ABSTRACT
The ‘everyman’ perspective by Monto and McRee (2005) offers a more pro-social understanding concerning men who engage in the act of procurement. Based on this pro-social typology this chapter considers the normative value, (as opposed to the deviant approach discussed in Chapter 2) that has been associated with men’s procurement of sexual services, and which includes the consideration of sex, in these circumstances, as a commodity. Those scholars and social commentators who adopt such an approach to understanding men’s procurement of sexual services in essence agree that the purchasing of sexual services is a valuable practice in society. There are three theoretical lenses through which these scholars and social commentators pursue this argument:
Sex work as ‘work’ and its commodification;
Theories of social exchange;
Emotions and experiences of intimacy.
Chapter 4, following, considers each of these theoretical frameworks in turn; enabling a consideration of a pro-social position concerning sex work and those who purchase sex.
