To browse Academia. Exploring the dynamics of male street prostitution, this study addresses the gap in existing literature that often neglects the intersection of poverty, violence, and masculinity among male sex workers.
By critiquing the dominant portrayals of male prostitutes as either victims or dangerous gang members, the work emphasizes the need for a more nuanced understanding of the diverse experiences and realities faced by these individuals. Ultimately, the research seeks to reveal the underlying political narratives that shape perceptions of male prostitution and calls for acknowledgment of the complexities involved.
Violence among inner city men is a pressing social concern, and the central focus of much academic research. In a departure from theoretical predictions, my findings reveal these men expend considerable effort to remain non-violent with others immersed in the sex trade, a decision based upon their desire for the acquisition of capital as well as their calculation of risks.
In doing so, they construct and perform a nuanced version of masculinity, which I call pacifist masculinity. Few studies analyze peaceful and conciliatory interactions among men in these contexts, an absence that only serves to reify assumptions about rampant hostility and aggression.
I draw on interviews with 19 men involved in street prostitution in Chicago in This article contributes to a clearer understanding of male-male violence in high-risk environments, examines the prominent factors that inform decisions to assault others, and explores how such actions challenge hegemonic masculinity.
