Sex for Sale~Prostitution, Pornography and the Sex Industry (43 page)

9–17

18

18–21

33

22–25

21

26–35

20

36–45

6

46 or over

2

C I R C U M S T A N C E S O F F I R S T S E X U A L E N C O U N T E R

( N = 10 4 7 ) ( % )

W I T H P R O S T I T U T E

Buddies set it up

24

Prostitute approached

32

Approached prostitute without others knowing

29

Family member set him up

5

Visited a brothel

3

Other

7

M O S T C O M M O N S E X U A L A C T I V I T Y W I T H P R O S T I T U T E

( N = 9 6 6 ) ( % )

Oral sex

50

Vaginal sex

14

Half and half (oral and vaginal)

10

Hand job

6

Other

3

Two or more are equally common

17

H O W O F T E N V I S I T P R O S T I T U T E S

( N = 12 7 4 ) ( % )

Never have

19

Not within the last year

22

Once during the last year

21

Less than once per month

28

Once or more per month

10

H O W O F T E N U S E C O N D O M W I T H P R O S T I T U T E

( N = 10 2 4 )

Never

4

Seldom

3

Sometimes

8

Often

11

Always

74

242

PROSTITUTES’ CUSTOMERS: MOTIVES AND MISCONCEPTIONS

TA B L E 1 0 . 2 c o n t i n u e d

P R O S T I T U T I O N S H O U L D B E L E G A L I Z E D

( N = 113 7 ) ( % )

Agree somewhat or strongly

74

P R O S T I T U T I O N S H O U L D B E D E C R I M I N A L I Z E D

( N = 112 1 ) ( % )

Agree somewhat or strongly

69

decriminalized (the terms “legalized” and “decriminalized” were not defined in the survey). Clients’ support for legalization and decriminalization is much higher than that of the general public, probably because they have a personal interest in avoiding arrest.25

Are Customers Inclined Toward Violence Against Women?

Research consistently shows that many street prostitutes are victims of violent crime, including assault and rape, much of which is never reported to police.

Prostitutes are also overrepresented as murder victims.26 Some feminists argue that prostitution and violence are inexorably intertwined, used by men as tools to reinforce male privilege. But does it follow that customers are more violent or more likely to hold attitudes consistent with violence than other men?

It is questionable whether customers participating in research such as my own would accurately and honestly report having committed violent acts themselves. Additionally, it is likely that customers might not recognize their own violence as such. The studies of reported victimization of prostitutes shed some light on the issue. If it is true that the prostitutes interviewed in studies on violence actually have hundreds of customers in a given year as reported, then only a small proportion of violent men, perhaps visiting prostitutes multiple times during a given year, could easily account for the levels of violence reported by prostitutes. There is no evidence to suggest that more than a minority of customers assault prostitutes.

My own review of websites, in which customers share consumer information about prostitutes and describe their experiences, indicates that many are aware of violence against prostitutes, and some of those who are aware of it are concerned about it. It is not uncommon for these writers to complain about violence against prostitutes or to encourage others to treat prostitutes with respect. Occasionally, customers reported their own violent acts, such as an unwelcome ejaculation onto a prostitute’s face without prior consent. In
243

MARTIN A. MONTO

cases such as this, it is unclear whether the customers or the prostitutes define the experiences as violent, though many clearly are so. O’Connell Davidson’s study of so-called “sexpatriates,” men who have moved to underdeveloped regions in order to have easy access to prostitutes, also includes a number of enthusiastic descriptions of experiences that involve violence.27 By contrast, violence is seldom described or reported in the web-based accounts I studied, and these regular users do not view their participation as customers as contributing to violence against prostitutes.

The attitudes of arrested customers of prostitutes do not indicate that this population has a particular inclination toward violence against women.

Respondents were asked questions from a widely used Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) scale. Rape myths are “prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists” that serve to justify or support sexual violence against women and diminish support for rape victims.28 The customers in my study were not, in general, more likely to endorse rape myths than other samples of men.29 Sixteen percent thought that “if a girl engages in necking or petting and she lets things get out of hand, it is her own fault if her partner forces sex on her”; 17% agreed that “in the majority of rapes, the victim is promiscuous or has a bad reputation”; and 9% agreed that “women who get raped while hitchhiking get what they deserve.” The findings indicate that most clients do not hold views that justify violence against prostitutes, and it is likely that most of the violence is committed by a minority of customers.

Successful prostitution policy should differentiate between customers who perpetrate violence and the remainder of customers.

Why Do Men Go to Prostitutes?

As noted earlier, people tend to assume that the motives of johns are obvious, not worthy of serious exploration. Kinsey’s research supported the assumption that seeking prostitution was simply a natural extension of conventional masculine sexual expression.30 However, more recent research contradicts the notion that buying sexual services is conventional behavior among men.31

Why, then, do some men seek out prostitutes?

A few researchers have conducted in-depth interviews with the clients of prostitutes. McKeganey and Barnard conducted 66 telephone interviews with men who respond to an advertisement in a tabloid newspaper and nine in-person interviews of men contacted on the street. They also obtained information from 68 men attending a health clinic specializing in sexually transmitted diseases. They argue that men are attracted to paid sex because they desire sexual acts they cannot receive from their partners; they are able to
244

PROSTITUTES’ CUSTOMERS: MOTIVES AND MISCONCEPTIONS

have sex with a larger number of sexual partners; they are attracted to specific physical characteristics; they like the limited emotional involvement; and they are excited by the illicit nature of the act. The authors also suggest that some men seek prostitutes in order to inflict violence on them.32

Holzman and Pines interviewed 30 men, contacted through the snowball sampling of acquaintances, in an effort to capture the subjective experience of the prostitution encounter. This sample was one of regular users who had paid for sex an average of more than 50 times. They argue that men’s primary motivations for having sexual relations with prostitutes are the desire for sex or for companionship. Men are also motivated by the mystery and excitement associated with the risky encounter, the belief that prostitutes are women of

“exceptional sexual powers,” and an interest in avoiding emotional involvement or the risk of rejection.33

Jordan’s in-depth interviews of 13 clients in New Zealand suggest that men’s reasons for seeking prostitution vary depending on their personal circumstances and their ability to meet their needs through conventional relationships. Older married men often indicated that their wives were unwilling or unable to satisfy them sexually. Others sought prostitutes because they wanted to avoid committed relationships or felt unable to enter into conventional relationships. Some were motivated by the desire to satisfy intense sexual urges or to have sex with a large number of different women, while others sought prostitutes for companionship, intimacy, or love.34

In the present study, customers from the 1997–2000 sample answered 13 questions that assessed their motives for seeking out prostitutes (see Table 10.3). All the items are personalized “I” statements, such as “I have difficulty meeting women who are not nude dancers or prostitutes,” and “I like to be in control when I’m having sex.” The smaller 2007 sample (Table 10.4), asked customers to identify the “reasons” they had sex with prostitutes.

Included in the list are “they will do things sexually that other women won’t,”

“control over the situation,” and three other reasons, as well as “other” to allow an exhaustive set of responses.

Table 10.3 reports the percentage of customers who agreed with each “I”

statement. I compared the responses of repeat customers (at least two encounters in the past year) to first-time customers; the responses of married men and unmarried men; and the responses of college graduates and non-graduates. Six of the “I” statements were endorsed by over 40% of the respondents. These included “I like to be with a woman who likes to get nasty” (52%); “I am excited by the idea of approaching a prostitute” (43%);

“I like to be in control when I am having sex” (42%); “I like to have a variety of sexual partners” (41%); “I want a different kind of sex than my regular
245

)%

(

TON IEDR
24.4

24.1

34.7

46.9

17.1

RAM

IEDR )

RA (%

20.3

23.2

48.5*

33.7

18.5

M

)

-

%

N

(

O

D

N

A

26.2

27.6

36.1

45.1

17.3

GR

G

INEE

)

R

GE

% (

AG

D

E

LLEO A

18.2*

17.0*

48.2*

34.3*

18.7

C

GR

TAGNEC

)

R

%

PE

T-S (

IRF

16.4

22.2

28.5

33.5

10.5

IMERT

)

TA %

E

(

X

EP

ERS

26.7*

24.7

49.2*

46.5*

22.6*

E

U

G SN

L R

)

TAO (%

UYI

T

22.6

23.8

40.7

41.4

17.7

OR B

S F

TIVEOM

T

LE 10.3

EMENT

AB

TA

T

S

I have difficulty meeting women

who are not nude dancers or

prostitutes

I think most women find me

unattractive physically

I want a different kind of sex

than my regular partner [wants]

I am shy and awkward when I

am trying to meet a woman

I would rather have sex with a

prostitute than have a conventional

relationship with a woman

42.0

35.1

31.1

42.4

44.1

53.3

31.5

22.3

45.0

27.4

23.7*

40.0

39.0

49.4

30.8

14.7

36.8

31.2

27.9

34.0

43.1

51.0

31.8

20.5

55.0*

33.1

27.9

54.3*

39.2*

53.7

30.9

16.7*

28.4

25.4

20.9

25.8

37.1

42.6

24.3

17.3

53.1*

36.0*

32.6*

51.7*

44.9*

57.9*

36.1*

20.4

43.1

31.9

28.0

41.2

41.9

51.6

31.3

19.1

t have the time for a

t want the responsibilities

Pearson chi-squared test significant at p < .05.

I am excited by the idea of

approaching a prostitute

I don’

conventional relationship

I don’

of a conventional relationship

I like to have a variety of sexual

partners

I like to be in control when I’m

having sex

I like to be with a woman who

likes to get nasty

I need to have sex immediately

when I am aroused

I like rough hard sex

*

MARTIN A. MONTO

TA B L E 1 0 . 4 R E A S O N S F O R B U Y I N G S E X , 2 0 0 7 S A M P L E

R E A S O N

O N E R E A S O N ( % )

M A I N R E A S O N ( % )

They will do things sexually that other

17

11

women won’t do

Don’t have to worry about a relationship

23

18

Quick easy way to get sex

44

47

Control over the situation

7

3

They need the money, and I help them

5

3

by paying for sex

Other

19

18

Note
: N = 178 men in the 2007 First Offender Prostitution Program in San Francisco.