Men’s constructions of masculinity and male sexuality through talk of buying sex

Bibliographic Data

ID15098097
AuthorsM Huysamen (0000-0002-5664-998X, University of Cape Town, corresponding author), Floretta A Boonzaier (0000-0001-7540-4534, University of Cape Town), Floretta Boonzaier
Year2015
Volume17
Issue5
Pages541-554
Publication date2015-05-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2014.963679
PMID25287270
OpenAlexW1993899884
LanguageEN
Citations received36
References cited34

Commercial sex is an everyday occurrence across a range of contexts in South Africa. In this paper we turn our attention to the often-marginalised role of the buyers of sex by drawing on narrative interviews with male clients of female sex workers recruited through online advertisements in order to explore the ways in which heterosexual men construct, negotiate and perform their masculinity and sexuality through talking about their experiences of paying for sex. We highlight parallels between men's narratives of paying for sex and dominant discourses of gender and heterosexuality. We show how men draw on heteronormative sexual scripts in constructing and making sense of paid sexual encounters and how men are simultaneously able to construct and enact a particular idealised version of masculinity and male sexuality through their talk on paying for sex. Finally, we discuss how online resources could be used more extensively in future research with the male clients of sex workers

Construct (python library · Heterosexuality · Human sexuality · Masculinity · Narrative · Negotiation · Parallels · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology