Abstract
Situated in the masculinity and deviance literature, this article examines a “deviant” masculinity, that of the male sex worker, and presents the ways men who engage in sex work cope with the job. Based on in-depth interviews of Chinese male sex workers (n = 18) in the Hong Kong sex industry, I argue that the stigma management techniques these men employ are simultaneously gender strategies they use to accomplish masculinity. It is through this process that they negotiate a masculine identity within the hierarchy of masculinities in order to become “respectable” and “responsible” Chinese men. The study was funded by the author's previous institute: Departmental General Research Funds, the Department of Applied Social Sciences, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The author thanks the involved NGOs, Mr. Kenneth Cheung, and Mr. Leo Yau who helped in respondent referral; Prof. Karen Joe Laidler, Dr. John Thorne, the anonymous reviewers, and the editor for their helpful reviews and comments on previous drafts.
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