Male prostitution

Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be any gender, the vast majority are male. Compared to female prostitutes, male prostitutes have been far less studied by researchers.

The terms used for male prostitutes generally differ from those used for females. Some terms vary by clientele or method of business. Where prostitution is illegal or taboo, it is common for male prostitutes to use euphemisms which present their business as providing companionship, nude modeling or dancing, body massage, or some other acceptable fee-for-service arrangement. Thus one may be referred to as a male escort, gigolo (implying female customers), rent-boy, hustler (more common for those soliciting in public places), model, or masseur. A man who does not regard himself as gay, but who has sex with male clients for money, is sometimes called gay-for-pay or trade.

Male clients, especially those who pick up prostitutes on the street or in bars, are sometimes called johns or tricks. Those working in prostitution, especially street prostitutes, sometimes refer to the act of prostitution as turning tricks.

Male prostitution has been found in almost all modern and ancient cultures. The practice in the ancient world of men or women selling sexual services in sacred shrines, or sacred prostitution, was attested to be practised by foreign or pagan cultures in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Male prostitutes are also attested to in Graeco-Roman culture in the New Testament, among many other ancient sources. Some interpreters consider that in one of the Pauline vice lists, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, one of the words malakoi ("soft") or arsenokoitai (a compound of "male" and "bed") refer to male prostitution (or male temple prostitution): this interpretation of arsenokoitai is followed in the New Revised Standard Version.

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