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Sex work is (also) a male thing : The long journey towards legitimisation

Bacio, Marco LU and Rinaldi, Cirus (2022) p.317-329
Abstract
This chapter analyses an unexplored field of study: male sex workers. Indeed, while their female counterparts have been widely researched, there is a lack of attention on men who sell sex. For this reason, we aim to (re)shape the representations, theories, rhetoric, organisation, and types of male sex work as a complex, uncomfortable, and controversial phenomenon. First we engage with a social history of male sex working, passing through the different views and definitions of male prostitution, from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire to the French Empire of the 19th century and Italy in the early years of the 20th century. The second part of the chapter highlights the most recent studies on men who sell sex to other men, particularly in... (More)
This chapter analyses an unexplored field of study: male sex workers. Indeed, while their female counterparts have been widely researched, there is a lack of attention on men who sell sex. For this reason, we aim to (re)shape the representations, theories, rhetoric, organisation, and types of male sex work as a complex, uncomfortable, and controversial phenomenon. First we engage with a social history of male sex working, passing through the different views and definitions of male prostitution, from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire to the French Empire of the 19th century and Italy in the early years of the 20th century. The second part of the chapter highlights the most recent studies on men who sell sex to other men, particularly in Anglo-Saxon countries. Although the fight towards legitimisation of this stigmatised category is not yet won, scholars show how the Internet and the new technologies have changed both the characteristics of sex workers and how sex work is performed. In other words, is it now possible to define sex work as a job like any other? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Male sex work, Legitimisation, Criminalisation, Masculinity, Social history
host publication
The Routledge Companion to Gender, Sexuality and Culture
editor
Rees, Emma
pages
13 pages
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85151315042
ISBN
9780367822040
9780367822040
DOI
10.4324/9780367822040-32
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
cc1c9b4d-9944-466d-b912-85127d609161
date added to LUP
2023-04-04 17:53:30
date last changed
2023-05-29 15:30:40
@inbook{cc1c9b4d-9944-466d-b912-85127d609161,
  abstract     = {{This chapter analyses an unexplored field of study: male sex workers. Indeed, while their female counterparts have been widely researched, there is a lack of attention on men who sell sex. For this reason, we aim to (re)shape the representations, theories, rhetoric, organisation, and types of male sex work as a complex, uncomfortable, and controversial phenomenon. First we engage with a social history of male sex working, passing through the different views and definitions of male prostitution, from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire to the French Empire of the 19th century and Italy in the early years of the 20th century. The second part of the chapter highlights the most recent studies on men who sell sex to other men, particularly in Anglo-Saxon countries. Although the fight towards legitimisation of this stigmatised category is not yet won, scholars show how the Internet and the new technologies have changed both the characteristics of sex workers and how sex work is performed. In other words, is it now possible to define sex work as a job like any other?}},
  author       = {{Bacio, Marco and Rinaldi, Cirus}},
  booktitle    = {{The Routledge Companion to Gender, Sexuality and Culture}},
  editor       = {{Rees, Emma}},
  isbn         = {{9780367822040}},
  keywords     = {{Male sex work; Legitimisation; Criminalisation; Masculinity; Social history}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{317--329}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  title        = {{Sex work is (also) a male thing : The long journey towards legitimisation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780367822040-32}},
  doi          = {{10.4324/9780367822040-32}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}