The document discusses the inadequacy of the UK's criminal law and policy framework regarding male sex work and the influence of the internet, highlighting that existing strategies predominantly focus on female sex work. It critiques the gendered narratives surrounding prostitution and how male sex work, particularly same-sex male sex work, remains under-researched and marginalized in both academic discourse and legal approaches. The article aims to reassess these issues and advocate for greater recognition of male sex work within the evolving landscape shaped by technology.

1. Male Sex Work and the Internet
Effect: Time to Re-evaluate the
Criminal Law?
Chris Ashford*
Abstract The criminal law relating to sex work was last modified in the
Sexual Offences Act 2003. Three years later in January 2006 the UK
government published a ‘prostitution strategy’ that set out four core aims:
challenge the view that street prostitution is inevitable and here to stay;
achieve an overall reduction in street prostitution; improve the safety and
quality of life of communities affected by prostitution, including those
directly involved in street sex markets, and finally, to reduce all forms of
commercial sexual exploitation. This framework prima facie failed to take
into account both the issue of male sex work and also the Internet effect
upon sex work. This article seeks to examine the intersection of techno-
logy and male for male sex work and reviews both the criminal law and
UK policy framework in that context.
Keywords Sex work; Prostitution; Internet; Technology; Cyber-
prostitution
It is common to start any piece relating to sex work or prostitution1
by
referring to it as ‘the oldest profession’ or perhaps more controversially
as a ‘crime without victim’2
. Yet the debate around prostitution3
is all too
often dominated by traditional categorisations of sex work4
, be it street-
based, brothel or ‘call girl’. With a few notable exceptions,5
the subject of
* Senior Lecturer in Law, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Sunderland;
e-mail chris.ashford@sunderland.ac.uk.
An earlier version of this article was presented to the Joint Annual Meetings of
the Law and Society Association and the Canadian Law and Society Association at
Montreal, Canada in May 2008. The author is grateful to all those present for their
insightful and constructive comments.
1 This article will primarily use the term ‘sex work’ rather than prostitution due to
the connotations attached to prostitution. Nonetheless, the term is being used in
the same legal sense as prostitution as defined within s. 51(2) of the Sexual
Offences Act 2003: ‘“prostitute” means a person (A) who, on at least one occasion
and whether or not compelled to do so, offers or provides sexual services to
another person in return for payment or a promise of payment to A or a third
person’.
2 T. Thomas, Sex Crime: Sex Offending and Society, 2nd edn (Willan Publishing:
Cullompton, 2005) 11.
3 See J. O’Connell Davidson, Prostitution, Power and Freedom (Polity: Cambridge,
1998).
4 On the origins of the term ‘sex work’, see C. Leigh, ‘Inventing Sex Work’ in J.
Nagle (ed.), Whores and Other Feminists (Routledge: New York, 1997).
5 See, e.g., B. B. Chatterjee, ‘Pixels, Pimps and Prostitutes: Human Rights and the
Cyber-Sex Trade’ in M. Klang and A. Murray (eds), Human Rights in the Digital Age
(GlassHouse Press: London, 2005); D. M. Hughes, The Internet and Sex Industries:
Partners in Global Sexual Exploitation’ (2000) 19(1) Technology and Society Magazine
35; and K. Sharp and S. Earle, ‘Cyberpunters and Cyberwhores: Prostitution on the
Internet’ in Y. Jewkes (ed.), Dot.cons: Crime, Deviance and Identity on the Internet
(Willan Publishing: Cullompton, 2003).
258 The Journal of Criminal Law (2009) 73 JCL 258–280
doi:1350/jcla.2009.73.3.573

2. ‘cyber-prostitution’ and the impact of the Internet on sex work and the
criminal law has been under-discussed whilst that literature which has
examined this phenomenon appears dominated by a gendered view of
sex work in which women are cast as ‘victims’ and men as the ‘op-
pressors’. The subject of male sex work in the Internet context and
particularly of same-sex male sex work6
remains under-researched. This
article seeks to consider, through an examination of 562 escort profiles
on a well-known same-sex social networking website, the current legal
and political approach to sex work within England and Wales. It will do
so within a pro-sex work feminist framework,7
questioning the focus of
current government strategy and seeks to shed some light on the little
examined intersection of same-sex male sex work and the Information
Society.
As recently as December 2007, Harriet Harman, the UK Secretary of
State for Equalities and Minister for Women called for a ‘ban’ on
prostitution during an interview on the BBC’s Today Programme,8
asking
listeners: ‘do we think in the 21st century it’s right that women should
be in a sex trade or do we think this is exploitation and it should be
banned?’. She went on to state: ‘We’ve got to stop the demand side or
we’ll never be able to protect girls’. Throughout the interview Harman
continued to construct prostitution as a highly gendered practice with
clear power differentials. The men were cast as the dominant force in an
exploitative male/female relationship.
Henderson has noted that prostitution has become narrowly defined
and the comparatively scant focus on male same-sex prostitution9
within the academic discourse has been attributable to buggery historic-
ally being a capital offence itself.10
When, in the 1950s, the Wolfenden
6 The subject of males who engage in heterosexual or bisexual acts is also under
discussed but there has been some research conducted into this area over the last
40 years. See, e.g., J. Sandford, Prostitutes (Martin Secker & Warburg: London,
1975) 169–79.
7 A term utilised by Vanwesenbeek and followed by Koken et al. See I.
Vanwesenbeek, ‘Another Decade of Social Scientific Work on Sex Work: A Review
of Research 1990–2000’ (2001) 12 Annual Review of Sex Research 242; and A. Koken,
D. S. Bimbi, J. T. Parsons and P. N. Haltkins, ‘The Experience of Stigma in the Lives
of Male Internet Escorts’ (2004) 16(1) Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality 13.
For a theoretical overview of contemporary sex work, see R. Weitzer, ‘New
Directions in Research on Prostitution’ (2005) 43(4/5) Crime, Law & Social Change
211.
8 Today Programme, BBC Radio 4, 20 December 2007, 07.50.
9 Foucault has noted that in Ancient Greek culture it was the male who may have
prostituted himself who would suffer civic and political disqualification. Such a man
would be debarred from holding any magistracy in the city or abroad, nor could he
serve as a herald or ambassador: M. Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume 2: The
Use of Pleasure (Penguin: London, 1992) 217–18.
10 For a more general historical discussion, see T. Henderson, Disorderly Women in
Eighteenth-Century London (Pearson Education: Harlow, 1999) 3. For a further
historical analysis of these issues, see P. Bartley, Prostitution: Prevention and Reform in
England 1860–1914 (Routledge: London, 2000); F. Finnegan, Poverty and Prostitution:
A Study of Victorian Prostitutes in York (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge,
1979); L. Mahood, The Magdalenes: Prostitution in the Nineteenth Century (Routledge:
London, 1990); P.McHugh, Prostitution and Victorian Social Reform (Croom Helm:
London, 1980); and J. R. Walkowitz, Prostitution and Victorian Society (Cambridge
University Press: Cambridge, 1982). For a historical consideration of male
prostitution, see J. Weeks, ‘Inverts, Perverts and Mary-Annes: Male Prostitution
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
259

3. Committee considered the vexing issues of homosexuality and prostitu-
tion they did so at a time when homosexuality was illegal11
and thus it
is perhaps understandable that the Committee only considered female
prostitution.12
Nonetheless, it was their subsequent report, the Wolfen-
den Report, that can be seen as providing the contemporary framework
in which sex work law and policy has been made. That report stated in
a much-quoted paragraph:
We clearly recognise that the laws of any society must be acceptable to the
general moral sense of the community if they are to be respected and
enforced. But we are not charged to enter into matters of private moral
conduct except in so far as they directly affect the public good; nor does our
commission extend to assessing the teaching of theology, sociology or
psychology on these matters, though on many points we have found their
conclusions very relevant to our thinking.13
The Committee was arguing that the focus of the criminal law should be
to intervene only where it ‘directly’ affects not the public, but the public
good. This would perhaps suggest that street-based sex work, and the
high visibility of those women was far more ‘offensive’ than a woman
working out of the public’s gaze and consciousness. Quite literally, out of
sight, out of mind. It is therefore not sex work per se that is legally
objectionable, but rather the acts associated with it. This is a position that
continues to dominate today in sexual offences law beyond sex work,
notably in relation to public sex offences.14
and the Regulation of Homosexuality in England in the Nineteenth and Early
Twentieth Century’ in M. B. Duberman, M. Vicinus and G. Chauncey, Hidden from
History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past (Penguin: London, 1991).
11 For a consideration of homosexuality in 1950s Britain, see P. Wildeblood, Against the
Law (Weidenfield & Nicolson: London, 1999). This position was ultimately changed
with the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 which legalised homosexuality
between consenting male adults aged over 21 provided the sexual acts took place in
private.
12 Home Office, Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (Home
Office: London, 1957) 79–114. For a discussion of sex work in the post-Wolfenden
period, see R. Matthews, ‘Beyond Wolfenden? Prostitution, Politics and the Law’ in
R. Matthews and J. Young (eds), Confronting Crime (Sage: London, 1986).
13 Home Office, above n. 12 at 9.
14 See, more generally, C. Ashford, ‘Sexuality, Public Space and the Criminal Law: The
Cottaging Phenomenon’ (2007) 71 JCL 506 and P. Johnson, ‘Ordinary Folk and
Cottaging: Law, Morality and Public Sex’ (2007) 34(4) Journal of Law and Society
520. An exception to this is the subject of sadomasochism in which the act
continues to be criminalised regardless of the proximity to the wider public. The
subject of consent has been much discussed in this context and applied to
numerous scenarios. See, e.g., B. Livings, ‘A Different Ball Game—Why the Nature
of Consent in Contact Sports Undermines a Unitary Approach’ (2007) 71 JCL 534.
In the case of R v Keeble (John Robert) [2001] EWCA Crim 1764, Silber J, quoting
the judge at first instance states:
‘In my view Mr Keeble represents at a high risk of physical harm to vulnerable
women, who chose to contact him about a dominant submissive/submissive or
sadomasochistic relationship. He took advantage of women who were
vulnerable through age or circumstances and inflicted violence on them albeit in
two of the three cases with their consent. He accepts that he was passionate
when he was involved in sadomasochism. I find it difficult to accept that he can
walk away from this activity as easily as he says, and that his life can be as easily
separated into unrelated aspects as he suggests. I feel that there is something of
himself in the sadomasochistic practices. The extent of the injury to Ms L, and
the extent of the beating administered to Ms P are causes for concern; as is the
The Journal of Criminal Law
260

4. Post-Wolfenden scholarship has largely constructed sex workers as
female victims. Sheila Jeffreys does not get beyond the first paragraph of
her acknowledgements in the text ‘The Idea of Prostitution’ before
stating:
I have considered for twenty years that men’s abuse of women in prostitu-
tion lies at the very core of the oppression of women.15
Jeffreys later moves on to consider the subject of homosexuality and
prostitution, again constructing her analysis in gendered terms in which
individuals take on the role of the female victim in a clearly defined
unequal power relationship. Barnett similarly remarks:
Conceptually, prostitution is closely allied with pornography. Both involve
the core idea of women as nothing more than sexual objects for use by
men, and thus uphold the patriarchal power of man over subordinate
women.16
Phoenix also notes the gendered view of prostitution and comments:
Based on decades of empirical research, the last 30 years have seen a
concerted effort by feminist scholars and campaigners to bring pressure on
successive governments to address the vulnerability faced by women in
prostitution.17
Yet, within the legal context of England and Wales, such a focus has
been at the detriment of male sex work. Even within the current
government’s policy framework there is an absence of consideration of
male sex work. Male for male sex work has been consistently viewed as
being not of concern to the UK government.
The comparative ‘acceptability’ of male for male sex work has also
been supported by queer theorists such as Califia who notes that ‘sex
work is also one of the ways that young queer men can survive when
they move to the big city. Ads from “male models and masseurs” and
phone-sex daddies fund a lot of queer periodicals’18
. Despite this, Califia
also comments that there has been little by way of commensurate
political focus in the USA.
This traditional gendered view of sex work is also reflected in ritual-
istic aspects of society. Califia further considers the role of the ‘stag’ or
act of sticking pins into the breast of a 16 year old in a car by the roadside in a
remote place.’
This follows the much discussed judgment in R v Brown [1994] 1 AC 212 in which
Lord Templeman stated:
‘Society is entitled and bound to protect itself against a cult of violence. Pleasure
derived from the infliction of pain is an evil thing. Cruelty is uncivilised. I would
answer the certified question in the negative and dismiss the appeals of the
appellants against conviction.’
See, more generally, S. Edwards, ‘No Defence for a Sado-masochistic Libido’ (1993)
14 NLJ 406 and C. F. Stychin, Law’s Desire: Sexuality and the Limits of Justice
(Routledge: London, 1995) 117–39.
15 S. Jeffreys, The Idea of Prostitution (Spinfex Press: North Melbourne, 1997) vii.
16 H. Barnett, Introduction to Feminist Jurisprudence (Cavendish Publishing: London,
1998) 315.
17 J. Phoenix, ‘Regulating Prostitution: Controlling Women’s Lives’ in F. Heidensohn
(ed.), Gender and Justice: New Concepts and Approaches (Willan Publishing:
Cullompton, 2006) 76.
18 P. Califia, Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex, 2nd edn (Cleis Press: San Francisco,
2000) 131.
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
261

5. ‘bachelor’ party in this regard. The female sex worker is often one
element of that party.19
For Califia it is the stigmatisation of sex work
that prevents it being applied to other ritualistic moments in our society.
Califia suggests that ‘a visit with an especially desirable and skilled sex
worker would probably make a great gift for grandma when she came
out of mourning for her deceased husband. A pregnant wife could thank
her husband for being so supportive and patient by giving him a week-
end with the girl or boy of his dreams’.20
Yet, our Western post-industrial
society has, as Gore Vidal has noted, a monogamous construct of society
at its very heart in which ‘all our natural instincts are carefully perverted
from birth’, suggesting ‘it is no wonder that we tend to be, if not all of us
serial killers, killers of our own true nature’.21
Until quite recently and until the Sexual Offences Act 2003,22
this
gendered view of sex work was enshrined in law. This originates in the
case of R v De Munck23
and the interpretation that ‘prostitution is proved
if it be shown that a woman offers her body commonly for lewdness for
payment in return’.24
In the subsequent case of DPP v Bull25
it was held
that the term ‘common prostitute’ only applied to female prostitutes.26
This stagnant gendered view of sex work is accompanied by a failure
to recognise fully the evolving impact that the ‘Information Society’27
is
having upon sex work. Moreover, as Castells has noted, technology
19 Above n. 18 at 265.
20 Ibid. at 266.
21 G. Vidal, Sexually Speaking: Collected Sex Writings (Cleis Press: San Francisco, 1999)
182.
22 See Sched. 1. This legislation amended the Sexual Offences Act 1956, the Street
Offences Act 1959 and Sexual Offences Act 1985 so as to be gender neutral. This
contrasts with the approach taken by the Council of Europe which generally
continues to take a female dominated focus to the subject of sex work. See Council
of Europe, Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human
Beings (Council of Europe, Warsaw, 2005), available at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg2/
trafficking/campaign/Docs/Convntn/CETS197_en.asp#TopOfPage, accessed 17 April 2009.
The Council explained this focus in a press release published in January 2008
which stated: ‘Every year, more than 600,000 people are sold in Europe. They are
the victims of international criminals. More than 80 percent of them are girls and
women, and 70 percent of them are forced into sexual servitude’, available at:
http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?ID=3555, accessed
17 April 2009. Interestingly Resolution 1579 (2007) accepts the concept of
‘voluntary prostitution’ and states that Council of Europe states should refrain
‘from criminalising and penalising prostitutes and developing programmes to assist
prostitutes to leave the profession should they wish to do so’ (11.3.1), available at:
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta07/ERES1579.htm,
accessed 17 April 2009. See, more generally, S. Egan, ‘Protecting the Victims of
Trafficking: Problems and Prospects’ (2008) European Human Rights Law Review 106.
23 [1918] 1 KB 635.
24 Ibid., per Darling J.
25 [1995] QB 88. For further discussion, see A. Diduck and W. Wilson, ‘Prostitutes and
Persons’ (1997) 24 Journal of Law and Society 504.
26 ‘The term “common prostitute” is ordinarily regarded as applying to a woman and,
importantly, it seems improbable that Parliament intended to create a new male
offence which was but subtly different from the extant section 32 of the Sexual
Offences Act 1956’: DPP v Bull [1995] QB 88, per Mann LJ. The repeal of this term
had formed part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill 2007/8 but those
clauses were ultimately dropped from the Act.
27 See, more generally, C. Walker, D. Wall and Y. Akdeniz, ‘The Internet, Law and
Society’ in Y. Akdeniz, C. Walker and D. Wall (eds), The Internet, Law and Society
(Pearson Education: Harlow, 2000).
The Journal of Criminal Law
262

6. offers the opportunity to distribute the power of information through-
out the entire realm of human activity’.28
Nonetheless, there is emerging
recognition of the role that the Internet is increasingly taking within sex
work.29
This shift in the operation of sex work also enables researchers,
through online observation to witness the proliferation of male sex
work.30
In turn, this raises significant questions about the current UK
government strategy designed to tackle sex work.
Whilst there has been an emergent body of literature in the USA
concerning the Internet and sex work,31
there has only been limited
developments in the UK.32
The US-based website ‘Craigslist’ has been
used by sex workers to promote their services, but has also been utilised
by law enforcement agencies to mount ‘sting’ operations in which the
police raid and arrests sex work locations.33
More generally, the area of male sex work is one that has received
relatively little academic attention until the last 10 years or so34
and
Morrison and Whitehead have regarded the work that has been con-
ducted as ‘myopic’ focusing on prostitution and safer sex.35
Male sex
work can take the form of sex workers offering sexual services to clients
of the same gender or to those who alternatively or additionally offer
sexual services to members of a different gender.
When the UK Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman,
announced that she would like to ‘ban prostitution’, Scorer argued that
she ‘opened a cultural hornet’s nest’, adding that whilst people may
‘claim to decry the evils of prostitution’ they are less keen to use the
criminal law against the customer.36
Harman could perhaps be forgiven for her focus upon ‘women’ as
sex workers as this focus has a long history. Between 921 and 939
the English and Danish kings, Edward and Guthrum, decreed that
28 M. Castells, The Internet Galaxy (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2002) 1.
29 C. Ashford, ‘Sex Work in Cyberspace: Who Pays the Price? (2008) 17(1) Information
& Communications Technology Law 37; D. M. Hughes, ‘The Internet and Sex
Industries: Partners in Global Sexual Exploitation’ (2000) 19(1) IEEE Technology and
Society Magazine 35. Hughes has focused upon the globalisation of sex work arguing
that it furthers the exploitation of women and children. Here, even in the context
of technology, the ‘traditional’ gendered view of sex work is offered.
30 See, more generally, A. D. DiMarco and H. DiMarco, ‘Investigating Cybersociety: A
Consideration of the Ethical and Practical Issues Surrounding Online Research in
Chat Rooms’ in Y. Jewkes (ed.), Dot.cons: Crime, Deviance and Identity on the Internet
(Willan Publishing: Cullompton, 2003).
31 See, e.g., M. Hemmingson, ‘Cyber-Hookers AKA Providers: Off the Street and onto
Craigslist’ (2008), SSRN, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_
id=1084415, accessed 17 April 2009.
32 Ashford, above n. 29.
33 See, e.g., S. G. Green, ‘Prostitution Sting Leads to 104 Arrests’ The Seattle Times 16
November 2006; A. Herdy, ‘Craigslist Prostitution Sting’ (2006) 9 NEWS, http://
www.9news.com/news/investigative/article.aspx?storyid=57265, accessed 17 April 2009
and ‘Oldest Profession, Newest Technology’ (2007) 54 (41) Long Island Business
News 12.
34 J. Browne and V. Minichiello, ‘Research Directions in Male Sex Work’ (1996) 31(4)
Journal of Homosexuality 29.
35 T. G. Morrison and B. W. Whitehead, ‘“It’s a Business Doing Pleasure with You”:
An Interdisciplinary Reader on Male Sex Work’ (2007) 53(1/2) Journal of
Homosexuality 1.
36 R. Scorer, ‘Zero Tolerance’ (2008) 158 NLJ 50.
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
263

7. ‘horcwenan’ were to be banished or ‘utterly destroyed’. Whilst the word
is taken to mean prostitutes, it has no straightforward modern transla-
tion. All that is certain is that the term has a feminine construction.37
Our gendered and heteronormative construction of sex work has deep
historical roots.
O’Neill, in her sexual exploitation literature review, which formed
part of the Setting the Boundaries White Paper38
concluded that further
evidence needed to be conducted on the specific experiences of boys and
young men involved in prostitution and ‘off street’ prostitution. It is the
author’s hope that this article goes some way towards that goal. More-
over, this article seeks to consider the intersection of male for male sex
work and the Internet in the wider context of current government
policy.
Sex work in the UK
As a matter of English law, prostitution is not illegal. Rather than
absolute prohibition, English law has focused upon regulating specific
nuisances associated with sex work. McLeod has further noted that the
enactment of the Street Offences Act 1959 was not to ‘eradicate prostitu-
tion’, but rather to deal with its ‘nuisance value’.39
Invariably, these
‘nuisances’ tend to be those that are visible40
.
Consequently s. 46 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001
criminalises the placing of an advert for prostitution. Yet, this is aimed at
a specific advert—an advert placed in a public phone booth. This offence
has origins prior to the massification of mobile telephony, when a series
of small advertisements featuring seductive young women would be
placed in phone boxes so as to entice men to ring.41
Call boxes in central
London and other major urban areas still carry such advertisements. In
addition, English law has also focused upon third parties who may have
benefited from prostitution, the visible benefactors, rather than target-
ing the sex workers themselves.42
37 Henderson, above n. 10.
38 M. O’Neill, ‘Literature Review of Research on Offences of Sexual Exploitation’ in
Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the Law on Sex Offences, vol. 2 (Home Office: London,
2000) 188.
39 E. McLeod, Women Working: Prostitution Now (Croom Helm: London, 1982) 20.
40 Legislation designed to address ‘anti-social behaviour’ has also been applied to
prostitution again reflecting this ‘nuisance’ focus of law. See, e.g., Potter v Chief
Constable of Lancashire [2003] EWHC 2272 (Admin). See, more generally, A. Keogh,
‘The Oldest Profession or an Age-old Injustice?’ (2004) 154 NLJ 1350.
41 Though s. 56(2)(a) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 does specify that this
offence would apply whether the person advertising their ‘services’ is male or
female.
42 See the Sexual Offences Act 1956, ss 33–36 in relation to brothels, the Sexual
Offences Act 1985, s. 1 in relation to ‘kerb-crawling’ (associated with street-based
offences) and ‘loitering or soliciting for purposes of prostitution’, and the Street
Offences Act 1959, s. 57, street-based sex work. The ‘exploitative’ offences of living
on the earnings of prostitution (s. 30(1)), causing or inciting prostitution (s. 52) and
controlling prostitution (s. 53) are contained within the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
See, e.g., R v McFarlane [1994] 2 WLR 494 and R v Massey [2007] All ER (D) 295.
The Journal of Criminal Law
264

8. This focus upon visible forms of sex work is consistent with the
historical approach of English law to the ‘nuisance’ of sex work. Histor-
ically, ‘stews’ or brothels and street-based prostitution came under the
close scrutiny of the law, with Edward II issuing a decree in 1310 stating
that all brothels in London should be closed.43
Almost 700 years later,
the focus of law remains the same.
The contemporary approach of English law and its wider cultural
context was born out of the Hart/Devlin debate and enshrined in the
Wolfenden Report. The report included a significant focus upon street-
based sex work in England and Wales;44
stating in recommendation 23
that the maximum penalty for street offences be increased and in
recommendation 2445
that there should be a greater focus on social and
medical support to street workers at an early stage. That report also
argued its priorities were based on public concern that ‘the streets must
be cleaned up’.46
This street-based approach was still reflected almost 50 years later in
the government consultation document Paying the Price,47
and the sub-
sequent report A Coordinated Prostitution Strategy48
represented a zero-
tolerance approach to sex work and an agenda for ‘saving women’.49
Although the shift to a greater agency-led approach was welcomed by
Matthews, he has argued that policy needs now to focus more upon off-
street sex work which he argues ‘local authorities have turned a blind
eye to . . . on the dubious assumption that because there are few public
complaints or disturbances, there are no real problems associated with
the expanding commercialized sex industry’.50
Scoular and O’Neill have
been less welcoming of the strategy documents labelling them ‘opaque
and contradictory’51
whilst others criticised the proposals for lacking
sufficient reforming zeal.52
It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that
when the government brought forward statutory proposals in the Crim-
inal Justice and Immigration Bill they appeared similarly opaque and
were ultimately dropped from the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act
2008,53
leaving the future direction of law in this area unclear.
43 Henderson, above n. 10.
44 This is not an approach peculiar to England and Wales. A similar focus and
prioritisation of street prostitution has been evident in the USA. See C. Leigh,
‘P.I.M.P (Prostitutes in Municipal Politics)’ in D. Bedfellows (ed.), Policing Public Sex
(South End Press: Boston, 1996) 252.
45 Home Office, above n. 12 at 116.
46 Home Office, above n. 12 at 81.
47 Home Office, Paying the Price (Home Office: London, 2004).
48 Home Office, A Coordinated Prostitution Strategy and a Summary of Responses to Paying
the Price (Home Office: London, 2006).
49 J. Scoular and M. O’Neill, ‘Regulating Prostitution: Social Inclusion,
Responsibilization and the Politics of Prostitution Reform (2007) British Journal of
Criminology 764.
50 R. Matthews, ‘Policing Prostitution: Ten Years On’ (2005) British Journal of
Criminology 877.
51 Scoular and O’Neill, above n. 49.
52 See, e.g., J. Samiloff, ‘Street Reform Named Desire’ (2006) 156 NLJ 253.
53 For details of the proposals see, A. Murdie, ‘Rehabilitating Prostitutes: Proposals in
the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill’ (2007) 171 JP 860. For commentary on
the 2008 proposals, see R. Scorer, ‘Zero Tolerance’ (2008) 158 NLJ 50 and A.
Turner, ‘The Debate on Prostitution’ (2008) 172 JP 17.
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
265

9. Gaydar and the technological revolution
Over 50 years after Wolfenden the new medium of the Internet offers
one possible remedy to the apparent desire of the 1957 and present-day
public to ‘clean up’ the streets. One site in particular has become the
focus of the online world for gay men in England and Wales—Gaydar.
Gaydar54
is something of a phenomenon.55
QSoft Consulting, the
company behind Gaydar.co.uk and its related URLs,56
states it currently
has over 3.8 million members. This is an extraordinary number for a
company first launched back in 1999 and which had 78,000 members
back in November 2000,57
prompting Fountain to say of Gaydar in 2004:
‘previously, this much sex was available to you only if you were rich or
powerful or famous’.58
Gaydar is just one example of the consequences of what Cooper has
called ‘the Triple A Engine’.59
According to Cooper, the Internet offers a
triad of access, affordability and anonymity and in doing so, the Internet
acts as a powerful force in the area of sexuality. Searching for escorts and
sex workers from home offers access to thousands of escorts across the
country from one central location.
People do not have to spend time, money and resources travelling
around seeking out willing sex workers, rendering the use of the Inter-
net for this purpose an affordable activity. There is the additional aspect
of a perceived anonymity granted by the Internet. There is no risk you
will be encountered driving into a red light district by disapproving
friends, be seen entering a brothel by work colleagues or one’s own
partner. In other respects, the advertisement nature of Gaydar profiles
enables parallels to be drawn with the personal profiles and sex worker
profiles offered in gay publications.60
The government’s own strategy on sex work, outlined in the 2006
report, A Coordinated Prostitution Strategy,61
has four stated aims:
54 The term comes from within the gay community and was the name for verbal and
non-verbal behaviour that became associated with gay identity enabling others to
use their ‘gaydar’ to recognise another individual as gay. Borrowing the term
‘radar’, gaydar supposes that gay men/lesbian women have an ‘in-built’ detector for
those of a similar sexuality—a theory that does appear to have some evidence. See,
more generally, C. L. Nichols, ‘Gaydar: Eye-Gaze as Identity Recognition Among
Gay Men and Lesbians’ (2004) 8(1) Sexuality & Culture 60 and S. G. Shelp, ‘Gaydar:
Visual Detection of Sexual Orientation among Gay and Straight Men’ (2002) 44(1)
Journal of Homosexuality 1.
55 See, more generally, M. Clark, ‘All Penises are at Least Eight Inches, and Nobody is
Ever Bald: Welcome to the Gay Men’s Online Dating Service’, New Statesman, 21
May 2001, 24.
56 Uniform Resource Locator or URL is the address of a website and often takes the
following form: http://example.org/.
57 http://www.qsoft.co.uk/content/about_history.aspx, accessed 17 April 2009.
58 T. Fountain, ‘Sex at the Click of a Mouse’, New Statesman, 23 August 2004, 21.
59 A. Cooper, ‘Sexuality and the Internet: Surfing into the New Millennium’ (1998)
1(2) CyberPsychology & Behaviour 187.
60 See, more generally, K. Jay and A. Young, The Gay Report (Summit: New York,
1977).
61 Home Office, A Coordinated Prostitution Strategy and a Summary of Responses to Paying
the Price (Home Office: London, 2006). See also Home Office, Paying the Price (Home
Office: London, 2004).
The Journal of Criminal Law
266

10. 1. challenge the view that street prostitution is inevitable and here to
stay;
2. achieve an overall reduction in street prostitution;
3. improve the safety and quality of life of communities affected by
prostitution, including those directly involved in street sex
markets;
4. reduce all forms of commercial sexual exploitation.
The embracing of the Internet may support the government in achieving
many, if not all, of the above goals, although it is a long way from the
‘total ban’ advocated by Harman.62
The following section seeks to exam-
ine all of the commercial escort profiles on the Gaydar website in
England and Wales.63
The data were gathered in the course of three days
in March 2008 and in contrast to those online male escort sites pre-
viously studied,64
these profiles are one small part of the larger Gaydar
community.
Male-for-male sex work often has a physical proximity to other gay
space venues whether it is sex workers outside bars or saunas/
bathhouses.65
It is noteworthy that a similarly symbiotic relationship
exists in the online world.
Regional distribution
Gaydar enables users to search for what it terms ‘commercial pages’.66
These are in addition to the normal ‘member’ profiles, but follow the
same template. This article does not examine the issue (if there is one) of
those escorts who do not purchase a commercial profile from Gaydar
and operate through a standard profile, until detected. Profiles may not
include identifiable commercial elements, but sex workers may instead
loiter within the Gaydar chat rooms and offer sexual services there.
Essentially, it may well be that within cyberspace, as in the somatic
world, there is a cultural divide between the ‘legitimate’ commercial
escort and the ad hoc ‘illegitimate’ sex worker.
The commercial profiles on Gaydar are divided up over 24 regions67
which had the following commercial pages as of May 2008:68
the actual
number of ‘escort’ pages are given in Table 1 below and the number
inclusive of other commercial pages are in brackets.
A total of 562 Gaydar escort profiles were surveyed in the course of
this research. This was a result of considering 776 profiles across Eng-
land and Wales. As can be seen in Table 1, the escort profiles are not
62 Today Programme, BBC Radio 4, 20 December 2007, 07.50.
63 Gaydar has a global reach with commercial profiles listed across the world.
64 M. V. Pruitt, ‘Online Boys: Male-for-Male Internet Escorts’ (2005) 38(3) Sociological
Focus 189.
65 M. C. Clatts, ‘Ethnographic Observations of Men Who Have Sex with Men in
Public: Toward an Ecology of Sexual Action’ in W. L. Leap (ed.), Public Sex/Gay Space
(Columbia University Press: New York, 1999).
66 These may on occasion include hotels, online stores or other commercial operations
that are not escort services.
67 It is interesting to note that some of these regions overlap, e.g. ‘England—North’
and ‘England—Manchester’. However, it is not the case that profiles will appear in
both areas.
68 Other nations are similarly divided up for search purposes.
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
267

11. equally spread across the country. London, and notably Central London,
dominates. Within the Gaydar interface additional regional locations
exist for Northern Ireland, Scotland—Edinburgh, Scotland—Glasgow
and Scotland—Rest although data from those categories has not been
gathered for this survey as the focus here has been upon the law in
England and Wales.
The existence of this search mechanism enables greater dispersal of
sex workers beyond major urban areas contributing to what Barry has
termed the ‘industrialization of sex’.69
That is to say the Internet has the
potential to allow for greater disbursement amongst men seeking other
men for commercial sex transactions beyond the traditional ‘gay space’
to be found in major urban areas. Interestingly, the disbursement seen
above seems to suggest a reflection of traditional disbursement patterns
around the capital.
Masseurs have generally been excluded as not constituting escorts
except where reference is made to sexual services and in these instances
they have been included within the escort data.
Regionally, a range of profiles were excluded as indicated in Table 1.
The profiles to be included in the sample needed to be an individual
escort offering a somatic sexual encounter in exchange for money. In the
Channel Islands a male escort directory and a builder were both ex-
cluded. In the Birmingham region, a further male escort company was
69 Barry argues that in pre-industrial and early industrialising economies, the highest
demand is to be found where men (she focuses upon female prostitution)
congregate in large groups away from home and family, typically the military or
business: K. Barry, The Prostitution of Sexuality (New York University Press: New
York, 1995) 124.
Table 1. Regional distribution
Channel Islands 1 (3)
England—Birmingham 12 (17)
England—Bournemouth 0 (6)
England—Brighton 10 (17)
England—East Anglia 4 (5)
England—Leeds 9 (12)
England—Liverpool 2 (6)
England—London—Central 304 (376)
England—London—East 7 (10)
England—London—General 93 (138)
England—London—North 11 (13)
England—London—South 20 (25)
England—London—West 8 (12)
England—Manchester 25 (35)
England—Midlands 18 (30)
England—Newcastle 0 (1)
England—North 7 (17)
England—South East 12 (18)
England—South West 12 (27)
Wales 7 (8)
The Journal of Criminal Law
268

12. excluded, along with a webcam shower (guaranteed ‘cum shot’), a
pornography website promotion and recruitment, another web per-
former with his own website and a self-identified ‘professional’ masseur
(no sexual content).
In the Bournemouth region rejected profiles included a photo-
grapher, two masseurs, a night club, personal trainer and hotel. In
Brighton, a further two photographers were excluded along with a
‘body therapist’, a masseur who offered general body hygiene services, a
therapist, two additional masseurs and a ‘holistic therapist’.
East Anglia had excluded a masseur who also offers ‘webcam fun’,
though given a charge of £40 is stated, this suggests posing/masturbating
on camera. In Leeds, a beauty therapist (tanning, waxing, manicure)
was excluded from the sample. However, the profile does have ‘Now
available overnight’ and addresses this in the pricing section stating:
‘OVERNIGHT DELUXE TREATMENT . . . RELAXING SWEDISH BACK
AND SHOULDER MASSAGE FOLLOWED BY A MICRODERMABRA-
TION FACIAL ON THE EVENING AND THEN THE NEXT MORNING A
UP-LIFTING SWEDISH BACK AND SHOULDER MASSAGE FOL-
LOWED BY AND UP-LIFTING BEAUTY FACIAL £250’. This does raise
questions about whether a sexual service is being offered, but because of
the ambiguity, this profile has not been included in the escort data.
Additionally, a masseur and a sauna were excluded.
In Liverpool two holistic therapists were excluded along with an ‘elite
sex group’ (restricted membership) and a sauna. Nearby Manchester
had escort agency, masseur (naked him and you), designer underwear
sales, two holistic therapists, two masseurs, two photographers and a
sauna excluded.
The Midlands had five masseurs excluded along with a masseur/
personal trainer, escort agency, two online stores, two personal trainers
and a sauna. The city of Newcastle had a city-based store excluded.
The more general North region had an anomaly in including a ‘stand-
ard’ profile which stated it was looking for friends and may have
demonstrated some confusion as to what commercial membership
amounted to. Additional exclusions included three masseurs, an online
store, stripper, two saunas, model recruiting and body shaving service.
In South East England a solo cam show using MSN and Yahoo, a porn
site, a further porn site with a recruitment element, a sauna/sex club, an
additional Sauna and, finally, a wax and massage service were all
excluded from the sample.
In one instance, in the South West England region, a couple stated
they only escorted together and that it was only a show. Their charges
were 1 hour £180, 2 hours £300, 4 hours £550 and for overnight £700.
Whilst not absolutely clear, their profile suggested they were simply to
provide a live show, to compliment their online webcam show. As such
they have not been included in the escort data. Three masseurs, all of
which, as with the Manchester instance, included massage table photo-
graphs together with numerous photographs of naked men receiving a
massage (not explicitly sexual). A fourth masseur offered naked pictures
of himself, but otherwise the profile was a professional non-sexual
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
269

13. masseur service. Another three masseurs were totally non-sexual, both
in terms of profile imagery and the text provided.
One profile also not counted was itself a mini agency featuring the
profile of five ‘masseurs’, including one bisexual female. The profiles
were clearly sexual referring to roles.70
Another profile featured six male
escorts. As this study focuses upon individual profiles, both of these
‘group’ profiles have not been counted either as an individual profile or
as a series of individual profiles. Other excluded profiles from South
West England included an online underwear store, two model recruit-
ment profiles, a sex club, sauna and apartment rental and finally a
bar.
The largest sample ‘region’ was London. In North London a holistic
masseur and a sports masseur were excluded, whilst South London had
two masseurs, a further masseur who offered a naked massage, a
photographer and a complimentary therapist. East London featured a
masseur, photographer and a beautician whilst West London featured
popper sales via an online store, two non-sexual masseurs and a porno-
graphic website promotion.
The general London region included a PC repair profile, three profiles
offering medical massage, 10 massage, and other exclusions included
those offering aromatherapy/massage, a trainer/masseur, two holistic
masseurs, website design, a pornography site/recruitment, life coach, six
photographers, three pornography recruitment groups, a profile that
promoted a pornography website, counselling, a corgi-registered
plumber (who also does heating), lesbian and gay home exchange, three
online sex toy stores, a ‘non-sexual escort’, personal trainer, decorator,
removals, beautician, website promotion, stripper and a complementary
therapist.
Central London is the largest ‘region’ within commercial Gaydar and
excluded profiles included four escort agencies, a ‘herbal erection pill’
purveyor, a webcam performer, a mobile waxing therapist, 34 masseurs,
a sports masseur, six photographers, two counsellors, two therapists,
two saunas, one profile which featured images of what were intended to
be the profile owner’s penis. but beyond that the profile was non-sexual
offering a range of services including ironing, dog walking, domestic
cleaning and aromatherapy, two ‘used’ underwear sellers, a webcam
performer, three pornography recruitment sites, an online clothing
store, pornographic website promotion, two personal trainers, chiro-
pody and waxing, two holiday apartments to rent, model recruitment,
travel insurance, an environmental campaign group and one intriguing
profile with merely an image of the sky as a picture and an absence of
profile details, simply stating: ‘I sell my time to those willing and able to
afford it. Time is our most precious commodity. When I sell my time it is
for a purpose that we agree upon, this can literally be anything—there
are few limits but they are strictly observed’.
70 ‘Top’ or ‘bottom’ that is to say the penetrator or the penetrated. Sometimes referred
to as ‘active’ or ‘passive’.
The Journal of Criminal Law
270

14. Finally, Wales had one masseur profile excluded from the sample. It
was striking in considering these excluded profiles together with the
content of the final 562 sampled profiles that there was a conflation of
sex-related ‘industries’, particularly the pornography industry, whether
it be recruiting people, promoting websites and pornography publishers
or, as was often the case, escorts who performed in pornography and
also worked as escorts.
This appears to be one of a number of areas that Agustin71
has argued
form part of a wider field encapsulated in the term ‘commercial sex’,
including all commercial goods and services of an erotic and sexual kind.
Although not considered in this article due to the limits of space, this
area is worthy of further examination. The excluded profiles detailed
above also reveal a wider commercial environment in which the sexual
co-exist with the non-sexual, perhaps further lending a veil of legitim-
acy to the commercial sex profiles.
A range of categories were examined as part of the survey so as to
build up an impression of what these profiles focused upon, how they
appeared, how they presented themselves and if there was any con-
scious acknowledgement of the law. An earlier small survey72
identified
female escorts as offering complex, sometimes maternal projections of
themselves, in one case providing a recipe for Parkin cake. That study
and a further study by Holt and Blevins73
drew upon discussion boards
enabling an examination of the interaction between sex worker and
client which may create an evolving image of the sex worker. In contrast
this study concentrates upon fixed data that sex workers present
through their profiles. Within that mapping, this survey therefore con-
sidered the previously speculated about74
category of penis size.
An area of increased legal intrusion is the subject of ‘safe’ sex75
and
although a public policy intrusion along the lines of R v Brown76
has not
yet been put in place, the passing of the Criminal Justice and Immigra-
tion Act 2008 suggests this proactive policy focus remains in the van-
guard.77
This category was therefore also surveyed as it may form an
important element in defining policy and subsequent law.
71 L. M. Agustin, ‘The Cultural Study of Commercial Sex’ (2005) 8(5) Sexualities 618.
72 Ashford, above n. 29.
73 T. J. Holt and K. R. Blevins, ‘Examining Sex Work from the Client’s Perspective:
Assessing Johns Using On-line Data’ (2007) 28(4) Deviant Behaviour 333.
74 Clark, above n. 55.
75 S. Cooper and A. Reed, ‘Informed Consent and the Transmission of Sexual Disease:
Dadson Revivified’ (2007) 71 JCL 461.
76 [1994] 1 AC 212.
77 Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 introduces new
offences relating to the possession of ‘extreme’ pornographic images, causing
outcry within the BDSM (bondage, domination and sadomasochism, see below
n. 83) community. The original Bill also contained numerous measures on
prostitution which included the removal of the term ‘common prostitute’ along
with reforming the street offences so as to increase the emphasis on rehabilitation.
The Internet aspect was not included and ultimately all of the prostitution clauses
were removed from the Bill due to expressed concerns. See B. Brooks-Gordon, ‘The
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill and Prostitution Law Reform’ (2008) 3
Archbold News 4.
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
271

15. The question of whether further contact details were provided
enabled some understanding of how the Gaydar element worked—that
is to say, did it serve to meet all communication needs or is it essentially
an advertisement, akin to the telephone booth adverts discussed above?
Similarly, data on pricing enabled a picture of the phenomena to be
formed.
Penis size
Almost 99 per cent of respondents included information as to their penis
size indicating that it is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a key detail on the
profiles. Previous literature that has studied online profiles and Gaydar
in particular has focused the idea that in cyberspace ‘all penises are at
least 9 inches long’. Yet such information has been based on anecdotal
evidence and not empirical data. Gaydar does not require the profile to
state a numerical penis measurement, but rather self-identify as one of
five categories (see Table 2 below).
In the study, 86 per cent of profiles surveyed stated they have a large
(57 per cent) or extra large (29 per cent) penis. Of the 562 escort profiles
surveyed not a single one stated that he had a small penis, though this
may be accounted for by those profiles that chose not to complete this
section despite clearly offering a sexual service. However, that category
accounts for just 1 per cent of respondents as does another possible
category, ‘rather not say’. An ‘average’ penis size was the smallest size
anyone appeared to be prepared to state, accounting for 13 per cent of
responses.
One East London escort profile is particularly noteworthy. He cat-
egorised himself as ‘large’ but also added: ‘PS: Down bellow [sic] I'm
probably in the lower range of “large” but my clients do tend to come
back. I have other photos’. The escort appears visibly trapped between
the worry that he will not attract clients if he is merely ‘average’ and the
fear that client’s expectations may be overly raised.
Instances of safe sex
Whilst it has been noted that male sex workers are more likely to use
condoms during sex with clients, but less likely to use condoms with
Table 2. Penis size
Categories Totals %
Extra large 161 29
Large 320 57
Average 73 13
Small 0 0
Rather not say 3 1
Not completed 5 1
TOTAL 562 100
The Journal of Criminal Law
272

16. non-paying partners,78
Parsons et al.79
also note that is unclear whether
escorts, in the Internet context, follow this same pattern. Whilst this
research was not focused upon those specific patterns of safe sex prac-
tice, it was interested in the safe sex projections of the Gaydar escorts.
Epidemiologists are also increasingly concerned with the role of
technology in health promotion and the prevention of sexually trans-
mitted infections80
thus making an inclusion of sex work important in
any policy-focused research. For the male escorts themselves, this cat-
egory also proved important with 92 per cent of profiles completing the
safe sex category.
The Gaydar template offers five options including ‘Always’, ‘Some-
times’, ‘Never’, ‘Needs discussion’ and ‘Rather not say’. In addition,
profile owners have the option of not completing the box at all and these
are represented by the ‘Not completed’ figures below. The figures in-
dicate (see Table 3 above) that an overwhelming majority of profiles, 90
per cent, state that they always have safe sex. One profile owner stated
he ‘always’ had safe sex, but included a photograph of anal penetration
without a condom being worn; a practice referred to as ‘barebacking’.
Interestingly, he explained the presence of the photograph on his profile
by stating that he did have unprotected sex with his boyfriend and that
was who the photograph was taken with. This may have been the result
of inquiries from potential punters requesting bareback sex, enticed by
the image. Whatever the case, the escort apparently placed value in
including a barebacking picture on his profile.
From a legal standpoint, a form of self-regulation supported by HIV
charities such as the Terrence Higgins Trust running outreach projects
78 See, e.g., C. S. Estcourt, C. Marks, R. Rohrsheim, A. M. Johnson, B. Donavan and
A. Mindel, ‘HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Risk Behaviours in Male
Commercial Sex Workers in Sydney’ (2000) 76(4) Sexually Transmitted Infections 294;
F. Hickson, P. Weatherburn, J. Hows and P. Davis, ‘Selling Safer Sex: Male Masseurs
and Escorts in the UK’ in P. Aggleton (ed.), Foundations for the Future (Taylor and
Francis: London, 1994) and R. R. Pleak and H. F. Meyer-Bahlburg, ‘Sexual
Behaviour and AIDS Knowledge of Young Male Prostitutes in Manhattan’ (1990)
27(4) Journal of Sex Research 557.
79 J. T. Parsons, D. Bimbi and P. N. Halkitis, ‘Sexual Compulsivity Among Gay/
Bisexual Male Escorts Who Advertise on the Internet’ (2001) 8(2) Sexual Addiction &
Compulsivity 101.
80 See, e.g., M. Mcfarlane, R. Kachur, J. D. Klausner, E. Roland and M. Cohen,
‘Internet-based Health Promotion and Disease Control in the 8 Cities: Successes,
Barriers and Future Plans’ (2005) 32(10) Sexually Transmitted Diseases S60.
Table 3. Safe sex
Options/Not completed Totals %
Always 505 90
Sometimes 9 2
Never 2 0
Needs discussion 2 0
Rather not say 12 2
Not completed 32 6
TOTAL 562 100
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
273

17. through Gaydar seems to have created an environment in which the
vast majority of escorts insist, at least in this initial phase, upon safe
sex.
Where a profile might state ‘Sometimes’, ‘Needs discussion’ or
‘Rather not say’, reference to HIV/AIDS is absent. In fact, no profile that
has a response other than ‘Always’ referred to HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless,
one profile did refer to ‘raw only’ with a raft of images depicting scenes
of bareback sex, yet even then there was no mention of HIV.81
In other
instances the profiles were fetish focused, whether BDSM82
activities or
others, such as foot worship/trainer worship. The accuracy of these
statements may be easier to ascertain if the site utilised a feedback
mechanism which Soothill83
has noted can be seen on some escort sites
and discussion boards and Sharp and Earle have highlighted the Punter-
net84
website.
Non-sexual service statement
Earlier research with female sex workers highlighted the apparent com-
monality of a ‘disclaimer’ statement,85
a phrase that indicated that no
moneys were being exchanged for sex. Rather, the commercial trans-
action was for time only. A common form of wording goes as follows:
Money exchanged in legal adult personal services is simply for time and
companionship anything else that takes place is a matter of personal choice
between two or more consulting adults of legal age. Anything implied or
inferred within these pages is not to be taken as inducement for payment
for anything other than time.
In this survey, just 6 per cent of escort profiles (Table 4 below) included
a non-sexual service statement. This may therefore indicate that far
from being sexual escorts, these individuals are escorts in the non-
sexual sense. However, the nature of the filtering of profiles that took
place, illustrated in Table 1 above, is that all those in this sample were
escorts apparently engaging in sexual activities. Thus, this is a statement
that appears to be more about legitimising their actions and apparently
placing them and any agency or pimp outside the law.
Profiles that reveal that they are engaging in sexual activities may act
as incriminating evidence if multi-profile escorts can be found to be
81 Again, the motivation behind this is unclear. A spate of English cases over the last
five years that has focused upon criminalising HIV transmission may have
contributed to this silence. In English law, this currently revolves around the idea of
‘recklessness’, where a partner may have unwittingly been infected by HIV because
the other partner was ‘reckless’: see R v Dica [2004] EWCA Crim 1103, [2004] QB
1257, R v Konzani [2005] EWCA Crim 706, [2005] 2 Cr App R 14 and Cooper and
Reed, above n. 76. For a more general consideration of barebacking online, see
G. W. Dowsett, H. Williams, A. Ventuneac and A. Carballo-Dieguez, ‘“Taking it Like
a Man”: Masculinity and Barebacking Online’ (2008) 11(1/2) Sexualities 121.
82 A general term for activities including bondage, discipline/dominance, submission
and sadism/masochism.
83 K. Soothill, ‘Parlour Games: The Value of an Internet Site Providing Punters’ Views
of Massage Parlours’ (2004) 77 Police Journal 43.
84 K. Sharp and S. Earle, ‘Cyberpunters and Cyberwhores: Prostitution on the
Internet’ in Y. Jewkes (ed.), Dot.cons: Crime, Deviance and Identity on the Internet
(Willan Publishing: Cullompton, 2003).
85 Ashford, above n. 29.
The Journal of Criminal Law
274

18. operating from the same premises as this would constitute a brothel
under English law and thus come under the scrutiny of the law. None-
theless, this did not apparently seem of concern to those escorts
surveyed.
If anything, the presence of these statements may reveal an aware-
ness of the virtual presence of the law and a fear that it may impact upon
their activities. The overwhelming lack of such a statement on these web
pages suggests a confidence on behalf of these male escorts that what
they are doing is legally acceptable, or beyond the focus of the law.
Provision of additional contact details
As can be seen from Table 5 below, 85 per cent of the profiles surveyed
included additional contact details, typically a mobile phone number.
Whilst the Internet has enabled a new interface, the escorts appear to
still seek to ‘screen’ clients through the use of the telephone as has been
traditionally the case.86
The existence of these mechanisms may suggest
escorts who are taking precautionary measures to manage their safety
and a distrust of purely text-based communication.
86 Davies and Simpson (1990) quoted in V. Minichiello et al., ‘Male Sex Workers in
Three Australian Cities: Socio-demographic and Sex Work Characteristics’ (2001)
42(1) Journal of Homosexuality, 29.
Table 4. Non-sexual service statement
Y N %Y %N
Channel Islands 1 0 100 0
England—Birmingham 2 10 17 83
England—Bournemouth 0 0 0 0
England—Brighton 0 10 0 100
England—East Anglia 0 4 0 100
England—Leeds 1 8 11 89
England—Liverpool 0 2 0 100
England—London—Central 8 296 3 97
England—London—East 0 7 0 100
England—London—General 6 87 6 94
England—London—North 0 11 0 100
England—London—South 2 18 10 90
England—London—West 1 7 13 88
England—Manchester 1 24 4 96
England—Midlands 3 15 17 83
England—Newcastle 0 0 0 0
England—North 0 7 0 100
England—South East 1 11 8 92
England—South West 4 8 33 67
Wales 3 4 43 57
TOTAL 33 529
% 6 94
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
275

19. A previous study by Castle and Lee87
considered 76 escort sites drawn
from the USA, UK, Australia and Europe and found that escorts pre-
ferred to receive contact via a call or e-mail (46%) rather than purely
e-mail (4%) and 24% stated call only. These findings are reflected in
those stated above based on the commercial Gaydar profiles in which
85% of profiles did utilise additional communication mechanisms.
Service prices given
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly given the central nature of it, the price is
not commonly given.88
In fact, pricing details are given on just 34 per
cent of profiles (see Table 6 below). This contrasts with the findings of
Castle and Lee89
which found the price was given in 79 per cent of
profiles surveyed. Nonetheless, it was interesting to note that there was
often a degree of regional harmonisation of pricing which may be a
product of the Internet element and the additional ‘market’ factor that it
creates. In the Birmingham region, the typical pricing structure was £90
for one hour, £160 for two hours and £250 for three hours. The lowest
87 T. Castle and J. Lee, ‘Ordering Sex in Cyberspace: A Content Analysis of Escort
Websites’ (2008) 11(1) International Journal of Cultural Studies 107.
88 For a detailed consideration of sex work pricing within the UK, see P. G. Moffatt
and S. A. Peters, ‘Pricing Personal Services: An Empirical Study of Earnings in the
UK Prostitution Industry’ (2004) 51(5) Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 675.
89 Castle and Lee, above n. 88.
Table 5. Additional communication mechanisms
Y N %Y %N
Channel Islands 0 1 0 100
England—Birmingham 11 1 92 8
England—Bournemouth 0 0 0 0
England—Brighton 9 1 90 10
England—East Anglia 2 2 50 50
England—Leeds 7 2 78 22
England—Liverpool 1 1 50 50
England—London—Central 269 35 88 12
England—London—East 6 1 86 14
England—London—General 73 20 78 22
England—London—North 8 3 73 27
England—London—South 15 5 75 25
England—London—West 4 4 50 50
England—Manchester 23 2 92 8
England—Midlands 15 3 83 17
England—Newcastle 0 0 0 0
England—North 5 2 71 29
England—South East 10 2 83 17
England—South West 10 2 83 17
Wales 7 0 100 0
TOTAL 475 87
% 85 15
The Journal of Criminal Law
276

20. amount charged was £70 for one hour though overnight rates varied
considerably, ranging from £350 to £550.
In the Brighton area there were much fewer instances of prices being
given, but where they were, these varied from £60 to £80 for one hour
and increased dependent upon the travel required, rising to a consistent
£100 per hour.
In the East Anglia region there was a typical charge of £100 as the
starting fee for one hour although the lowest rate was £90. All-night
charges varied from £300 through to £400. Interestingly, in one in-
stance, regular clients would get a discount. This is an example of escorts
seeking to improve their own safety by creating a financial incentive to
encourage reliable clients who they feel comfortable with and know
they will get paid.
The Leeds region generally started at £100 for one hour though the
lowest rate was £70 in and £80 for an out call. The overnight rate varied
from £325 to £400 and in one instance a weekend rate was given of
£800.
Across in the Pennines, in Liverpool, prices appeared to be similar but
only one profile disclosed prices. These were £90 an hour (in) or £100
(out). The overnight rate was £450.
In Central London the rate was typically £100 in or £120 out with
overnight rates varying much more but generally around £500. The
lowest hourly rate was £90 for a call (both in and out). The lowest
overnight rate was £450 and the highest was £1,000. In East London
Table 6. Service prices given
Y N Y% N%
Channel Islands 0 1 100 0
England—Birmingham 6 6 50 50
England—Bournemouth 0 0 0 0
England—Brighton 2 8 20 80
England—East Anglia 4 0 100 0
England—Leeds 6 3 67 33
England—Liverpool 1 1 50 50
England—London—Central 75 229 25 76
England—London—East 5 2 71 29
England—London—General 35 58 38 62
England—London—North 6 5 55 45
England—London—South 8 12 40 60
England—London—West 1 7 13 88
England—Manchester 12 13 48 52
England—Midlands 8 10 44 56
England—Newcastle 0 0 0 0
England—North 4 3 57 43
England—South East 8 4 67 33
England—South West 4 8 33 67
Wales 5 2 71 29
TOTAL 190 372
% 34 66
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
277

21. rates were notably lower, typically £80 an hour and £400 overnight. The
lowest hourly rate was £70 and the highest was £150. In ‘general’
London prices were typically £100 for an hour in or £120 out as in
central London. Overnight rates varied but were typically £400. The
lowest hourly rate was £60 (for 18–25-year-olds) and the highest was
£200. The lowest overnight rate was £350 and the highest was £900.
North London had a typical hourly rate of £120 with the lowest hourly
rate £100 and the highest £120. The overnight rates varied slightly with
the highest at £500 and the lowest at £400. Finally, for the London
region, South London had a typical hourly rate of £100 hour with the
highest hourly rate standing at £120 and the lowest £50, although it was
a fetish profile. The overnight rate varied, typically being £500 which
was also the highest and £450 was the lowest overnight rate.
In Manchester rates varied considerably with no common rate. The
lowest hourly rate was £60 and the highest was £95. Overnight rates
similarly varied with the lowest standing at £300 and the highest at
£500. This was also true of the ‘north’ region which had £80 as the
lowest hourly rate and £100 as the highest. £300 was the most common
overnight rate and the lowest whilst £500 was the highest.
In the South East the typical rate was around £80 with the lowest rate
at £75 an hour and the highest £110. Overnight rates were typically
£500, which was also the highest and the lowest rate was £350. In the
South West the rates varied considerably between the lowest hourly rate
of £60 and the highest of £85. Overnight rates similarly varied between
the lowest at £300 and the highest at £450.
Conclusion
As has been noted above, there is emerging academic scholarship in the
USA, which is starting to address the subject of cyber-prostitution and
the role of the Internet in facilitating prostitution. The most significant
difference between the USA and UK experience is the underlying law.
Whilst sex work in England and Wales is not illegal, many of the
activities associated with prostitution are. All 50 states in the USA define
prostitutes as criminals and, traditionally, as women, though this had
begun to change by the early 1990s.90
In contrast, in the USA, prostitution laws make it a crime in most
states to offer, agree to, or engage in a sexual act for financial reward.91
In Melbourne, Australia, the city sought to shift sex work away from
street-based prostitution to regulated brothels.92
For Barnett, this is not
an appropriate solution as the practical effect, she claims, is that the most
90 P. Alexander, ‘Bathhouses and Brothels: Symbolic Sites in Discourse and Practice’ in
D. Bedfellows (ed.), Policing Public Sex (South End Press: Boston, 1996) 226. See
more generally J. Kelly, ‘Nevada Vice’ (1993) 143 NLJ 948 and N. Lopez-Jones,
‘Legalising Brothels’ (1992) 142 NLJ 594.
91 The idea of financial reward as a motivator into sex work is explored in depth by
McLeod, above n. 39.
92 This has not deterred all sex workers and there is still a strong street-based element:
see ‘Sex in our City? Plenty Apparently’, The Age, 8 June 2003, available at http://
www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/07/1054700442113.html, accessed 18 April 2009. A
recent guide to Melbourne also reflects this, stating that Grey Street in the St Kilda
The Journal of Criminal Law
278

22. vulnerable prostitutes, who cannot gain admission to licensed brothels,
are forced into criminal activity on the streets, or into illegal brothels.93
The findings of this article indicate a significant presence of escorts
within the virtual gay community, sharing space in much the same way
as sex workers may do in the somatic queer space of a club or bar.
Eighty years ago, American sexologist, W. J. Robinson, commented:
. . . it is fair to assume that [prostitution] will continue to persist in the
future; but it will persist not because it always has; it will persist because it
satisfies a definite and important biological need, and answers it in a way
that no other present arrangement does.94
Though written in the 1920s, it is a view that still holds true today.
Technology is supporting the continuous operation of sex work and
promoting the growth of new sex industries in online pornography and
online exhibitionism. Moreover, Koken et al.95
noted in their study
published in 2004 that male sex workers who have sex with other men
‘operate at the unique intersection of two major taboos: engaging in
homosexual activity and the illegal exchange of sex for money’. English
culture, however, both legal and social, has changed dramatically over
the last decade, rendering homosexuality much less of a taboo, which
makes it different to society in the USA at the time of that Koken et al.
were writing.
It is perhaps therefore understandable that male-for-male sex work is
not merely at the margins of the Internet, but can flourish on a ‘main-
stream’ social networking site such as Gaydar, where users can find
instant sexual encounters, an online masturbation exhibition, an escort
and a plumber within the same virtual queer community.
The growth in technology has not led to the decline of real-world sex
in favour of virtual sex despite the predictions of some and the emer-
gence of new technology platforms such as Second Life. Yet technology
does offer the possibility to move sex away from the streets. Walker et al.
noted that the Internet can transform ‘visible’ crime into ‘invisible’
crime96
and if the UK government intends to follow the Swedish model
of transforming sex work into an ‘invisible’ practice, the Internet may be
its greatest tool. If, however, the aim of the UK government is to stop sex
work, the search must continue.
It has not been the purpose of this article to contribute to the existing
debates on whether the current legal position represents an over-
extension of legal paternalism or offers important safety nets for those
district is ‘still home to prostitutes, drug addicts and down-and-outs’: S. Townshend
and G. Dunford, The Rough Guide to Melbourne (Rough Guides: London, 2005) 88.
93 Barnett, above n. 16 at 317.
94 W. J. Robinson, Prostitution, quoted in F. Henriques, Prostitution in Europe and the
New World (MacGibbon & Kee: Rochester, 1963) 346.
95 Koken, Bimbi, Parsons and Haltkins, above n. 7.
96 D. Walker, D. Brock and T. R. Stuart, ‘Faceless-Orientated Policing: Traditional
Policing Theories Are Not Adequate in a Cyber World’ (2006) 79(2) Police Journal
169.
Male Sex Work and the Internet Effect
279

23. engaged in sex work.97
. However, that debate must take far more
account of the emerging and complex issue of same-sex male sex work
that is supported and offered through the Internet.
This article does, however, in the Foucaudian sense, hope that ‘to-
morrow sex will be good again’98
and that a new truth of sex work can
be constructed by government and policy makers in which the old
gendered concepts of sex work are abandoned in favour of a multitude
of sex-work constructs, including the role of the Internet and male-for-
male sex workers.
97 See V. E. Munro, ‘Dev’l-in Disguise?’ in V. E. Munro and C. F. Stychin (eds),
Sexuality and the Law: Feminist Engagements (Routledge-Cavendish: Abingdon, 2007)
8–9. For an excellent example of feminist engagement with this area, see P.
Kotiswaran, ‘Wives and Whores’ in V. E. Munro and C. F. Stychin (eds), Sexuality
and the Law: Feminist Engagements (Routledge-Cavendish: Abingdon, 2007).
98 M. Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: The Will to Knowledge (Penguin:
London, 1998) 7.
The Journal of Criminal Law
280