Few professions are as misunderstood, disparaged and infamous as that of the world’s oldest profession – sex work. Male sex work in particular, has its own unique challenges.
In reality, the profiles of male sex workers are nearly as varied those of their clients, encompassing a wide range of personalities, needs and lifestyle. Male sex workers still remain the targets of myriad, centuries old, ugly culturally ingrained myths. Any of these sound familiar?
Guys become prostitutes because they’re too dumb to get a “real job.”
They do it to support a drug habit.
They must be self-hating victims of sexual abuse. They have low self-esteem.
They are walking petri dishes of yet uncatalogued STDs.
A recently launched new website, Me, Us & Male Escorting is setting about challenging these misconceptions. It also aims to lobby for the decriminalisation of sex work through an ongoing series of informative blogs and resources, including links to widely cited and read books and research papers published on male escorting.
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In creating this blog, Scott and Minichiello’s intent is “to create an innovative forum of collaboration between researchers, writers, sex workers, sex work organisations, and the media to further support the development of an ethically operated and entrepreneurially responsible business enterprise in society.”
Inaugural blog posts include “The Professionalisation Of Male Escorting” and two blogs written by male escorts, “Male Escorting: What It Takes To Make It Work” and “The Benefits Of Prostitution To Society.” A forthcoming blog will discuss the differences between legalisation and decriminalisation and highlight the benefits of decriminalising sex work.
Me, Us & Male Escorting is for everyone – from male sex workers to their friends, families and romantic partners, to government agencies and the general public. Deeply informative, frankly fascinating and utterly necessary, Me, Us & Male Escorting hopes to de-stigmatise male sex work and create a more informed forum for male escorting. “Male sex workers face a double stigma because same sex relationships are stigmatised and sex work is stigmatised,” state the site’s founders.
“We need the government to come on board and see this as work,” says Me, Us & Male Escorting co-founder Professor John Scott. “That makes it better for the sex workers who can manage their health and safety and if sex work is decriminalised better in terms of making it easier for people to pay tax and follow all the regulations like all other occupations.”
Look out for the soon to be released Me, Us & Male Escorting companion Android app, MALES, which will allow both male and female clients to search a directory of over 300 escort websites in 60 countries.
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