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Male Street Hustling: Introduction Processes and Stigma Containment

NCJ Number
135642
Journal
Sociological Spectrum Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1992) Pages: 35-52
Author(s)
T C Calhoun
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Based on data obtained from interviews with 18 young male prostitutes, this article examines the process by which male street hustlers try to negotiate sexual transactions while preventing others from learning about their discrediting behavior.
Abstract
Most male prostitutes learn about street hustling as a result of peer introduction; their friends provide the necessary instructions, motives, and techniques for carrying out this deviant activity. The instructions cover the type of sexual acts which should be performed, the location of the prostitution area, ways to minimize police detection, and advice about customer behavior. Hustlers divide the process of negotiating a sexual transaction into three stages -- initial contact, confirmation, and location -- and use various techniques to avoid arrest and the subsequent label of homosexual prostitute. The hustler and the trick both engage in strategies to limit potentially discrediting information. 30 references