Women are Victims, Men Make Choices: The Invisibility of Men and Boys in the Global Sex Trade - Gender Issues

SamaelET · 2022-03-19T16:53:24+00:00

To locate articles concerning the global sex trade as a social and political phenomenon, a search was performed on JSTOR and SocInfo, the two largest social science databases, for articles in peer-reviewed journals, published between January 2002 and March 2007, with any of several keywords or phrases in the abstracts: prostitution, prostitutes, sex workers, sex work, male prostitution, male prostitutes, male sex workers. After reviews, opinion pieces and historical studies were excluded, 166 articles remained.

Agency, whether the sex worker had been coerced by an outside party or was engaging in sexual exchanges through deliberate choice, was measured primarily through the term used in the title of the article for the provider. ‘‘Prostitute,’’ ‘‘prostitution,’’ or variations suggests coercion, while ‘‘sex work,’’ ‘‘sex worker,’’ ‘‘the sex trade,’’ or ‘‘the sex industry’’ suggests a career choice similar to how one would choose to become an office worker or retail salesperson. The abstracts and full texts of the articles were also examined for other evocations of choice or coercion.

As Table 1 indicates, 84% of the articles in the sample discussed only female sex workers, 10% only male, and 6% both

The mere belief that women outnumber the men in sex work, however, does not explain why men are so often completely erased. Only 28 articles, 17%, explicitly stated that they were limiting their populations to women. The majority, 67%, presented the term ‘‘prostitute’’ as precisely identical to ‘‘female prostitute’’ and ‘‘sex worker’’ as precisely identical to ‘‘female sex worker,’’ as if ‘‘male prostitute’’ or ‘‘male sex worker’’ was a linguistic impossibility. Terms, pronouns, and subsidiary descriptions constantly suggested that the authors were not consciously limiting their populations to ‘‘the majority’’; they actually believed that only women participated in the sex industry as providers.

Even the 28 articles that specified women and girls as the group of interest often failed to acknowledge that the sample was limited; they presented female sex workers as the totality of the population

Men, women, and children of both sexes can and do become sex workers, yet none of the 33 articles on trafficking specified a male population, and only one specified both genders. Two others dismissed the male victims in a single phrase (‘‘women, girls, and a smaller number of men and boys’’), and for the rest, trafficking in men and boys simply does not occur. Mameli writes about the ‘‘illegal trafficking of human beings,’’ but does not mention male human beings at all. Huda [23] discusses’’ human trafficking’’ in Lebanon, but likewise equates ‘‘human’’ with '‘woman only.’’

None of the 29 articles in the Legality category (legal, philosophical, and theoretical studies) discussed both genders, and only one specified men. Five specified women, and the other 23, 79% of the total, simply assumed that sex workers are always female.

Most of the other authors of articles in the Legality category found no need to justify their exclusion of male sex workers, as if they were not aware that they were excluding anyone.

Two-thirds of the articles concerning female sex workers (gender specified or assumed) described violence as the most significant threat. Article after article evoked ‘‘Violence and Legalized Brothel Prostitution in Nevada,’’ ‘‘Adult Sexual Assault and Prostitution,’’ ‘‘Sex Work and Date Violence,’’ or ‘‘Client Violence in Female Street Prostitution.’’ Carter and Dalla [6] note that ‘‘male violence against female street workers is endemic,’’ and specify as potential sources ‘‘clients, pimps, boyfriends, and strangers.’’ No article mentioned the violence female sex workers might experience at the hands of female clients, pimps, or romantic partners, or any violence that male sex workers might experience.

The lack of attention to violence as a threat to the male sex worker may be partially explained by the belief that his world is indeed violence-free. While some studies have demonstrated that male sex workers suffer less violence than female sex workers, particularly since they are less likely to be pimp-controlled, by no means is violence utterly unknown. They can be and are victimized by romantic partners, fellow prostitutes, and the police, and by homophobes looking for easy targets for hate crimes.

The lack of attention to violence as a threat to the male sex worker may be partially explained by the belief that his world is indeed violence-free. While some studies have demonstrated that male sex workers suffer less violence than female sex workers, particularly since they are less likely to be pimp-controlled, by no means is violence utterly unknown. They can be and are victimized by romantic partners, fellow prostitutes, and the police [21, 39], and by homophobes looking for easy targets for hate crimes.

Another possible explanation is the stereotype of women as soft and fragile and men as hard and tough, able to take care of themselves; thus, violence against women elicits concern, while violence against men is ‘‘life as usual.’’

The threat of AIDS appeared in 26% articles concerning dangers to female sex workers (specified or assumed) and in 57% of those concerning dangers to male sex workers. [...] However, AIDS was rarely framed as a danger to the male sex worker himself; instead, he
transmitted the HIV virus to heterosexual or bisexual clients, who then went home and infected wives, girlfriends, and female prostitutes, thus spreading AIDS in the general (heterosexual) population. The male sex worker himself was not a victim, but a threat. The danger was to the public.

The term ‘‘prostitute’’ or its equivalents was preferred in 66% of the articles concerning women (specified or assumed), but in only 25% of the articles concerning men, while 75% of the articles concerning men preferred the term ‘‘sex worker’’ or its equivalents. The implication is clear: women are forced to participate in sexual exchanges, but men are not.

(Seems a bit far fetched imo)

ModernSchizoid · 2022-03-20T12:28:49+00:00

Typical double standard. This is like a stone-age perception of the sexes, men can have crimes committed on them too, regardless of what kind of crime it is. Just because their societal role is assuming a protective role towards women and children doesn't mean they can't be abused.

Society's contempt towards men in non-traditional roles makes up another category of invisible 'men'. Don't even try to say you respect them, most often it is a person like you who has ruined their life and is now scapegoating somebody else, probably their children.

Men like these are often mother-dependent, and the majority of the damage to their psyche comes from the maternal figure's dominant disposition. The mother feeds poison to the child in the name of love and ends up creating stellar examples of loserdom, like Devdas.

A man raising a cyber-stalking or hacking complaint about a woman psychologically torturing him (in certain regions of the planet) - the cops wouldn't even bat an eyelid. The man might even get laughed at, or worse, threatened. Personally seen it myself. The man's life being under threat is of no consequence to the officials.

The complaint won't even get looked into. The same woman makes the same complaint and there's a SWAT team outside the guy's house and the woman is magically in witness protection. A woman complains that you touched her in the wrong way (with no proof) and your entire life is ruined, as you know it. She can withdraw consent, at any point she pleases. Consent doesn't mean anything.

In societies like India, men are FRIGHTENED, yes FRIGHTENED of socializing with women, because one false complaint or withdrawal of consent could fuck the guy up. He could get beat up in prison and die.

Meanwhile, rich guys roofie their way to the fourth base and nobody is the wiser. Even the girls don't care, hey, he's a rich guy right? They've been conditioned that way by their mothers, to fear money, rather than fear consequences, and to respect time.

Women are amazing, for their unique characteristics, but how men are left for dead in such matters, with nothing but doom and gloom ahead - is practically psychotic. In some countries, you don't even need to pay child support for the child you were responsible for making. This is not the way to get your vengeance 'ladies'.

The reality is that both women and men are less dead in societies like India, it's all about preservation and justification of the status quo. To hell with individual will and happiness. To hell with liberty. To hell with the truth.

Within the subcontinent, I don't see a problem of 'feminism' but an even more dire and pressing problem of 'human rights' where anybody and everybody is a target for violation. The statement that India is a democracy is the biggest lie that has been perpetuated in international history, true democracy needs true freedom of mind and willingness to integrate diversity, these are all imaginary here.

I can guarantee you that most of India are more bothered about what their neighbors think of them than anything else. Who cares? Have they hacked into your devices or something? Why even be bothered about them to begin with?

This might be a bit of a rant, but India's feigned respect towards "motherhood" and "women" is a joke, it's totally fake - women are looked at as baby ovens and kitchen helpers, and that is the virtue for the woman. Fathers are not concerned about finding a groom that loves and respects their daughter but are more interested in finding the highest bidder, who cares about his personality? So he committed a couple of rapes, big whoop.

I'm not even kidding. Women are sold, SOLD to men 2 1/2 times their age, note that this isn't an individual decision of love they arrived at. They're just sold. You only need to open Google to look at the many cases.

A woman with her convictions, interests, hobbies, outlook on life, and relatively independent disposition is labeled a slut, a jezebel, or a "rich brat". A man who explores his youth is not just bad, he's evil. It's bullshit. I wouldn't wish India's cultural dynamics on my worst enemy, and for the longest time, tbh, I've realized that I'd rather be dead than deal with it/navigate it.

I went off on a tangent defending women there, but this is the way it is. Both men and women are less dead, less heard, and less human in India. Power and money are the only things that matter. Anything can be violated if you have that in spades.

India isn't as free as you'd think. I've received multiple death/castration threats as I was typing this.

Title	Women are Victims, Men Make Choices: The Invisibility of Men and Boys in the Global Sex Trade - Gender Issues
Author	SamaelET
Upvotes	30
Comments	3
Date	March 19, 2022 4:17 PM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Male_Studies
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Male_Studies/comments/thynba/women_are_victims_men_make_choices_the/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Male_Studies/women-are-victims-men-make-choices-the.1215957 https://theredarchive.com/post/1215957

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