In the Company of Men

Offering a new perspective on male prostitution, In the Company of Men employs qualitative methodology to present a real-world view of the issues, both obvious and obscure, surrounding the world's "second-oldest profession."

In the Company of Men: Inside the Lives of Male Prostitutes is the only book to document male prostitution from the perspective of a group of men working for a single male escort agency. The in-depth account goes behind the scenes to shed light on the very hidden world of Internet male escorts, their customers, and the niche they inhabit in modern American society. At the same time, it has much to tell us about post-modern identity, culture, and sexuality-and the transformative influence of the Internet on sexual behavior and male prostitution.

Through numerous interviews, the book examines the sometimes-dichotomous relationship between the image men convey and the lengths to which they go in order to meet their most private needs. Readers travel down a cyber Sunset Boulevard to see what attracts young men to work as escorts, how an escort agency serves economic and personal goals, and how a community can evolve among the men involved.

Auteur

Michael D. Smith, PsyD, is associate professor at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA. He received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology and specializes in addressing risk behaviors among marginalized teens and young adults.

Christian Grov, PhD, is assistant professor in the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College and a faculty affiliate with the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), New York, NY.