Why Do Johns Buy Sex?

In an age when it’s easy to get sex for free, why do large numbers of men prefer to buy it? Clare Spurrell sets out in search of the answer for the The Times (11/7/06):

…[A 2005 study in British Medical Journal] found that the proportion of British men who reported paying for heterosexual sex had increased from 5.6 per cent in 1990 to 9 per cent in 2000. Of these, the largest group were in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, living in London and either single or divorced…

It is difficult for a woman to understand what it is that a prostitute can offer these perfectly attractive men that a free sexual encounter — be it a one-night-stand or in a relationship — cannot…

Disconcertingly, the men to whom I spoke suggested that lack of any emotional obligation is one of the most appealing attributes of paying for sex…

…When a man visits a prostitute, the mere act of handing over cash for services removes, in his mind, all emotional obligations to her.

“Money displaces the emotions. It frees you from that bond, that responsibility,” explains Sam. “The distance you get from exchanging cash for sex means that afterwards you don’t contemplate the impact on the prostitute.”

It is that distance — emotional, cultural, social — that makes paying for sex appealing to the young punter. Most prostitutes are women far removed from his normal life — she is not in his clique, he will never see her again, maybe she doesn’t come from the same culture as him or even speak the same language. The BMJ study revealed that this is why in the past five years most men who paid for sex were more likely to do so when they were abroad…

See also:

Prostitution Research & Education: How Prostitution Works
Real
sexual relationships are not hard to find. There are plenty of adults
of both sexes who are willing to have sex if someone treats them well,
and asks. But there lies the problem. Some people do not want an equal,
sharing relationship. They do not want to be nice. They do not want to
ask. They like the power involved in buying a human being who can be
made to do almost anything.

Prostitution: Factsheet on Human Rights Violations (explicit language)

One woman (in another study) said about her health: “I’ve had three
broken arms, nose broken twice, [and] I’m partially deaf in one
ear. I have a small fragment of a bone floating in my head that gives me migraines. I’ve
had a fractured skull. My legs ain’t worth shit no more; my toes have
been broken. My feet, bottom of my feet, have been burned; they’ve been
whopped with a hot iron and clothes hanger–the hair on my pussy had
been burned off at one time–I have scars. I’ve been cut with a knife,
beat with guns, two by fours. There hasn’t been a place on my body that
hasn’t been bruised somehow, some way, some big, some small.” (Giobbe,
E. (1992) Juvenile Prostitution: Profile of Recruitment in Ann W.
Burgess (ed.) Child Trauma: Issues & Research. Garland Publishing Inc, New York, page 126)…


Diane Sawyer Special Examines Prostitution in America; Challenge the Valley Advocate “Rat King”
From the March 20 Valley Advocate and The Back Room (explicit link):

[Adult] Employment
VERY VERY BUSTY FEMALE NEEDED Marketing Professional Hiring For Escort
Work No Experience Required Help Reduce My Stress VERY WELL ENDOWED In Need Of Oral Relief Our Privacy Assured 860-258-xxxx…

If you object to the Advocate profiting from and promoting one of the world’s most exploitative industries, let Tom Vannah and Aaron Julien (413-584-5000) know.

Escort Prostitution: A Response to Tom Vannah, Editor of the Valley Advocate
…There are over 45 articles in our Prostitution category.
How much evidence does Mr. Vannah require before conceding the obvious,
that the Advocate almost certainly abets and profits from prostitution,
and that prostitution is a miserable and dangerous job for most women?