Men procuring sexual services from women: everyman or peculiar man?
| Published date | 09 February 2015 |
| Date | 09 February 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-03-2014-0007 |
| Pages | 13-20 |
| Author | Philip Birch,Jane Ireland |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Forensic practice |
Invited paper
Men procuring sexual services from
women: everyman or peculiar man?
Philip Birch and Jane L. Ireland
Dr Philip Birch is a Lecturer,
based at School of Social
Sciences and Psychology,
University of Western Sydney,
Sydney, Australia.
Jane L. Ireland is a Professor of
Forensic Psychology, based at
School of Psychology,
University of Central
Lancashire, Preston, UK and
Ashworth Research Centre
(ARC), High Secure Forensic
Psychiatry, Mersey Care NHS
Trust, Maghull, UK.
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore characteristics of men procuring sexual services from
women.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative study using questionnaires and purposive
sampling. The sample was from New South Wales, Australia, and included brothels and outreach
organisations where sex work is decriminalised. The participants were 309 men who reported procuring
sexual services with women.
Findings – Primary motivations for procurement included thrill/excitement and attractiveness of the sex
worker. Cluster analysis identified five groups, the most frequent being those with a drive for exciting,
thrill-seeking sex with an attractive partner and those with the same drive but not wanting investment.
High proportions of men were married, in professional employment and did not present with a criminal
history.Sexual experiences procured were conventional. Procurement presented as an enduring behaviour
maintained across decades, commencing at a young age. Involvement in procurement preceded
decriminalisation.
Practical implications – The results do not support men’s procurement as primarily “deviant”.
Professionals may need to explicitly enquire about such behaviour where relevant to do so (e.g. in
discussing sexual health) and in doing so ensure procurement isdiscussed as normative and not as unusual
behaviour.
Originality/value – Challenges any conceptualisation of procurement as deviant, extending the research
base further by capturing users of such services as opposed to attitudes towards procurement.
Keywords Sexual health, Deviance, Prostitution, Sex workers, Sexual services, Decriminalization
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The perception of men who procure sexual services from women has an interesting history.
Early teachings from medical science encouraged men not to have recreational sex with
their wives owing to the risk of pregnancy and increased chance of death during childbirth
(Brooks-Gordon, 2006). It further considered men to have poor control over their sexual drives.
Consequently, men were considered unable to control their sexual urges and encouraged to
satisfy these by using sex workers and as a means to prevent unwanted marital pregnancy,rape
and sodomy (Brooks-Gordon, 2006). Biological differences became key in the understanding of
sexual service procurement. This was initially fostered by the work of Lombroso (2007) whose
writings on deviancy in the late eighteenth century sought to demonstrate clear biological
difference between “deviant” and “non-deviant individuals”. Sheldon (1947) was greatly
influenced by Lombroso and applied the concept of biological differences to those who could
be classified as deviant, arguing that differences (i.e. with those classified as non-deviant) would
be clearly evidenced in their body shape. McLeod’s (1982) work of men who procure sexual
services would suggest that these men had an endomorph body type sometimes described as
a “self-indulgent” body type (Sheldon, 1947) because sex was a commodity to them and they
were purchasing sex because of their self-indulgent nature.
DOI 10.1108/JFP-03-2014-0007 VOL. 17 NO. 1 2015, pp. 13-20, CEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8794
j
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PRACTICE
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PAGE 13
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