Prostitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire.

Prostitution in the gay community

We do not wish to glamourise this subject but we try and faithfully present a comprehensive coverage.

Prostitution is the oldest proffession dating back thousands of years,  individuals selling their bodies for sex and those who are prepared to pay for sex. Today in some countries it is legal and in others illegal. Males, females and even children are sold to an increasing market. We see prostitution signs in the form of flyers in public telephone boxes, magazine and newspaper adverts to pornography which is the same as prostitution with less numbers.  Red light districts, bus stations and parks are common places where street walkers ply their trade.

Students are more likely to take part as sex workers, there are more male heterosexuals selling gay sex than there are male homosexual sex workers.  Even in the work place bosses are paying individual staff to have sex. Parents in some countries are hiring out their children.

My first question is why?

Some do it to feed a drug habit, others to get out of debt, or supplement their income others may have no option if they are homeless.

Alcohol & Drug use is commonly associated with sex workers. For John at 14 years of age found himself feeding his drug habit through prostitution.

The main disadvantages:

1) Having too many sex partner increases the risk of spreading infections

2) Sex workers have the dreaded position of having to put up with most unpleasant qualities people in our society have. They may not be attractive, overweight and with personal hygiene issues, sex workers have to perform  with.

3) Physical dangers include violent behaviour from clients to strangling and knife cutting acts

The legal status of prostitution varies from country to country, from being legal and considered a profession to being punishable by death . Some jurisdictions outlaw the act of prostitution (the exchange of sexual services for money); other countries do not prohibit prostitution itself, but ban the activities typically associated with it (soliciting in a public place, operating a brothel, pimping etc), making it difficult to engage in prostitution without breaking any law; while in a few countries prostitution is legal and regulated.

The following article was published in the UK Newspaper OBSERVER in 2002

Chris started prostitution when he was 18 years old

Generally I see between one and three clients a week. I have two minimum rates, one for an in-call at my place and one for an out-call at their place or a hotel. An in-call is cheaper than an out-call. The fees range from £300 to £500. I try to suss them out over the phone, find out where they’re staying, what they do, what they look like.

I became a male prostitute when I was 18. I had just started my university course and selling sex seemed to be the best way of paying for it and the tuition fees that had just been introduced. I am gay, a member of the International Union of Sex Workers and heavily involved in the gay scene now, but at the time it was a very traumatic decision.

When I have to sell sex I do mind. If I haven’t worked for two weeks because I’ve partied really, really hard, I think, ‘oh, heck, I’ve got phone bills to pay and my graduate loan to pay, and my gym membership to pay’. Then I’ll call round old clients who pay well. It’s nice to have a reserve of regulars.

I have one-off people, people I might see very occasionally, and people who are really persistent who I might want to see because they’re interesting or the sex is okay. It’s not routinely fun, although it can be fun. The people who want to be your sugar daddy are not attractive, but they are useful for emergencies.

I used to have this safety routine where I called my best friend and told him where I was going, and made it clear what I was doing to the client. Sometimes the clients weren’t happy with the arrangement, but they didn’t have a choice. I’d be there and they’d be horny. Most of my calls now are not to houses but to hotels. They’re more lucrative as they tend to be people who are here on business.

The most clients I’ve seen in a week was five, but that was heavy going. I think I was trying to get to Australia at the time and I had loads of debt. I went to gay.com and worked out that really early on a Saturday and Sunday morning was the best time to log on because guys who had got back from clubs and hadn’t pulled were really horny and still flying on their E.

I may well carry on for another four years or so but I have other options as well. If I start working part-time I will have the benefits of going to a local authority gym and sick pay – you don’t get sick pay if you’re a prostitute. In fact the work is reliant on me being healthy. If I’ve got a cold the last thing I need is to go and have sex with someone I don’t want to have sex with.

A short career is a problem for people without exit strategies, but I’m lucky because I’ve got a good degree. When people have gone into the industry and there is nothing else they can do, they’re often trapped. And when you’re used to a lot of money and having a nice flat, there is very little you can do to earn that much. You’re starting to be yesterday’s chicken at about 28. People do lie about their ages. I laughed the other day when I saw somebody advertising himself as 22. I know he’s 25…