Rent Boys: The World of Male Sex Trade Workers [Paperback]

Michel Dorais (Author), Peter Feldstein (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2005 | ISBN-10: 0773529039 | ISBN-13: 978-0773529038

"Rent Boys" paints a vivid picture of the men who service men in an urban Western context. Using interviews with forty young male sex workers, Michel Dorais analyses their differences in terms of self-esteem, control over their lives, relations to their clients, and risk of HIV infection. He insightfully and usefully breaks down male sex workers into four different types: outcasts whose drug addiction and prostitution go hand-in-hand; part-timers for whom prostitution is an occasional means to make money; insiders for whom the world of prostitution has become a "family"; and liberationists whose prostitution helps them actualize themselves. Dorais analyses the risks these young men are subject to and presents useful suggestions for professionals wanting to help them. The original 2003 French version was praised for its depth of understanding, and this English translation has been expanded to include a consideration of child prostitution, the involvement of organized crime, and the legalization of prostitution and references to the current international literature, and additional contextualization for American, British, and Australian readers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As in his previous books on sexual abuse and on the suicide risk of male adolescents stigmatized as gay, Dorais combines rigorous research with an understanding portrait of those to whom he gives voice. This solidly documented and insightful work is a must read." Charles Adam, Tel Quels "Dorais' deep understanding of the differences among the men makes it possible to know how to effectively intervene and his portrayal of their world reveals the forces at work to maintain it." Dr Richard Montoro, Co-director, McGill University Sexual Identity Centre

About the Author

Michel Dorais is professor of social work at the Université Laval. He spent many years as a clinical social worker and is the author of Don't Tell: The Sexual Abuse of Boys, Dead Boys Can't Dance: Sexual Orientation, Masculinity, and Suicide, and numerous

Product Details

• Paperback: 110 pages
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (July 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773529039
• ISBN-13: 978-0773529038
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Look into the Lives of Others, June 27, 2009

By 

Clare Quilty (St Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rent Boys: The World of Male Sex Trade Workers (Paperback)

I purchased and read this book for the purpose of research. I found the book easy to follow, well-documented, and, oddly enough, felt (even though documentation, not empathy, is the purpose of the author). Certainly worth your time if only for the glimpses inside a world most of us do not understand, or do not even know exists.

The book is short and can be read in one sitting. Dorais doesn't ramble.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Inadequate, September 2, 2011

By 

Desmond Waite "Dez" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rent Boys: The World of Male Sex Trade Workers (Paperback)

This book is a majjor disappointment. The sample is small--40 male sex workers--and geographically limited to Montreal and Quebec City. Inclusion of the ethnically diferent Toronto and Vancouver would have made the study more representative, at least of Canada. Although readable, it is academically oriented. More important, the author pays scant attenttion to the role of the internet in commercial sex while over-emphasizing escort agencies, which have virtually disappeared in North America because of the internet. Thousands of men worldwide advertise their availability and services, along with fees, usually with pictures fore and aft of the merchandise, on such sites as Rentboy, Hourboy and men4rentnow. Some of these sites also feature reviews written by clients. Certainly Dorais has captured the pathos of hustlers, the boys, often drug addicts, who offer themselves on the street and other public places.And he calls attention to the absence of services to help the prostitutes find other occupations.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rent Boys Review, January 9, 2010

By 

Peter J. Scardino - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rent Boys: The World of Male Sex Trade Workers (Paperback)

The book is well written and deals aptly with the lives of male escorts but focuses more on male escorts in Canada than anywhere else in the world.