Male prostitutes, like females, may engage in street hustling, bar hustling, and escort prostitution (Luckenbill, 1984). The differences between these types of prostitution are in income potential and personal safety.
Street and Bar Hustlers Male street and bar hustlers solicit clients on the street or in parks that are known for the availability of the sexual trade. The majority of male prostitutes begin with street hustling, especially if they are too young to get into bars. Male prostitutes, like female prostitutes, ask their clients if they are “looking for some action.”
Due to increasing fear and danger on the streets, many street hustlers eventually move into bars. One male prostitute explains:
You got a lot of different kinds of assholes out there. When someone pulls up and says
“get in,” you get in. And you can look at their eyes, and they can be throwing fire out
of their eyes, and have a knife under the seat. You’re just in a bad situation. I avoid it
by not hustling in the street. I hustle in the bars now. (Luckenbill, 1984, p. 288)
Male prostitutes also report that bar hustling enables them to make more money than street hustling because they get to set their own prices. The average price for a bar trick ranges from $50 to $75.
Escorts A natural progression after bar hustling is escort prostitution, which involves finding someone who arranges clients but also takes a share of the profits. Each date that is arranged for an escort can bring from $150 to $200, and the prostitute usually keeps 60% for himself. However, escort services are not always well-run or honest operations, and problems with escort operators may force a male prostitute to return to bar hustling. Compared with other types of male prostitutes, however, escort prostitutes are least likely to be arrested.
Call Boys Like call girls, call boys keep a small group of clients with whom they have sex occasionally to earn money. Many of these prostitutes have had experience working both on the street and in bars, but they leave to go into business for themselves.
Transsexual and Transvestite Prostitutes Transsexual and transvestite prostitution is more common among male-to-female transsexuals than female-to-male (Perkins & Bennett, 1985). Some male transvestite prostitutes adopt an exaggerated female appearance and work beside female prostitutes (Elifson et al., 1993a), luring unsuspecting clients who do not always realize he is male. Most are homosexual males, but some are she-males. After being on hormonal therapy prior to sex reassignment surgery, they develop breasts but also still have a penis.
What we know about adolescent prostitution is disheartening. For adolescents who run away from home, prostitution offers a way to earn money and to establish their autonomy. Many of these adolescents have been sexually abused and have psychological problems (Gibson-Ainyette et al., 1988; S. J. Thompson, 2005). Adolescent prostitution can have long-term psychological and sociological effects on the adolescents and their families (Landau, 1987).
It is estimated that between 750,000 and 1,000,000 minors run away from home each year in the United States and that more than 85% eventually become involved in prostitution (Landau, 1987). Others prostitute while living at home. See the accompanying Personal Voices, “Adolescent Prostitution,” for one adolescent’s account.
Pimps look for scared adolescent runaways at train and bus stations and lure them with promises of friendship and potential love relationships. A pimp will approach a runaway in a very caring and friendly way, offering to buy her a meal or give her a place to stay. At first, he makes no sexual demands whatsoever. He buys her clothes and meals and does whatever it takes to make her feel indebted to him. To him, all of his purchases
Personal Voices