Male prostitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Male prostitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Factors like the difference in age, in social status and in economic status between the sex worker and his client have been cited as major sources of social criticism. Similar social stigma may also be attached to amorous relationships that do not involve direct payment for sexual services, and therefore do not fit the definition of prostitution, but which may be seen by some as a form of "quasi"-prostitution, (in that there is a power imbalance and a reward for companionship or sex). The older member in such relationships may be referred as a "sugar daddy" or "sugar momma"; the young lover may be called a "kept boy" or "boy toy". Within the gay community, the members of this kind of couple are sometimes called "dad" (or "daddy") and "son" - without implying incest. The social disdain for age/status disparity in relationships is and has been less pronounced in certain cultures at certain historical times.

The topic of male prostitution has been examined by feminist theorists. Feminist theorists Justin Gaffney and Kate Beverley stated that the insights gained from research on male sex workers in central London allowed comparison between the experiences of the 'hidden' population of male prostitutes and the traditionally subordinate position of women in a patriarchal society. Gaffney and Beverley argue that male sex workers occupy a subordinate position in our society which, as with women, is ensured by hegemonic and patriarchal constructs.

In contrast, social theorists writing from a post-structural critical theory perspective have claimed that unlike women, male sex workers are seen as less likely to take on submissive roles by their clients due to hegemonic misogynistic social constructs. Based on a series of interviews, Douglas Langston finds the attitude of "johns" and underground male sex workers towards gender relations 'remarkably misogynistic.' Langston argues that both express a remarkably similar misogyny to the point of male homoerotism, and fetishization of patriarchal domination, especially over subjects seen by other members of society as less likely to take on submissive roles and more likely to rape and/or abuse women who try to dominate them.