Male Prostitution and Fashion: Dressed to Thrill

This chapter explores how male sex workers use fashion as a tool for communication with potential clients. Examining a diverse range of portrayals in films, photographs, Internet profiles, and selfies, the chapter illustrates how male prostitutes tailor their appearances to appeal to different audiences. Heterosexual gigolos catering to female clients often emphasise sophistication, class, and refined taste, while hustlers targeting gay clientele frequently adopt working-class aesthetics designed to project raw masculinity and an aura of danger.

Particular attention is given to depictions of male sex workers in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1950), the underground films of Paul Morrissey and Andy Warhol (1960s and 1970s), American Gigolo (1980), The Assassination of Gianni Versace (2018), and the work of various photographers. The analysis highlights the significance of fashion items associated with “rough trade” in shaping gay masculinity during the 1960s and 1970s. Rather than drawing inspiration from flamboyant upper-class fashion, which many middle-class gay men deemed effeminate, the "clone" aesthetic sought to emulate the appearance of rugged, white, working-class men. Their masculinity, expressed through practical work clothes and uniforms, was seen as both authentic and undeniably masculine.

Within gay male prostitution, this emphasis on clone fashion—characterised by tight-fitting clothing and a “straight-acting” presentation—persists, with little recognition of alternative expressions of gay masculinity. In the digital age, male sex workers advertising their services online focus more on body image than clothing. Fashion serves a minimal but strategic role, functioning much like it did in physique photography: drawing attention to the body and subtly guiding the viewer’s imagination to what lies beneath.

• https://www.itaidoron.com
• https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit...