ABSTRACT
Television shows, movies, governments, and non-governmental organization spend a great deal of time depicting the “sex trafficking” and “sexual slavery” of women, there has been very little discussion of the sexual exploitation of men. In August of 2010, British Broadcasting Corporation, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and other networks briefly, but prominently featured the busting of Spain’s first sex trafficking ring to specialize in men. In response to the story, Brazil’s largest newspaper, O Globo, interviewed Brazilian male sex workers living in Spain. News outlets highlighted the presence of the supply of Viagra, cocaine, and vasodilators or “poppers” that induce euphoria, cause sexual arousal, and relax the sphincter. Given the rise of homonormativity and gay rights messaging that has sought to normalize and asexualize gay men by promoting conservative notions of gay marriage and assimilation, it may come as a shock that poppers, Viagra, alcohol, recreational drugs, and open bottles of lube are constitutive parts of the gay sexual landscape.
