Male sex workers: A comparative study of a fringe phenomenon in Italy and Sweden

This research aims at mapping and analysing the phenomenon of male sex workers (specifically men that sell sex to other men, M$M) in Italy and Sweden. If female sex work has been studied from different scholars worldwide, a lack of attention exists on the male side of the phenomenon. This gap in the academic literature mirrors a more general \u2018invisibility\u2019 of the issue also in other domains - politics (governments and public institutions), press and public opinion. What are the reasons that drive male sex workers to start selling sex? How do they manage the activities of selling sex and sexual services? The research points, first of all, at answering these questions and at grasping the different sides of the phenomenon through a qualitative methodology. In-depth interviews with sex workers (the so-called supply side) will be carried on in Italy and in Sweden together with an online ethnography, since the phenomenon of male sex workers is strongly related to the use of internet, new media, and mobile applications. An important part of the research is devoting to the different legislation that exists in Italy (abolitionist country) and Sweden (neo-prohibitionist country) and on the effects of existing provisions on sex workers. Moreover, this project will look inside the two countries in order to better understand the effects of these laws in society and public authorities. The project also looks at the working conditions of sex workers and at the services provided to their clients. A further gap in most studies, indeed, relates to the analysis of sex work as an actual work