Harrington Park Press

Economic Analyses of Male Sex Work
Trevon D. Logan
DOI: dx.doi.org/10.17312/harringtonparkpress/2014.09.msws.005

Trevon Logan’s analysis reveals a hierarchy of sexual preferences among clients, many of which have a high market value. What we find unique about his analysis is that it demonstrates that certain types of male bodies and sexual practices are objectified and commodified, which is evident in the market values different body types are accorded. This is not unlike what feminist commentators have observed with regard to the female body. Logan demonstrates how sexuality, race, and ethnicity are socially constructed, often symbiotically, and that cultural imperatives play an important role in determining what is and is not attractive to men. There is a market order among male escorts that is reflected in their physical and social characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, which influences sexual exchanges. Race is significant in the way we conceptualize masculinity and the male body, and can be an important indicator of sexual prowess. Blacks, for example, are likely to be perceived as aggressive and dominant sexual partners, whereas Asians are presented as passive. Research on how accurate these perceptions are is still ongoing.

Race-based stereotypes tend to segregate sexual networks, and in so doing may create risk groups that are centered not so much on behavior as on racial categories. Regretfully, targets of stereotyping also may be more likely to engage in risky sex. Logan concludes that technological change has altered the structureand organization of the male sex industry and expanded the market for male sex workers into suburban and rural spaces. These changes have substantially increased the number of male escorts, created new markets for sex work encounters, and extended the reach of male sex work to a much wider potential clientele.