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Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence
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Prostitution: Male Prostitution
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 Male prostitution has never been as common as female prostitution, but it also dates back to antiquity. Again, imperial China, ancient Greece and Rome are well-known examples. In these countries the male “sex trade” was regulated, but, in the course of history, many other countries also had various formal and informal types of male prostitution. However, male prostitution has always served many more male than female customers. This has two main reasons:
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1. Only a small minority of females have ever been socially and economically powerful enough
to buy sexual services.
2. A sizable minority of men are bisexual or homosexual in their orientation, i.e. they are either
attracted to other males in addition to females or are exclusively attracted to males. Some of
these men do not mind paying for the sexual services of another male.
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As one can see, male prostitution answers to a demand that is inherently limited. Only a minority of women and men are potential customers. Therefore, male prostitution never had and never will have the same extent and importance as female prostitution. The following section will discuss the topics in the sequence of their relevance - first homosexual and then heterosexual prostitution.
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