In the Company of Men

Inside the Lives of Male Prostitutes

Michael D. Smith, Christian Grov

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780313384387
• eBook ISBN: 9780313384394
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Offering a new perspective on male prostitution, In the Company of Men employs qualitative methodology to present a real-world view of the issues, both obvious and obscure, surrounding the world's "second-oldest profession." In the Company of Men: Inside the Lives of Male Prostitutes is the only book to document male prostitution from the perspective of a group of men working for a single male escort agency. The in-depth account goes behind the scenes to shed light on the very hidden world of Internet male escorts, their customers, and the niche they inhabit in modern American society. At the same time, it has much to tell us about post-modern identity, culture, and sexuality—and the transformative influence of the Internet on sexual behavior and male prostitution. Through numerous interviews, the book examines the sometimes-dichotomous relationship between the image men convey and the lengths to which they go in order to meet their most private needs. Readers travel down a cyber Sunset Boulevard to see what attracts young men to work as escorts, how an escort agency serves economic and personal goals, and how a community can evolve among the men involved.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Series Foreword
• 1. An Accidental Affair
• 2. The Second Oldest Profession?
• 3. Joining the Club
• 4. Getting into the Groove
• 5. Friends and Brothers
• 6. More than a Job
• 7. The Business
• 8. What You Get for a Buck
• 9. Place and Context
• 10. All Good Things . . .
• Appendix A: Demographic Characteristics of Agency Escorts
• Appendix B: Cast and Characters: Information about People Involved with College Boys
• References
• Index