Male prostitution in the arts

The male prostitute or hustler is a frequent stereotype in literature and movies in the West from the 1960s on, and especially in movies and books with a gay perspective in which he may be considered a stock character. He also appears occasionally in popular music, some contemporary fashion advertising, and the visual arts.

The most common stereotype of the hustler is as a sexy but tragic figure. This stereotype reveals both a fascination with the hustler as a sexual object and sadness or disdain with his situation and life style. This stereotyped male hustler is often an underaged or teenage "street kid" or "runaway" forced to leave home because of his sexual orientation or because of sexual abuse. He is often portrayed as a drug addict or thief. The plotline frequently focuses on the crisis of leaving the trade or the street ("one last trick"), or on making enough money for an important use (a medical treatment, a gift). The climax often has one of two possible outcomes: the hustler either abandons the trade and re integrates into society, or he meets a tragic end. This tragic image of the hustler can be contrasted with the stereotype of the female hooker with a heart of gold: instead of being portrayed as someone in control and contented, the hustler is lost, homeless, broke or exploited. In movies and books that take the point of view of the client or of a boy/girlfriend who loves the hustler, the hustler is often depicted as an impossible love object who will only bring hurt or frustration. The lover may grow jealous of and disturbed by the hustler's work; occasionally the loving boy/girlfriend will be drawn into the lifestyle of their hustler boyfriend. Older clients who fall in love with hustlers are frequently prey to emotional (and sometimes physical) pain; this is especially true in the case of "rough trade" (where the hustler identifies as straight), and this depiction has been reinforced by several famous incidents of violence against clients (such as the deaths of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rudolph Moshammer). In contrast to the previous depictions, the male prostitute has also sometimes been portrayed as an idealized rebel living outside the law and free of bourgeois conventions. This almost Nietzschean image of the hustler as moral and sexual outlaw owes much to the writings of Jean Genet, William S. Burroughs and John Rechy (among others). While less frequent in cinema and novels, the male prostitute with exclusively female clients (the "gigolo" or "escort") is generally depicted in a less tragic manner than the gay hustler (the gigolo is portrayed as older, athletic, well dressed, etc. ), and films like American Gigolo have done much to paint the character as a sophisticated seducer. This portrayal has also led to cinematic satire (the Deuce Bigalow films). The portrayal of the client or "john" of male prostitution in popular culture is far less codified than that of the hustler and runs the gamut from the lonely married man, the self hating in the closet guy, the exploitative or endearing businessman, and even the serial killer. The diversity of these stereotypes reveals much about each author's or director's personal view of love, sexuality, power and morality. These stereotypes may have a basis in fact, but they should not be taken as true in all cases. The same issues that surround male prostitution (including the financial security and social status of the young "kept" lover, the older lover's obsessions and insecurities with regards to his or her youthful love object, the sexual freedom or moral indifference of the hustler, etc.) often appear in movies and literature that portray amorous or sexual relationships—without prostitution—between an older man or woman and a younger male lover; for example, in Pasolini's novel and movie Theorem, Harold Prince's film Something For Everyone (1970) and Bill Condon's film Gods and Monsters (1998).

The following novels, memoirs, and plays feature male hustlers as major characters. Year Title Author Notes 1894 Flowers of Asphalt Stephen Crane According to Crane biographer John Berryman Crane began writing Flowers of Asphalt after being approached by a young male prostitute in the street. The work was said to be longer than any of Crane's other works but he abandoned it at the urging of Hamlin Garland, who was horrified by the subject matter. The manuscript does not survive. 1908 Swoosh: Tales of Privateers and Pirates D Watt The phrase "Cap'n's Rent Boy" first used. 1924 Kyra Kyralina (Chira Chiralina) Panait Istrati 1943 Our Lady of the Flowers (Notre Dame des fleurs) Jean Genet 1948 The City and the Pillar Gore Vidal Lead character Jim Willard supports himself as a hustler and a "kept boy". 1949 The Thief's Journal (Journal du voleur) Jean Genet 1951 From Here to Eternity James Jones In Jones's original manuscript, Private Angelo Maggio acknowledges acting as trade, allowing gay men to perform oral sex on him for money to supplement his Army pay. The publisher forced the excision of these passages. A new edition of the book with the previously censored passages restored is due out from e book publisher Open Road. 1957 Last Exit to Brooklyn Hubert Selby Jr. 1963 The Basketball Diaries Jim Carroll 1963 City of Night John Rechy 1965 Midnight Cowboy James Leo Herlihy 1967 Numbers John Rechy 1968 My Father and Myself J. R. Ackerley 1978 Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo Christiane F. Christiane's boyfriend Detlef works as a hustler to earn money to buy heroin. 1989 Enchanted Boy Richie McMullen Memoir of a boy's journey from "abuse to prostitution" in 1950s England. 1990 Enchanted Youth Richie McMullen Continuation of McMullen's journey from "prostitution to love" in 1958. 1990 Closer Dennis Cooper 1991 Close to the Knives David Wojnarowicz First of Wojnarowicz's memoirs of his passage from abused kid to Times Square hustler to artist in New York's East Village underground. 1992 Memories That Smell Like Gasoline David Wojnarowicz Second volume of Wojnarowicz's memoirs. 1994 American Studies Mark Merlis Story of a john coming to terms with his life while recovering in a hospital after being bashed by a hustler. 1994 User Bruce Benderson 1994 Martin and John Dale Peck One or both of the characters are hustlers in several of the parallel narrative scenes. 1994 Los novios búlgaros Eduardo Mendicutti Story of a Bulgarian hustler in Madrid in the 1990s. 1995 L'Enfant ébloui "Rachid O" Semi autobiographic novel about a hustler in Morocco. 1996 Wonder Bread and Ecstasy: The Life and Death of Joey Stefano Charles Isherwood Joey Stefano was a gay porn star of the 1990s. 1996 Seven Miles A Second David Wojnarowicz (writer) James Romberger (artist) Vertigo Comics version of Wojnarowicz's memoirs and diary. 1996 Boy Culture Matthew Rettenmund Includes an index to the sex passages (by preference). 1996 Brutal Aiden Shaw First novel by artist Aiden Shaw, a former prostitute and porn star. 1996 Kept Boy Robert Rodi Comedy novel. 1997 Quand je suis devenu fou Christophe Donner Narrator falls for a hustler in an Amsterdam brothel. 1997 Diary of a Hustler "Joey" 1997 After Nirvana Lee Williams 1998 Tipping the Velvet Sarah Waters A young woman in Victorian London is solicited by a man for sex and begins renting, but dressed only as a man for male clients, never letting them know she is a woman. 1998 The Queen of Hearts: A Transsexual Romance Brad Clayton 1999 Assuming the Position: A Memoir of Hustling Rick Whitaker 1999 Suburban Hustler: Stories of a Hi Tech Callboy Aaron Lawrence 2000 Sarah JT LeRoy Pseudo autobiographical story of a boy hustler whose mother was a truckstop prostitute. The author was revealed to be a fictional creation in 2006. 2001 A Thousand and One Night Stands: The Life of Jon Vincent H. A. Carson 2001 Can't Buy Me Love Chris Kenry Young man drifts into the world of escorting with humorous results. 2002 Sex Workers As Virtual Boyfriends Joseph Itiel 2002 Chicken: Self Portrait of a Young Man for Rent David Henry Sterry 2003 Escapades of a Gay Traveler: Sexual, Cultural, and Spiritual Encounters Joseph Itiel 2004 The Romanian: Story of an Obsession Bruce Benderson 2005 Setting the Lawn on Fire: A Novel Mack Friedman 2006 Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins Rupert Everett Touches briefly on his past as a rent boy. 2008 Shuck Daniel Allen Cox Fictionalized memoir of a New York City hustler who dreams of becoming a writer. 2008 Murder Most Fab Julian Clary Main character Johnny started life out as a high class gigolo. 2016 What Belongs to You Garth Greenwell Details the ethically ambiguous relations and transactions between Greenwell's unnamed protagonist and a young Bulgarian hustler, Mitko.

Year Title Author Character Originated by Notes 1940 Pal Joey Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, John O'Hara 1964 Entertaining Mr Sloane Joe Orton Mr Sloane Dudley Sutton 1965 Balm in Gilead Lanford Wilson Franny Rake Franny is a transvestite prostitute. 1968 The Boys in the Band Mart Crowley "Cowboy" Robert La Tourneaux La Tourneaux reprised the role in the 1970 film version. 2005 Trafficking in Broken Hearts Edwin Sanchez