Beskrivelse: customerWho is the customer?

 

Male sexual behaviour is less subject to social structures than female.

 

Women are categorized as “good girls” or “bad girls”, whereas males are subject to less dichotomized evaluation; promiscuous females are defined as “sluts”, whereas male promiscuity is a badge of honour.

 

The same double standard pervades our images of the actors involved in commercial sex transactions.

 

Gender bias is evident in public attitudes and cultural definitions of sex workers.

 

When we think of pornography, prostitution, and other sex work, we tend to think of female actors.

 

This is despite the fact that sex work involves at least two parties (at least one whom is usually male) and despite the fact that customers are much more numerous than the sex workers who service them.

 

In popular discourse, female sex workers are deviant women, whereas the customers are seen as essentially normal men.

 

There is, of course, some stigma in being a customer, in that it suggests some personal deficiency in men who “have to pay for it.”

 

But this stigma is much less that what the prostitute experiences.

 

The very terminology used – whore, hooker, harlot, slut – is heavily laden with opprobrium. By contrast, customers are referred to as johns, tricks, clients and patrons – fairly tame labels.

 

To get a picture about who is the customer, we have found figures from the US, but compared with different European statistics the figures represent a very good picture of the male customer, who visits prostitutes and the reasons why. Please see below.

 

In January 1999 the National Institute of Justice in US, San Francisco, managed to do a survey amongst First Offenders Prostitution Program to provide information regarding the customers visiting prostitutes.

 

Anonymous questionnaires were administered to men immediately prior to the first session of each day’s johns school.

 

More than 80 percent of all the male customers agreed to participate. (See source in the bottom of the page).

 

Customers´ backgroundcharacteristics

 

Etnicity

 

 

 

 

White

 

 

61

%

Hispanic / Latino

 

18

%

Asian

 

 

13

%

Black

 

 

4

%

Other or combination

 

4

%

 

 

 

 

 

Level of education

 

 

 

Did not graduate from high school

8

%

High schoolgraduate

 

15

%

some college training

 

35

%

Receivedbachelor´sdegree

28

%

Recivedgraduatedegree

14

%

 

 

 

 

 

Marital status

 

 

 

Married

 

 

41

%

Never married

 

36

%

Divorced

 

 

16

%

Separated

 

 

5

%

Widowed

 

 

2

%

 

 

 

 

 

Work status

 

 

 

Workingfull time

 

81

%

working part time

 

7

%

Student

 

 

2

%

Other /unknown

 

10

%

 

 

 

 

 

Age

 

 

 

 

18-21

 

 

3

%

22-25

 

 

10

%

26-35

 

 

32

%

36-45

 

 

34

%

46-55

 

 

16

%

56-65

 

 

4

%

66 or older

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

Parents divorced as a child

 

 

Yes

 

 

34

%

 

 

 

 

 

Touched sexually by adult while a child

 

 

Yes

 

 

14

%

 

 

 

 

 

Physically hurt for no reason as a child

 

 

Yes

 

 

14

%

 

 

 

 

 

Served in armed forces

 

 

Yes

 

 

26

%

 

Customers´ sexualbehavior

 

Sexualorientation

 

 

 

Strictlyheterosexual

 

94

%

Experience with both

 

5

%

Strictlyhomosexual

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

Numbers of sexual partners over the past year

None

 

 

10

%

1

 

 

34

%

2

 

 

15

%

3 or 4

 

 

18

%

5 to 10

 

 

15

%

11 or more

 

 

8

%

 

 

 

 

 

Frequency of sex over the past year

 

Not at all

 

 

9

%

Once or twice

 

9

%

Aboutonce per month

15

%

2-3 times per month

 

21

%

Aboutonce per week

 

18

%

2-3 times per week

 

17

%

More than 3 times per week

7

%

Do not know

 

4

%

 

 

 

 

 

How often looks at pornographic magazines

Never

 

 

31

%

Less than once a month

40

%

One to a few times a month

20

%

One to a few times a week

7

%

Everyday

 

 

2

%

Several times a day

 

0

%

 

 

 

 

 

How often watches pornograpic DVD´s

 

Never

 

 

35

%

Less than once a month

35

%

One to a few times a month

21

%

One to a few times a week

6

%

Everyday

 

 

3

%

Several times a day

 

0

%

 

 

 

 

 

Age at first encounter with a prostitute

 

9-17

 

 

18

%

18-21

 

 

33

%

22-25

 

 

20

%

26-35

 

 

21

%

36-45

 

 

7

%

46 or over

 

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

Circumstances of first sexual encounter with prostitute

Buddies set it up

 

22

%

Prostitutesapproached

31

%

Approached prostitute without others knowing

31

%

Family member set him up

5

%

Visited a borthel

 

3

%

Other

 

 

8

%

 

 

 

 

 

Most common sexual activity with prostitute

Oral sex

 

 

47

%

Vaginal sex

 

14

%

Half and half (oral and vaginal)

12

%

Hand job

 

 

6

%

Other

 

 

5

%

Two or more are equally common

16

%

 

 

 

 

 

How often use condom with the prostitute

Never

 

 

3

%

seldom

 

 

3

%

sometimes

 

9

%

Often

 

 

10

%

Always

 

 

75

%

 

 

 

 

 

Prostitution shouldbelegalized

 

Agreesomewhat or strongly

74

%

 

 

 

 

 

Prostitution shouldbedecriminalized

 

Agreesomewhat or strongly

72

%

  

Motives for seekingprostitutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Percentages agreeing to the statements)

 

Statement:

Total

Repeatuser

First timer

College graduate

Non-graduate

Married

Not married

I have difficulty meeting women who are not dancers or prostitutes.

23,4

29,2*

14

17,1*

28,5

19,9

26,1

I think most women find me unattractive physically.

23,3

24,7

21

16*

29,1

21

25,1

I want a different kind of sex than my regular partner (wants).

42,6

49,6*

31,3

49,1*

37,4

50,2*

36,7

I am shy and awkward when I am trying to meet a woman.

41,9

47,4*

32,9

35,7*

46,8

36,2

46,1

I would rather have sex with a prostitute than have conventional relationship with a woman.

19,3

24,3*

11,2

19,6

19,1

20,5

18,3

I am exited by the idea of approaching a prostitute.

46,6

55,9*

31,4

56,1*

39,3

 

45,1

I do not have the time for a conventional relationship.

33,3

38,4*

25

31,1

35,2

25,7

39

I don´t want the responsibilities of a conventional relationship.

29,5

34,8*

20.6

26,4

32

23,9*

33,7

I like to have a variety of sexual partners.

44,1

53,9*

27,9

54,1*

36,3

41,9

45,9

I like to be in control when I´m having sex.

41,8

45,5*

35,6

37,2*

45,3

41,6

41,9

I like to be with a woman who likes to get nasty.

53,9

60,4*

43,2

52,7*

54,8

53,1

54,3

I need to have sex immediately when I am aroused.

36,1

40,7*

28,6

33,5

38,4

37,8

35,1

I like rough and hard sex.

20,2

21,9

17,4

17,6*

22,3

15,7

23,5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The figures are chi-squared test significant at p<.05

 

 

 

 

To read more, please see further information and figures in the book ”Sex for sale”, Prostitution, pornography and the sex industry. Ronald Weitzer, Routledge, 2000.