Friday, April 16, 2010

News Flash: Male Prostitution

Prostitution is commonly known as the world’s oldest profession. As early as 18th century B.C. Mesopotamia, there is evidence of laws and civil codes relating to prostitution.[i] In Nevada, brothels have been tolerated since the 19th century, but the first ordnance that effectively legalized the profession was not passed until 1971. Since then, the brothel industry has flourished in the state with about thirty brothels currently in business. And until January 5, 2010, it was the exclusive domain of women. However, Nye County officials have cleared Bobbi Davis’ Shady Lady Ranch to hire male prostitutes. An ex-Marine, working under the pseudonym “Markus Bestin,” is America’s first legal gigolo; “I [Bobbi Davis] personally feel, as do the many other women who have made contact with me since I started this, that this is a service whose time has come.”[ii] Bestin brings an intriguing dimension to the highly controversial debate over the issue of legal prostitution. Until recently, the contest has revolved around the argument that prostitution is inherently degrading to women and the worst form of female objectification.[iii] Now, protesters of prostitution must also consider how the introduction of men into the profession affects their views, traditional gender roles, and societal norms. If men are legally able to be prostitutes in the same way that women are, is this industry still patriarchal in character and structure? No longer can it be argued that the brothel industry serves only to objectify and exploit women. Davis and Bestin are doing more than finding another way to make money in a poor economy; they are effectively challenging gender roles. Patriarchy dictates that women are, and should be, the only ones that can sell the act of sex in order to make money. Now that we have a female pimp in Davis and a male prostitute in Bestin, it seems that this aspect of traditional gender roles has become fluid and reversible. By attempting to tear down the established norms of the brothel industry, Bestin and Davis are striking a significant blow at one of the foundational pillars of patriarchy.


[iv]

Gender roles, as they exist in today’s America, are the product of a patriarchal system that stifles the ambitions and opportunities of millions of women. However, there are also places that society has designated as prohibited to men. Until recently, one of these areas has been that of the brothel industry. Bestin believes that, like many social activists before him, he has the chance to drastically alter the rigid gender roles, not only in his industry, but also in American culture as a whole…

It's just the same as when Rosa Parks decided to sit at the front instead of the back. She was proclaiming her rights as a disadvantaged, African-American older woman. And I'm doing the same. I'm actually standing up now, and hopefully I can be supported by the male community and be understood as a person. This actually isn't about selling my body. This is about changing social norms.[v]

While equal opportunity prostitution is obviously not nearly as gravely important of an issue as civil rights was in the 1960’s, the gender restrictions on the brothel industry are nonetheless an integral part of the patriarchal pyramid in America. Bestin is by no means a latter day Parks, but his intentions are benevolent nonetheless. His actions are less about money or fame, and more focused on breaking down societal norms and gender roles at their core; “I think it's the same situation as with anything that happens when you break apart a social institution…And it's more of a civil rights thing now. Basically this is the first time in the economy of the United States that a male has actually stood up and said, ‘I want to do this for a living.’ And be protected under law to do it.”[vi] Bestin’s crusade is clearly against patriarchy as he and Davis are seeking to forcefully remove the patriarchal stranglehold on the brothel industry. Their actions inherently rupture the legitimacy of traditional gender roles. While Bestin’s campaign may seem trivial on the surface, it may very well be a step towards tearing down oppressive societal and gender norms.


[vii]

Allan Johnson maintains throughout the second chapter of The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy[viii] that patriarchy is a set of expectations for and constraining forces on men and women alike; “It’s [patriarchy] about how social life is and how it’s supposed to be, about what’s expected of people and about how they feel…It’s about defining women and men as opposites.”[ix] In terms of the prostitution business, women have always been relegated to positions of servitude as employees, while men have traditionally been the employers who do little work and take a large cut of the profits. The opening of the profession of prostitution to men is significant because it also enables and even encourages women to take the initiative on the business side of the brothel industry. Given Davis’ example, women will now see that they can make money in this business without shedding a shred of clothing, and instead use their financial acumen to sell men for a change. Johnson goes on to illiterate that, “patriarchal culture is about the core value of control and domination in almost every area of human existence…Because of this, the concept of power takes on a narrow definition in terms of ‘power over’—the ability to control others.”[x] Bestin’s actions begin to erode patriarchy’s absolute degradation of only women by morphing what roles men and women respectively play in the brothel industry. Moreover, the induction of male prostitutes creates the foundation for even more progressive alterations of gender roles.


[xi]


The system of patriarchy that controls this country hinges on the acceptance of traditional gender roles as a societal norm. Without this willingness to submit to an inherently oppressive ideology, the patriarchal pyramid collapses. Therefore, to drastically alter expected representations of gender is to deconstruct patriarchy at its foundation. This goal is exactly what Bestin has set out to achieve; “I'm basically trying to reset social norms.”[xii] The authorization of male prostitutes is critically important because it lays the groundwork for a complete overhaul of gender roles. As Johnson explains, “Because people make systems happen, then people can also make systems happen differently…In other words, when people step off the path of least resistance, they have the potential not simply to change other people, but to alter the way the system itself happens.”[xiii] In the brothel industry, Davis and Bestin are prototypical examples of people who are willing to travel on the path of most resistance. And in doing so, this duo is making strides to change the rules of the patriarchal game. Their example encourages other men to become gigolos, and more importantly, it urges other women to take the position of power that had traditionally been reserved for men. By becoming pimps, women have the rare opportunity to be the ones controlling the men. Against all odds, it seems that the introduction of male prostitutes is in fact a prominent example of true gender equality, as well as fluid gender roles. Patriarchy, by definition, is incapable of dealing with such an eventuality, and as such must be forced to change. The reversal of gender roles on an institutional basis is a major blow to the black heart of patriarchy.


[ii]Ashley Powers, “Male prostitution is Nevada’s newest legal profession,” LATimes.com 6 Jan. 2010. (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/06/nation/la-na-male-prostitutes6-2010jan06)

[v]Ian Daly, “Meet America’s First Legal Male Prostitute,” Details.com 13 Jan. 2010. (http://www.details.com/sex-relationships/sex-and-other-releases/201001/americas-first-legal-male-prostitute)

[vi]Daly.

[viii]Allan G. Johnson, The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy.

[ix]Johnson 39.

[x]Johnson 39.

[xii]Andrea Canning and Cole Kazdin, “Just a Gigolo? Or the Rosa Parks of Sex Work?” ABCNews.com 1 Feb. 2010. (http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/legal-male-prostitute-talks-shop/story?id=9718157)


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1 comment:

  1. EmmaApril 17, 2010 at 12:09 AM

    While Markus Bestin's reasons for being a male prostitute are interesting, I think he if truly wants to change gender norms, there are much more effective ways. It is admirable that Bestin is trying to change our patriarchal society, but making the claim that by a male moving into a position of a prostitute allows a female to move into the position of a pimp, and this gives her power is misconstrued. Essentially, what does this accomplish? It says that women can have power, but this power is limited to the world of prostitutes and pimps. I don't think that sort of power will transfer very well to the real world.

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