Prostitution advertisements suggest association of transvestism and masochism

Abstract

Previous research and clinical observation have suggested that the sexual interests of many transvestites include involvement in sadomasochistic sexual acts. Through data gathered via prostitution advertisements in print media, we tested the hypothesis that prostitutes welcoming crossdressing clients would be primarily those describing themselves as dominant. The specialty of the prostitute was recorded by coding the advertisements for the presence or absence of the features of dominance, sub missiveness, acceptance of cross-dressing clients, and whether the prostitute was a biological male presenting as a woman or quasi-woman. The findings showed that 20% of prostitutes describing themselves as dominant welcomed cross-dressing clients, whereas none of the other subgroups of prostitutes mentioned cross-dressing clients in their advertisements. These findings reinforce other lines of indirect evidence suggesting that, an heterosexual men, the presence of masochism increases the likelihood of transvestism, and vice versa .