This research aims to map and analyse the phenomenon of male sex workers (specifically men who sell sex to other men) in Italy and Sweden. While female sex work has been studied by several scholars worldwide, there is a lack of attention on the male side of the phenomenon. This gap in the academic literature mirrors a more general “invisibility” and “misconception” of the issue in other domains: in politics, the press, and in public opinion. Moreover, although masculinity is a powerful concept in both sociology and gender studies, previous investigations have forgotten to analyse sex work from this viewpoint. Therefore, the main objective of the research is to analyse sex work from the perspective of masculinity in order to understand what types of relationships are created between sex workers and their clients and what role is played by masculinity; how the relation is shaped by it. Indeed, the first part of this contribution is devoted to the concept of masculinity and to which declinations of masculinities sex workers embody in their encounters with other men, considering the behaviour of both “straight” and “gay” male sex workers. Reflections on the construction of discourses about differing identities in male sex work are particularly useful to understand how – in the cultural contexts of northern and southern Europe – the masculinities involved can re-adapt to the normative gender order which requires the femininisation of men who have sex with other men, and the constant flaunting of a masculinity that can contribute to pluralisation of sexual desires and sexual subjectivities. Since selling sex and sexual services is perceived as a stigmatised activity, especially for those men who self-identified as “heterosexuals”, men who engage in these behaviours need to find ways to justify their presence in the market. At the same time, it is possible to observe the growing presence of self-identified homosexuals in sex work. In the analysis, the behaviour of these two categories of sex workers is then compared to understand differences and commonalities regarding the type of masculinity employed. Indeed, doing sex work is also a way to do masculinity, a means through which sex workers can elevate themselves under different perspectives: socially, economically, and culturally. The research deals with these issues and grapples with the different sides of the phenomenon through a qualitative methodology. In-depth interviews with forty-five sex workers (the so-called “supply-side”) were carried out in Milan and Stockholm to examine the working conditions of sex workers and the types of relationships they establish with their clients. Today, male sex work is strongly related to the use of the internet, new media, and mobile applications (or “apps”). Therefore, it becomes important to analyse how new technologies have shaped this activity and what type of relations they generate in terms of both social class and educational credentials. Another object of this investigation is the encounter between sex workers and clients, with the focus being on the strategies that sex workers employ and on how emotions and pleasure become instruments of these relations. Indeed, despite previous feminists’ opinions that this relationship is charged with power – that exercised by clients over sex workers – it will be showed that power has a more nuanced presence in male sex working and that the sex workers themselves employ different ways to handle their relationships with clients. The last point touched on deals with clients themselves and their characteristics. If male sex workers have been relegated to the margin, their clients are even more marginalised. In the final part of this research some of the primary traits of clients are highlighted along with the motivation behind their decision to buy sex, according to sex workers’ perceptions. All in all, this study shows that sex work in general, and male sex work in particular, can be analysed as an actual job and those who work in the field in the same way as other types of workers.

Questa ricerca si propone di mappare e analizzare il fenomeno dei lavoratori sessuali (in particolare degli uomini che vendono sesso ad altri uomini) in Italia e Svezia. Mentre il lavoro sessuale femminile è stato studiato da ricercatrici e ricercatori in tutto il mondo, il sex work maschile appare caratterizzato da persistenti disattenzioni. Questa lacuna nella letteratura scientifica rispecchia una più generale invisibilità e mancanza di chiarezza sulla questione anche in altri ambiti: nella politica, nella stampa, e nell’opinione pubblica. Inoltre, sebbene la maschilità sia un concetto importante e ampiamente studiato sia in sociologia che negli studi di genere, le precedenti ricerche hanno raramente analizzato il ruolo che essa svolge nell’offerta di servizi sessuali. Pertanto, l’obiettivo principale della ricerca è quello di analizzare il lavoro sessuale dal punto di vista della maschilità per capire quali tipi di relazioni si creano tra i lavoratori sessuali e i loro clienti, quale ruolo ricoprono le forme di strutturazione di genere e, pertanto, come la maschilità modella queste stesse relazioni. La prima parte di questo contributo è quindi dedicata al concetto di maschilità e quali declinazioni di maschilità i sex worker incarnano nei loro incontri con altri uomini, verrà considerato il comportamento dei sex worker che si identificano come “eterosessuali” e di coloro che si autodefiniscono “gay”. Le riflessioni sulla costruzione dei discorsi relative alle diverse identità implicate nel lavoro sessuale maschile sono particolarmente utili per capire come – in contesti tanto differenti dal punto di vista politico, culturale, e regolativo quali quelli di cui si tiene conto nella presente ricerca – le maschilità coinvolte possono riadattarsi all’ordine normativo di genere che richiede la femminilizzazione degli uomini che fanno sesso con altri uomini e la costante ostentazione di una maschilità che può contribuire alla pluralizzazione dei desideri e delle soggettività sessuali. Poiché la vendita di sesso e di servizi sessuali è percepita come un’attività stigmatizzata, soprattutto per quegli uomini che si autoidentificano come “eterosessuali”, coloro che si dedicano a questi comportamenti devono trovare il modo di “giustificare” la loro presenza nel mercato. Allo stesso tempo, è possibile osservare una sempre più crescente presenza nel sex work di maschi che si autodefiniscono omosessuali. Nell’analisi, il comportamento di queste due categorie di lavoratori sessuali viene quindi confrontata per comprenderne convergenze e divergenze riguardo ai tipi di maschilità impiegata. Infatti, il lavoro sessuale è anche un modo per fare le maschilità, un mezzo attraverso il quale i lavoratori sessuali possono elevarsi sotto diverse prospettive: sociali, economiche, e culturali. La ricerca affronta questi temi e si confronta con i diversi aspetti del fenomeno attraverso una metodologia qualitativa. Un totale di quarantacinque interviste semi-strutturate sono state somministrate a Milano e a Stoccolma con male sex workers (il cosiddetto “lato dell’offerta”) per esaminare le loro condizioni lavorative e i tipi di relazioni che essi instaurano con i loro clienti. Oggi, il lavoro sessuale maschile è fortemente legato all’uso di internet, dei nuovi media, e delle applicazioni mobili (o “app”). Diventa quindi importante analizzare come le nuove tecnologie hanno influenzato questa attività e che tipo di relazioni generano rispetto al posizionamento di classe sociale e alle credenziali educative dei lavoratori sessuali coinvolti. Un altro oggetto di indagine è l’incontro tra i sex workers e i clienti, con particolare attenzione alle strategie che i lavoratori sessuali utilizzano e al modo in cui le emozioni e il piacere diventano strumenti di queste relazioni. Infatti, nonostante le precedenti indagini condotte da femministe sottolineavano come questo rapporto fosse incentrato sul concetto di potere – quello esercitato dai clienti sulle lavoratrici sessuali – si mostrerà che il potere è sì presente nel sex work maschile, ma lo è in modo molto sfumato, e che gli stessi lavoratori sessuali impiegano modi diversi per gestire le loro relazioni con i clienti. L’ultimo punto di questa ricerca riguarda proprio i clienti e le loro caratteristiche. Se i lavoratori sessuali sono stati relegati ai margini, i clienti lo sono anche di più. Quindi, nella parte finale di questo studio vengono evidenziate alcune delle caratteristiche principali dei clienti e le motivazioni alla base della loro decisione di acquistare sesso, secondo le opinioni raccolte tra i sex workers intervistati. Nel complesso, l’analisi dimostra che il lavoro sessuale in generale, e quello maschile in particolare, possono essere analizzati alla stregua di un vero e proprio lavoro e coloro che vi operano possano essere considerati come un qualunque altro lavoratore.

Bacio, M. (2023). Masculinities at work. Male-to-male internet escorting in Italy and Sweden. Lund : Media-Tryck, Lund University.

Masculinities at work. Male-to-male internet escorting in Italy and Sweden

Bacio, Marco
Primo
2023-03-24

Abstract

This research aims to map and analyse the phenomenon of male sex workers (specifically men who sell sex to other men) in Italy and Sweden. While female sex work has been studied by several scholars worldwide, there is a lack of attention on the male side of the phenomenon. This gap in the academic literature mirrors a more general “invisibility” and “misconception” of the issue in other domains: in politics, the press, and in public opinion. Moreover, although masculinity is a powerful concept in both sociology and gender studies, previous investigations have forgotten to analyse sex work from this viewpoint. Therefore, the main objective of the research is to analyse sex work from the perspective of masculinity in order to understand what types of relationships are created between sex workers and their clients and what role is played by masculinity; how the relation is shaped by it. Indeed, the first part of this contribution is devoted to the concept of masculinity and to which declinations of masculinities sex workers embody in their encounters with other men, considering the behaviour of both “straight” and “gay” male sex workers. Reflections on the construction of discourses about differing identities in male sex work are particularly useful to understand how – in the cultural contexts of northern and southern Europe – the masculinities involved can re-adapt to the normative gender order which requires the femininisation of men who have sex with other men, and the constant flaunting of a masculinity that can contribute to pluralisation of sexual desires and sexual subjectivities. Since selling sex and sexual services is perceived as a stigmatised activity, especially for those men who self-identified as “heterosexuals”, men who engage in these behaviours need to find ways to justify their presence in the market. At the same time, it is possible to observe the growing presence of self-identified homosexuals in sex work. In the analysis, the behaviour of these two categories of sex workers is then compared to understand differences and commonalities regarding the type of masculinity employed. Indeed, doing sex work is also a way to do masculinity, a means through which sex workers can elevate themselves under different perspectives: socially, economically, and culturally. The research deals with these issues and grapples with the different sides of the phenomenon through a qualitative methodology. In-depth interviews with forty-five sex workers (the so-called “supply-side”) were carried out in Milan and Stockholm to examine the working conditions of sex workers and the types of relationships they establish with their clients. Today, male sex work is strongly related to the use of the internet, new media, and mobile applications (or “apps”). Therefore, it becomes important to analyse how new technologies have shaped this activity and what type of relations they generate in terms of both social class and educational credentials. Another object of this investigation is the encounter between sex workers and clients, with the focus being on the strategies that sex workers employ and on how emotions and pleasure become instruments of these relations. Indeed, despite previous feminists’ opinions that this relationship is charged with power – that exercised by clients over sex workers – it will be showed that power has a more nuanced presence in male sex working and that the sex workers themselves employ different ways to handle their relationships with clients. The last point touched on deals with clients themselves and their characteristics. If male sex workers have been relegated to the margin, their clients are even more marginalised. In the final part of this research some of the primary traits of clients are highlighted along with the motivation behind their decision to buy sex, according to sex workers’ perceptions. All in all, this study shows that sex work in general, and male sex work in particular, can be analysed as an actual job and those who work in the field in the same way as other types of workers.
24-mar-2023
978-91-8039-649-3
978-91-8039-650-9
Bacio, M. (2023). Masculinities at work. Male-to-male internet escorting in Italy and Sweden. Lund : Media-Tryck, Lund University.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Marco Bacio_Masculinities at work.pdf

accesso aperto

Descrizione: Intero volume
Tipologia: Versione Editoriale
Dimensione 2.09 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.09 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10447/590014
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact