ABSTRACT
New research in Australia focused on the experience of women who buy sexual services from men suggests that the stigma experienced by women is based on shame about sexual activity. It also suggests that the specific stigmas perceived by sex workers’ clients are different for men then they are for women. Men who buy sex are stigmatized as exploitative. Women who buy sex, in contrast, are widely considered either victims or sluts. This double standard may be rooted in the mixed messages women receive in postfeminist society about female sexual empowerment versus the prevailing idea that sex work necessarily involves male violence against women. Female clients of male sex workers use a number of strategies to cope with the stigma they experience. Many tightly control the information they share, telling very few people that they buy sex. Others cope by associating only with people they perceive as being broad-minded, so they will not be negatively judged. Still others reframe the act of buying sex into something more socially acceptable, such as paying for mental or physical therapy. These strategies are problematic, however, as they sometimes limit clients’ motivation to seek social and health services that they may need. Moreover, these coping strategies may reduce the effectiveness of those who could most authoritatively advocate for sex workers’ rights and challenge the belief that sex work is inevitably oppressive. To reduce the harm caused by stigma, the authors argue, sex work in general must be decriminalized and we must develop a more compassionate understanding of the value of sex work for society. In this process, the voices of female clients are vital.
