ABSTRACT
Since the fall of communism in 1989, the Czech Republic has emerged as a sex tourism destination and as home to a thriving pornography industry that focuses on male performers who are typically 18 or 19 years old but who often appear younger. Most sex work now occurs in clubs and bars and in escorting via the Internet. Because Czech attitudes toward sex are liberal due to a lack of strong religious beliefs, sex work is not highly stigmatized. It is often seen as a realistic option to earn money quickly and easily. Many of the sex workers in clubs and bars have slipped through the Czech government’s social safety net, so they perceive sex work as the only reasonable solution to their financial difficulties. They have little education, few skills, and a poor work ethic. Prague’s Internet escorts are fairly well educated, happy, and otherwise typical young men. Due to the ease of finding clients over the Internet, their numbers seem to remain steady, with new escort profiles appearing on the web almost daily as others disappear. These escorts seem naïve as to the inherent dangers of sex work. A distinctive feature of male sex work in the Czech Republic is the prevalence of gay-for-pay behavior, which may be explained by Czechs’ liberal views regarding sexuality in general and their pragmatic views regarding earning money. Because sex work is perceived as an easy way to earn money, it is attractive to many young men (gay, straight, or bisexual) who find themselves in financial difficulty. Yet it seems that bisexual sex workers experience a higher degree of psychological distress than gay or straight sex workers. Although Czech sex workers face few governmental and social obstacles, for most of them, sex work is not a viable long-term career.
