimbi)
- ’Western Union Daddies’ and Their Quest for Authenticity: An Ethnographic Study of the Dominican Gay Sex Tourism Industry (Mark B. Padilla)
- CONCLUSION
- Musings on Male Sex Work: A “Virtual” Discussion (Rebecca L. Harriman, Barry Johnston, and Paula M. Kenny)
- Index
- Reference Notes Included
Biography
Todd G. Morrison, PhD, a social psychologist at the National University of Ireland, Galway, conducts research on male body image, media, sex work, and homonegativity. Bruce W. Whitehead, BA, is an independent scholar. His research interests include sex work, gay men’s conscious decision to engage in condomless sexual behaviour (i.e., barebacking), gay pornography, and identity formation among sexual minorities.
