E-Prostitution: A Content Analysis of Internet Escort Websites
Open AccessTechnology and the sex industry are extremely intertwined, perhaps more so than ever due to the Internet boom of recent years. Prostitution on the Internet, specifically in the form of Internet escorts, has expanded greatly, though it has been the subject of notably little scholarly attention. Moreover, male and female sex workers have rarely been studied within the same tier of prostitution. The goal of this thesis is to examine the content and design of male and female escort websites, focusing on the main similarities and differences in the ways male and female providers market themselves. Using systematically sampled provider websites from two escort review websites, The Erotic Review for females advertising to heterosexual men, and Rentboy for males advertising to homosexual men, I conducted a content analysis of 127 Internet escort websites (105 female and 22 male). Variables included general demographic information, affiliations, physical descriptions, inclusion of a biographical sketch, photograph details, service details, scheduling details, and website details. The analysis shows industry-wide patterns of the types of information included on the websites, including levels of disclosure and marketing techniques, though information presented often varied widely. There were also prominent differences in male and female websites, although most clustered around the prevailing industry standards. The Internet is constantly transforming the practices of prostitution through expediting communications between escorts and clients, reframing the traditionally gendered power relationships within prostitution, and empowering escorts to take control of their own marketing and management through entrepreneurial means.
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