Male sex workers as students

Men comprise roughly ten percent of the overall population engaged in direct forms of sex work. Of this number roughly ten percent provide services to women, the majority of male sex work involving a male clientele. For this reason, male sex work has often been conflated with ‘homosexuality’ and social control measures have reflected this association. Male sex workers have also faced a double stigma linked to engaging in prostitution and homosexual activities. Despite this, surprisingly little research exists that has focussed on male sex workers as students. To understand this relative neglect, we examine how male sex work has been constructed as a social problem, including efforts to de-stigmatise or normalise male sex work as an occupation or career. We then draw on two interviews with male sex workers who were engaged in tertiary education to examine what they do from an occupational lens. We conclude by noting the importance of masculinity in framing the experience of male sex work and constructs of male sex workers