Attested to since Antiquity, male prostitution experienced a sharp rise during the nineteenth century in Europe. Less regulated than female prostitution, it played an important role in the practices and representations of homosexual relations even though heterosexual male prostitution was also attested to.
It was the subject of a disapproving discourse on the part of doctors, police officers and jurists, as well as attempts at control through various legislative tools, depending on the country. During the twentieth century, male prostitution was marginalized in public debate with the exception of health concerns connected to sexually transmitted diseases STDs. More recently, it has been transformed by new technologies for information and communication, which have diversified the locations and interfaces between clients and sex workers.
Like female prostitution, male prostitution experienced a considerable rise during the nineteenth century. Essentially limited to homosexual prostitution, it was present in popular gathering places Molly houses in England, Galleries of Palais-Royal in Paris , but also in the brothels that emerged at the beginning of the century. A far-reaching scandal broke out in London in , after the police discovered such a house in Cleveland Street, frequented by men of British high society.
At the same time, male prostitution became more visible in the public places and amusement venues of major capitals, whether on the large boulevards of Paris or the surroundings of the Tiergarten in Berlin. It took on various forms, from tricks to steady relationships, with varying forms of compensationβmonetary, food, or material.
Like female prostitution, it contributed to the scandalous reputation of certain major cities, as well as the emergence of new kinds of sexual tourism in both Europe and the colonies. The analogy between the two prostitutions nevertheless diverges on a number of points. Certain places were indeed specific to male prostitution, such as those of soldiers and sailors, who were highly sought after due to the fetishism of the uniform and the stereotypes of masculinity they personified.
