scholarly journals When the law is silent: stigma and challenges faced by male sex workers in Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-317
Author(s):  
Mana Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Commercial Sex ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Control Regulation ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
The Law ◽  
Japanese Law

AbstractThis study considers how invisibility under the law can lead to stigmatisation. It examines how legal silence affects the stigmatisation process and the identity of male sex workers in Japan. Since male sex work is currently not recognised under Japanese law, male sex workers are not subject to control, regulation, punishment or protection. However, the number of male sex workers in Japan is increasing. Many studies have noted that male sex workers may experience double stigmatisation – referring to the stigma associated with homosexuality and the stigma associated with commercial sex. Male sex workers in Japan, however, may face an additional stigma caused by the fact that the law essentially ignores their existence. This paper draws on fieldwork interviews to show how the silence of the law can exacerbate the marginalisation and disempowerment of a vulnerable social group.

scholarly journals Male sex work and HIV risk among young heroin users in Hanoi, Vietnam

Sexual Health ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Clatts ◽  
Le M. Giang ◽  
Lloyd A. Goldsamt ◽  
Huso Yi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
Sexual Encounter ◽  
Anal Sex ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Heroin Users ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Receptive Anal Sex ◽  
Male Sex

The present study describes complex drug and sexual risk in a group of male sex workers (n = 79) who were recruited in the context of a larger study of young heroin users in Hanoi, Vietnam (n = 1270). Male sex workers were significantly more likely than male non-sex workers to be migrants (P < 0.001) and to have unstable housing (P < 0.001), to have lifetime exposure to marijuana (P < 0.001), 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) (P < 0.01), amphetamines (P < 0.05), cocaine (P < 0.01) and morphine (P < 0.001). Male sex workers are more likely to currently use MDMA (P < 0.05), amphetamines (P < 0.001), morphine (P < 0.05) and to ‘smoke’ as their most frequent mode of heroin administration (P < 0.01). Male sex workers are more likely to have both male and female concurrent sex partners (P < 0.001), to have a history of sexual victimisation (P < 0.001), to have had more than three different sex partners in the past 30 days (P < 0.001), and to have had partners who injected drugs before sex (P < 0.001) or who used drugs during sex (P < 0.01). In their last sexual encounter with a client partner, approximately one-third (31.1%) reported having had receptive anal sex. In nearly three-quarters of these exchanges (71.4%), no condom was used. Similarly, in their last sexual encounter with a client partner, 42.2% reported having had insertive anal sex and in nearly half (47.4%) of these encounters no condom was used. Consistent with recent data from elsewhere in the region, there is an urgent need for additional research on male sex work in South-east Asia in order to properly situate behavioural interventions for male sex workers in this region.

scholarly journals A different kind of risky business: Men who manage men in the sex industry

Sexualities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136346072110263
Author(s):  
Tuulia Law
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Perceptions Of Risk ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Managerial Strategies ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Work Management

Drawing from qualitative interview data, this article examines men who manage men in the sex industry. A gendered lens reveals that male sex work management engages with sexual and gender scripts in ways that are quite distinct from female sex work. These third parties assume that male sex workers can defend their own security but notably also worry about male workers victimizing them, even as they opportunistically deploy hegemonic masculinity in their business and security practices. The article highlights and reflects on how these framings shape managerial strategies, perceptions of risk and the law, and experiences of stigma.

scholarly journals Investigating the effects of COVID-19 on global male sex work populations: a longitudinal study of digital data

2020 ◽  
pp. sextrans-2020-054550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denton Callander ◽  
Étienne Meunier ◽  
Ryan DeVeau ◽  
Christian Grov ◽  
Basil Donovan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Risk Reduction Strategies

ObjectivesRecommendations of ‘social distancing’ and home quarantines to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic have implications for sex and intimacy, including sex work. This study examined the effects of COVID-19 on male sex work globally and investigated how men who sold sex responded to and engaged with the virus in the context of work.MethodsThis study made use of an existing database of deidentified data extracted from the online profiles maintained by male sex workers on a large, international website. Website engagement metrics were calculated for the periods before (September to December 2019) and during COVID-19 (January to May 2020); Poisson regression analyses were used to assess changes over time before and after, while a content analysis was undertaken to identify modes of engagement with the virus.ResultsData were collected from 78 399 profiles representing 19 388 individuals. In the ‘before’ period, the number of active profiles was stable (inter-rate ratio (IRR)=1.01, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.01, p=0.339) but during COVID-19 decreased by 26.3% (IRR=0.90, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.91, p<0.001). Newly created profiles also decreased during COVID-19 (59.4%; IRR=0.71, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.74, p<0.001) after a period of stability. In total, 211 unique profiles explicitly referenced COVID-19; 185 (85.8%) evoked risk reduction strategies, including discontinuation of in-person services (41.2%), pivoting to virtual services (38.9%), COVID-19 status disclosure (20.9%), enhanced sanitary and screening requirements (12.3%) and restricted travel (5.2%). Some profiles, however, seemed to downplay the seriousness of COVID-19 or resist protective measures (14.7%).ConclusionsThese findings support the contention that COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the sex industry; globally, male sex workers may be facing considerable economic strain. Targeted education and outreach are needed to support male sex workers grappling with COVID-19, including around the most effective risk reduction strategies. Those involved with the sex industry must have access to state-sponsored COVID-19 financial and other aid programmes to support individual and public health.

The Economics of Male Sex Work

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevon D. Logan
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Prostitution ◽  
Male Clients ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Basic Features

This chapter examines the economics of male prostitution as practiced in the United States. It begins with an overview of some basic features and organization of the online market for male sex work. It then considers the unique social circumstances that occur in male prostitution and how they inform the economic analysis. It also reviews two empirical economic issues that have been analyzed in the literature: the role of asymmetric information and the geographic distribution of male-sex-worker services. The results show that male sex workers typically attempt to signal their reliability to potential male customers by providing detailed information about their identity ex ante so as to credibly implicate themselves if there is any ex post negative outcome. Furthermore, male sex workers appear to have a nontrivial number of heterosexually identified male clients, which can help explain why credible signals by male sex workers are so important in this market.

Sex and the City

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliraza Javaid
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Clients ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Despite the issue that male sex work involves a substantial proportion of the market and is key to making clear the impact of gender in shaping male sex workers' experiences and their oftentimes fleeting relationship with male clients, work on sex work has largely focused on female sex workers to a far greater extent than their male counterparts. Subsequently, we know little of the social relations between male sex workers and their male clients. The interactional dynamics of sellers and clients in such settings are rarely considered. The author's focus, then, is exploring the social interactions between male sex workers and their male clients in particular. I seek to examine the ways in which such interactions could manifest in different settings and contexts within the area of male sex work. For example, I unravel the interactional dynamics in the setting of sexual violence against male sex workers.

scholarly journals Drifters, Party Boys and Incumbents: The Life Patterns of Male Street-based Sex Workers

Sociology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Ellison
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Rational Decision ◽  
Life Patterns ◽  
Rational Decision Making ◽  
Male Prostitution ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Working Practices

This article is based on a qualitative study of male street-based prostitution. It suggests that the street-based sector is more varied, with sellers adopting a wider range of working practices, than is commonly acknowledged in the literature on male prostitution. Drawing on data from Manchester, England, I identify a number of ‘life patterns’ among male street sellers that reflect varied working practices based on issues around rational decision-making and the sex worker’s relationship to place and environment. The discussion has implications for urban policies around street-based sex work but also for a more general understanding of male sex work in an international and comparative perspective.

scholarly journals Violence and Victimization in Interactions Between Male Sex Workers and Male Clients in Mombasa, Kenya

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052092236
Author(s):  
Pablo K. Valente ◽  
Alberto Edeza, BS ◽  
Tsitsi B. Masvawure ◽  
Theo G. M. Sandfort ◽  
Peter B. Gichangi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Peer Networks ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Clients ◽  
Sexual Exchange ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Sex Practices

Male sex workers (MSWs) and male clients (MCMs) who engage their services face increased vulnerability to violence in Kenya, where same-sex practices and sex work are criminalized. However, little is known about how violence might arise in negotiations between MSWs and MCMs. This study explored the types of victimization experienced by MSWs and MCMs, the contexts in which these experiences occurred, and the responses to violence among these groups. We conducted in-depth interviews with 25 MSWs and 11 MCMs recruited at bars and clubs identified by peer sex worker educators as “hotspots” for sex work in Mombasa, Kenya. Violence against MSWs frequently included physical or sexual assault and theft, whereas MCMs’ experiences of victimization usually involved theft, extortion, or other forms of economic violence. Explicitly negotiating the price for the sexual exchange before having sex helped avoid conflict and violence. For many participants, guesthouses that were tolerant of same-sex encounters were perceived as safer places for engaging in sex work. MSWs and MCMs rarely reported incidents of violence to the police due to fear of discrimination and arrests by law enforcement agents. Some MSWs fought back against violence enacted by clients or tapped into peer networks to obtain information about potentially violent clients as a strategy for averting conflicts and violence. Our study contributes to the limited literature examining the perspectives of MSWs and MCMs with respect to violence and victimization, showing that both groups are vulnerable to violence and in need of interventions to mitigate violence and protect their health. Future interventions should consider including existing peer networks of MSWs in efforts to prevent violence in the context of sex work. Moreover, decriminalizing same-sex practices and sex work in Kenya may inhibit violence against MSWs and MCMs and provide individuals with safer spaces for engaging in sex work.

Freelancers, Temporary Wives, and Beach-Boys: Researching Sex Work in the Caribbean

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamala Kempadoo
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Sex Trade ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Beach Boys ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
The Caribbean

This article presents insights from a research project on sex work that took place in the Caribbean region during 1997–8. First it briefly summarizes common themes in historical and contemporary studies of sex work in the region, then describes the aims, methodology, and main trends of the project. It pays particular attention to the differences between definitions and experiences of sex work by female and male sex workers and of male and female sex tourists, as well as describing conditions in the Caribbean sex trade. Finally the article identifies some implications of the complexity in the region that were uncovered through the research project for feminist theorizing about sex work.

scholarly journals CORE GROUPS AND THE TRANSMISSION OF HIV: LEARNING FROM MALE SEX WORKERS

2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
MELISSA PARKER
Keyword(s):  
Sex Workers ◽  
Sexual Relationships ◽  
Unprotected Sex ◽  
Commercial Sex ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Core Group ◽  
Sexual Contacts ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Social And Sexual Networks ◽  
Selling Sex

A growing and substantial body of research suggests that female sex workers play a disproportionately large role in the transmission of HIV in many parts of the world, and they are often referred to as core groups by epidemiologists, mathematical modellers, clinicians and policymakers. Male sex workers, by contrast, have received little attention and it is not known whether it is helpful to conceptualize them as a core group. This paper draws upon ethnographic research documenting social and sexual networks in London and looks at the position of five male sex workers within a network comprising 193 men and seven women (as well as 1378 anonymous sexual contacts and 780 commercial contacts). In so doing, it suggests that there is no evidence to show that male sex workers are more or less likely to acquire or transmit HIV in the course of commercial sex compared with other types of sexual relationships. In addition, men engaging in non-commercial sex all reported having unprotected sex in a variety of contexts and relationships and there is no evidence to suggest that men who are not sex workers play less of a role in the transmission of HIV. In short, these data suggest that it would be inappropriate to conceptualize male sex workers as a core group. This is not to suggest that public policy should continue to overlook male sex workers. New and inventive approaches are required to reach out to a vulnerable but diverse group of men, selling sex for a variety of reasons; even if these men are no more vulnerable to acquiring and/or transmitting HIV than other men and women that form part of their network.

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