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Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Compared to female prostitutes, male prostitutes have been far less studied by researchers. Even so, male prostitution has an extensive history including regulation through homosexuality, conceptual developments on sexuality, and impact from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In the last century, male sex work has seen various advancements, popularizing new sexual acts, methods of exchange, and carving out a spot in cinema. Today, there is a focus on improving the work conditions, treatment, and mental health of male sex workers.

Terminology

Michel Dorais describes four types of working patterns that male prostitutes usually fall into in his book, Rent Boys: the World of Male Sex Trade Workers.

1. Outcasts: This group is severely impoverished and living day-to-day. They face substance abuse issues and most of their money goes towards alcohol and drugs (including cocaine and heroin). Frequently use drugs some time before, after, or during their sexual encounters. Compared to the others groups, outcasts included the highest number of sexual abuse victims. MSWs in this group are usually the youngest in the trade, with an average age of eighteen. Criminal activity, violence, and addition are all characteristic of "outcasts".
2. Part-Timers: Members of this group do not participate in sex work on a daily basis. They use sex work as a way to make life somewhat more comfortable, for example, if they needed to pay a bill or afford something they would not normally be able to. Drug and alcohol usage is uncharacteristic of the "part-timers". Their average age is twenty-eight years old.
3. Insiders: As the name implies, "insiders" grew up around the sex trade and view those surrounding them as their "family". Unlike the part-timers and the outcasts, the insiders view prostitution as an honorable occupation. Some try other jobs and turn back to prostitution because they miss the work. Most males use drugs to various extents in this category. The average age of an "insider" is seventeen.
4. Liberationists: A group who primarily identify as homosexual and prostitution is a source of exploration and realizing their fantasies. Liberationists have higher levels of education and self esteem, maintain good connections with their families, and exude positivity. They believe that prostitution fulfills their sexual and emotional needs, so relationships are casual.

History

Sexuality

The 1969 Stonewall Riots caused a turning point for male sex workers and the LGBTQ+ community. In response to a police raid of the Greenwich gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, patrons held a string of riots to fight for the bar, which they considered a safe haven. As the days went on, more and more activists showed up. The daily gatherings built the foundation we know today as the gay rights movement. On the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, people assembled in New York City to march in solidarity. To this day, we celebrate Pride Month in June to commemorate the movement.

As a result of these riots, there was increased openness in the community which allowed for a broader sex market. Gay publications increased and sex workers were able to print send advertisements in the mail. Telephone chat lines became another safe, line of business for sex workers. The clients were able to control their fantasy and have security in the fact that they were communicating anonymously. The emergence of hustler bars provided sex workers with a reliable and consistent supply of clients and created a more social atmosphere for them. The bars took some of the streetwalkers off the streets, providing them some protection. In exchange for being allowed to work in the hustler bars, sex workers would have to sacrifice a fraction of their incomes.The gay liberation era normalized gay men buying sex from other gay men. Before then, men hid their sexual identities because they feared ostracism or harsher punishment from authority figures. Some clients also had a preference for heterosexual MSWs. They want to be dominated, which used to be equated with straight men. New sexual practices also came about such as homosexual threesomes, anal penetration, and roleplay. As gay prostitution became more popular, less people felt like they needed to hide their sexuality (even though policing and discrimination kept some people closeted) and "embraces sexual pleasure".

Regulation

Initially, male prostitution was ignored and not subjected to any of the policing and examinations women faced. Even though law enforcement might have suspected there were male sex workers, they would disregard it. Eventually when male prostitution started being regulated, men and boys would be arrested less frequently and receives lesser sentences and fines than women. As time progressed, the target of regulation became homosexuality.

In the British Empire

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the United Kingdom indirectly regulated male sex work. By making homosexuality illegal, the U.K. caused male sex workers to become more discrete with their services to avoid being fined or jailed. Acts of indecency, whether in public or private, along with sodomy and homosexual solicitation, were a few regulatory practices put into place at that time. As the British Empire grew, the criminalization of homosexuality spread around the world. Subsequently, male prostitutes moved into more urban or commercialized spaces to blend in with their surroundings and not draw attention to themselves. Such laws were in place in England and Australia until the mid-1960s.

Once anti-homosexuality laws started disappearing, much more scientific research started on the concept. Research challenged the idea that homosexuality was an act of deviance and caused a divide in the UK. For that reason, Sir John Wolfenden chaired the Wolfenden Report. The report resulted in the Royal Commission stating "it is not the function of the law to intervene in the private lives of citizens, or to seek to enforce any particular pattern of behavior" that is not already outlined. In the end, the commission suggested that adult consensual acts, kept out of the public eye, should not be subject to criminalization.

The Sexual Offences Act of 2000 lowered the age of consent for homosexual males from 18 to 16, similar to heterosexual and lesbian individuals.

Australia began to decriminalize homosexuality in the late 20th century.

In the United States

During the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic, there was an increase in regulation among sex workers. On June 16, 1981, the National Institute of Health admitted a 35-year old gay man to their Clinical Center. He was the first person with AIDS to ever be admitted at NIH. Because multiple gay men were the first to have been diagnosed with AIDS, the syndrome was strongly associated with the homosexual male. Terms such as "gay cancer" and "gay men's pneumonia" began circulating.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) represent roughly 2 to 7 percent of the U.S. population. However, this demographic accounts for 55% of all HIV infections in the country. One reason why MSM are overrepresented in HIV cases is because anal sex is highly efficient in transmitting the virus. People who participate in anal sex are 18 times more likely to contract HIV than people who have vaginal sex. This is because the walls of the rectum are much less dense and more fragile than the walls of the vagina, allowing the virus to slip through easily. Due to the difference in biological characteristics, anal sex increases the risk of HIV infection. Also, the rectum is full of CD4 cells, which HIV likes to target for infection.

At its peak, sex workers were seen as a public health issue and high transmitters of the virus. In effect, the Prostitution Act of 1992 and Sex Work Act of 1994 prohibited people from engaging in sex work if there was reasonable belief that they may have or transmit any sexually transmitted disease. But, these laws did not require transmission to occur. Other laws like the Prostitution Act of 2000 prohibit solicitation of sexual services in public places.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for "international decriminalization of sex work to improve the well-being of sex workers." Criminalization reinforces stereotypes of deviance, disease, and delinquency, and prohibits such improvements. The WHO also recommends the establishment of anti-discrimination laws for protection of sex worker rights. To sex workers directly, they suggested voluntary testing, consistent and correct contraceptive usage, and anti-retroviral therapy for HIV positive workers as good practice.

Introduction to prostitution

Surveys show that male sex workers often report getting into prostitution after running away from home, due to unfortunate home situations. While the trade is not forced upon most, it is often out of desperation. After running away to major cities with no money, some resort to prostitution to take care of themselves. But, extreme poverty is not the only reason why men and boys partake in prostitution. Bridge Over Troubled Waters Inc, a Boston agency that works with children in crisis, surveyed young male prostitutes and 86% of them reported having to serve someone's sexual needs prior to joining in sex work. Many are sexualized/victimized as children, but there is little-to-no data that confirms a direct link to prostitution. Nonetheless, some do believe that sex, whether casual or transactional, is a way to acquire affection and attention, which can influence their sexual activity. Often, they have no prior experiences with prostitution and do not approach potential clients, but they allow the punters to approach them. Male prostitutes generally do not have pimps, but if they do, it is usually because they have not learned how to find their own clients and take care of themselves yet.

If parents were to know about their child's participation in sex work, they usually have one of two responses. If their clients are older men, and the relationship is going, some parents take that as an exploitative relationship. In this case, they may report this observation. However, other parents may condone the practice. If the household is struggling, they will let their son continue engaging in sex work because they need the additional income and "working class boys" are expected to contribute to bills.

Present-day male prostitution

Public toilets

Male prostitutes may work in public bathrooms in parks and establishments. Clients like this setting for various reasons. Some men like the "excitement" or rush that comes from the encounter. People have reported not being able to reach an orgasm if they aren't in the toilets. In this case, the idea of almost getting caught is desirable. Other clients enjoy the anonymity and brief nature of the experience. As some clients have families and a reputation to uphold, the lavatory is convenient; they enjoy the sexual experience with minimal risk of being found out and without emotional attachment.

Help and support for male sex workers

In the United States and other places, there are few resources and little support readily available for male sex workers working and/or living on the streets. Men and boys in this situation may face many issues. Male sex workers are often portrayed as having complete agency and rationality, while women are more often seen as vulnerable victims. This framework contributes to the idea that mean do not suffer from emotional issues.They may be at a higher risk for health problems and abuse.^{[citation needed]} They face greater pressure to engage in unprotected sex than female prostitutes.^{[citation needed]} They are generally paid less than female prostitutes.^{[citation needed]} Male street prostitutes may have issues such as drug addiction. Men also omit the fact that they are sex workers more often than not. Male prostitutes keep this aspect of their lives hidden to prevent judgment and shame from being passed on them. Because male sex workers do not disclose this information, they frequently deal with social isolation. Isolation and concealable stigma identities (negative stereotypes that can be hidden from others) can increase psychological distress, explaining the heightened vulnerability to mental health problems. Offering support and health care to such stigmatized people can be difficult due to a reluctance to disclose information about their work to health care professionals, which can also make male prostitutes difficult to identify in order to reach out to.

In recent years, some organizations directed specifically at helping male sex workers have been founded and some studies have begun on this little-studied population. For example, Richard Holcomb, a former sex worker, founded "Project Weber", a harm reduction program in Providence, Rhode Island, that offers resources and support to male sex workers living on the streets, including a needle exchange and HIV testing. Holcomb cited the lack of data available on male commercial sex workers in the region as his reason for helping develop a 2010 survey to assess the needs of this population. Project Weber recruited and surveyed 50 male sex workers living on the streets of Providence. Holcomb cited the fact that he and members of his team are former sex workers themselves as one of the primary reasons why they were able to gain access to the men in order to conduct this survey. The project says they have gleaned valuable data on male sex workers who work and live on the streets of Providence. Holcomb has also created several documentaries meant to draw attention to the subjects of male street prostitution and drug use.

Clients of male sex workers

Sex work clients are people who pay for sexual services. Before the mid-20th century, clients were invisible and shielded from public discourse. Sex workers face the double standard of people being critical of them for supplying sex, but not the clients for demanding/buying sex.

Characteristics of clients

While clients can be of any gender, most of them are conventionally unattractive, older (middle-aged) men. Common reasons for resorting to buy sex include: fear of not being able to find other partners without paying them, attraction to adolescents, or having unsatisfying sex lives. Overall, the rent boy would fill the sexual or emotional void that the client could be experiencing.

Donald West explains three different scenarios that clients may possibly in:

1. Married men with unsatisfied or non-existent sex lives. These johns might be homosexual or purely unhappy in their current situation so they resort to commercial sex.
2. Men who have healthy (heterosexual) marriages and homosexual experiences on the side, appearing to be bisexual.
3. Lastly, there are non-married men who are closeted and scared of being found out, or men that are openly gay and looking for more opportunities for sex.

Clients tend to request anal sex, but the most common services requested are mutual masturbation and oral sex.

Support, friendship, and dependence

Some clients that are well-off like to take care of the rent boys that they hire. The buyer-seller relationship can turn into a friendship where sex was excluded. Renters might finance the sex worker's education, find them new clients or other jobs, or provide them with food, shelter, clothing, etc.

Pedophilia is generally looked down upon in society, but if you ask some young male sex workers, they often praise their clients. The commercial sex trade can help both the seller and buyer satisfy their wants and needs.