As much as we all love our site name—Kat, you are a genius—we know that it may not make us seem like a particularly male-friendly space. But unlike sex work’s most vociferous critics, we are very aware that not all sex workers are women. Just this week, we sent out a call for a straight male escort to review Hung (Fingers crossed!) and we have a list of guys we’d love to convince to write for us. While we get those posts lined up, why not check out this male escort’s story? My favorite part:
It is a very dangerous business because you have to look out for the police, decoys and other people that might set you up.
He goes on to tell a story of how his friend got picked up on the street by a cop posing as a client, which seems to be the only negative experience he’s had. This, in spite of the fact that “Edward” is what’s sometimes called a “survival” sex worker: he only works when he has bills he would otherwise be unable to pay. Therefore, the theory goes, he’s extra vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Ickily, I can’t help but feel like whoever framed his story is about as exploitative as his first client. We’re unhelpfully told right off the bat that he’s never had a “normal” job (What does that even mean?) and that he “brave[s] the dangers of sex work” i.e. criminalization, even though “danger” doesn’t seem to be a big component of his experience. Grossest of all is the line that “in return” for telling his story, “Edward” was granted the right to not use his legal name. Wow, how completely gracious of you “content producers” to let this guy give you his incriminating and private “content” for free and not expose him afterwards. He’s truly in your debt.
If you’re a guy, or you know a guy, who’s funny and dabbles in the “shadow economy” (as Salon calls it,) we want you!
maybe we need a brother site called… dicksandsass.com.
ittakesballs.com?
come on kat, what do you got?
ittakesballs.com! love it!
Since men don’t have as many “cute” little turns of phrase objectifying them, it would be hard to make a cute and inclusive play on words.
hot damn, you called it, trixie!
Could we start trying to popularize “dick on a stick”? I do have a thing for skinny men with giant penises….
Pocketpuppets.com
I read an incredible article some time in the last two weeks about a rent-boy talking about his first client and second client, how the first plied him with meth and he thought he was going to die and the second tipped and told him he was doing healing work. It was brilliantly written and I have SCOURED my internet history trying to find it but with no luck. If anyone else knows the article I am talking about, there’s that? Also Cyd Nova writes beautifully and acidly about being a male escort and HIV 🙂