Toward a Typology of the Client: A Latent Class Analysis Approach to the Consumption of Sex Work in the United States.

Previous research on male clients of sex workers has emphasized the diversity of purchasing behaviors; however, we know little about how to organize or categorize this diversity quantitatively. I employed latent class analysis with survey data from cisgender male clients of primarily cisgender femal...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Sex Research Vol. 62; no. 6; pp. 993 - 1006
Autor principal: Wakefield, Chris
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jul2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2025
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        atl: Toward a Typology of the Client: A Latent Class Analysis Approach to the Consumption of Sex Work in the United States.
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        au: Wakefield, Chris
        affil: Department of Sociology, Whitman College
      su:
        United States
        Sex work
        Sex workers
        Cisgender people
        Marital status
      sug:
        subj:
          Sex work
          Sex workers
          Cisgender people
          Marital status
          United States
      ab: Previous research on male clients of sex workers has emphasized the diversity of purchasing behaviors; however, we know little about how to organize or categorize this diversity quantitatively. I employed latent class analysis with survey data from cisgender male clients of primarily cisgender female sex workers in the United States to organize client consumption patterns by the type of venue used to contact sex workers and the frequency of using each venue. I found that patterns of consumption emerged around the frequency and context in which sex work is negotiated, generating six distinct patterns of buying: generalists, internet-only buyers, brothel-only buyers, experimenters, routinized buyers, and opportunists. I used multinomial logistic regression to identify relationships between latent class membership, known covariates, and self-reported motivations for purchase. Classes had small but significant demographic differences around age, income, marital status, arrest history, and international sex work engagement. Motivational differences were observed across classes, including the importance of emotional connection, practicing sexual skills, and relaxation. Implications for future research are discussed.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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