The Negotiation and Resistance of Stigma Among Online Male Sex Workers

Background and Purpose:

Male escorts (full-service sex workers) have an estimated annual revenue of over $1 billion in the U.S., and about 43% of them work independently and online (Lehmiller, 2018; Logan, 2017). Male sex workers engage in same-sex sexual behavior that is highly stigmatized in mainstream society; consequently, they are often subject to high levels of homophobia and heterosexism regardless of sexual orientation (Derkas, 2019; Logan, 2017; Scott & Minichiello, 2014). Homophobia and gender-based bias and violence may impact how male sex workers express their sexual identities, experience their collective identity as sex workers, and establish a connection with their community’s social supports (Derkas, 2019).

While there has been literature on the many ways in which sex workers cope with forms of stigma negatively impacting their health outcomes, there has been scant research on the impact of individual and community-level strategies that male sex workers use to resist the negative impact of stigma on their health outcomes (Weitzer, 2018). The current study examines the lives and experiences of online male sex workers in the U.S. The primary research questions are (1) How do male sex workers experience common manifestations of stigma? and (2) In what ways do male sex workers manage, negotiate, and/or resist certain manifestations of stigma?

Methods:

The study utilized semi-structured virtual interviews of 22 gay and bisexual online male sex workers. Most of the men were gay (95.5%), Black/African American (77.3%), and ages 26-30 (54.4%). Most had a four-year college degree (72.7%) and an average income of $20,000-$30,000 (31.8%). NVivo was used to code the data for patterns and themes using Braun’s and Clarke’s (2006) iterative approach to thematic analysis.

Results:

After conducting a thematic analysis, four themes emerged: (1) Male sex workers experienced multiple forms of stigma, but experienced stigma (discrimination) was most prevalent; (2) employment of a variety of stigma management and resistance techniques, including information control, building community, social supports, and pride (Siegel et al., 2022); (3) the negative consequences of stigma related to accessing and receiving social supports; and (4) a high level of concern with stigma stemming from the contraction of HIV and other STIs.

Conclusions and Implications:

For most sex workers in the study, developing community was a key mitigating factor in managing and resisting stigma. Most wanted to reframe sex work as “normal” and “human” and wanted people to accept them for who they were. In addition, most were in favor of policies that increased acceptance of sex workers and normalized sex work; many were in favor of decriminalization.

This study demonstrates how sex workers may form powerful bonds and social support networks to affirm their dignity and organize for their rights, helping to create a more unified and empowering movement against social injustice. It would be valuable for social workers to combine therapeutic and clinical practice with community-based participatory research (CBPR) to engage sex workers in activities that emphasize their level of agency and advocate for their rights and political participation.