To browse Academia. This article explores Web site content and differences in advertised rates among a sample of independent female online escorts operating their own Web sites in major metropolitan areas in the United States. These relationships between business strategies of independent escorts and their published rates shed light on client preferences and market demand. Our findings provide important new insights into independent online escorts' business strategies and financial tactics and identify factors impacting perceived market value for escort services.
This research supports emerging literature indicating that clients of independent online escorts will pay more for particular provider characteristics, dispositions, and services, and they most highly value erotic services that are seductive and mirror the qualities of nonremunerative sexual exchange, often described as the "girlfriend experience" GFE. Academic literature documenting the diversity of global and domestic markets for commercial sexual services increasingly represents the broad diversity of sex workers, clients, and sex markets.
Where once the vast majority of attention from academics and law enforcement focused on the small proportion of sex work promoted outdoors, on the street, and in public view, indoor workers and the role of the Internet in facilitating their businesses have garnered increasing interest. The growing research on male commercial sex work has primarily concentrated on adolescent hustlers and street-based workers. Few studies have addressed the specific characteristics of adult male gay or bisexually identified escorts who work independently.
We explored qualitatively reasons for and effects of sex work among 46 gay and bisexual male escorts in New York City who use the Internet to advertise their services. Participants completed quantitative measures and a semi-structured qualitative interview.
A manual search of themes in the transcribed interviews identified three main reasons for participation in sex work-monetary benefits, positive impact on the self, and sexual pleasure.
