Economics, Sexuality, and Male Sex Work

by Trevon D. Logan

Overview

Male sex work generates sales in excess of one billion dollars annually in the United States. Recent sex scandals involving prominent leaders and government shutdowns of escort websites have focused attention on this business, but despite the attention that comes when these scandals break, we know very little about how the market works. Economics, Sexuality, and Male Sex Work is the first economic analysis of male sex work. Competition, the role of information, pricing strategies and other economic features of male sex work are analyzed using the most comprehensive data available. Sex work is also social behavior, however, and this book shows how the social aspects of gay sexuality influence the economic properties of the market. Concepts like desire, masculinity and sexual stereotypes affect how sex workers compete for clients, who practices safer sex, and how sex workers present themselves to clients to differentiate them from the competition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781316871249
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/11/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Trevon D. Logan is Hazel C. Youngberg Distinguished Professor of Economics at Ohio State University and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has won the American Sociological Association's Section on Sociology of Sexuality's Best Article Award. He is a member of the Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession at the American Economic Association and member of the Executive Board of the North American Association of Sports Economists. He is a former president of the National Economic Association, was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan, and former chair of the Economic History Association Committee on Data and Archives.

Table of Contents

Introduction: economics, sexuality, and male sex work; Part I. The History and Economics of Male Sex Work: 1. Male sex work: antiquity to online; 2. Face value: how male sex workers overcome the problem of asymmetric information; 3. Market movers: travel, cities, and the network of male sex work; Part II. Male Sex Work and Sexuality: 4. Illicit intersections: the value of sex work services; 5. Show, tell, and sell: self-presentation in male sex work; 6. Service fees: masculinity, safer sex, and male sex work; Conclusion: every man a sex worker: commercial and non-commercial gay sexuality.

Editorial Reviews

'Firmly grounded in economic theory and modern empirical techniques yet broadly accessible, Logan offers a groundbreaking and comprehensive analysis of this poorly understood market. This book should be required reading for a broad class of social scientists at the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality.' Christopher Carpenter, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee

'Using an innovative combination of economic and sociological approaches, Trevon D. Logan takes the reader on a fascinating deep dive into the American market for male sex workers. Through a series of careful analyses, he reveals that the inner workings of this understudied market are profoundly shaped by the intersecting social dynamics of masculinity, sexuality, and race.' Rene Almeling, Yale University and author of Sex Cells: The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm

'We have long needed someone to apply the lens of economics to the market for male sex work. Through these optics, Trevon D. Logan provides some of the first comprehensive empirical analysis of male sex work in the United States. This book advances our collective understanding of this utterly fascinating market.' Manisha Shah, University of California, Los Angeles

'Economics, Sexuality, and Male Sex Work is a beautiful piece of economic sociology accessible to scholars and students across sociology, anthropology, and economics. Logan manages to break new ground in economic sociology and is clearly having fun while doing so. The intellectual curiosity he brings to this book is infectious, and readers will be rewarded for every moment they spend in his company.' Gregory Mitchell, Contemporary Sociology

'Trevon Logan's book is a sophisticated analysis of male sex work based on a blend of economic and sociological analysis of this market. Each chapter begins with a lengthy discussion of a research question, followed by a statistical analysis of Logan's data sources. While a few other scholars have examined sex markets in a limited fashion, Logan's work stands alone in digging deep into this marketplace.' American Journal of Sociology

From the Publisher