Prostitution is an exchange of sex for money or other favors and the male prostitute
is a biological man who practices prostitution. Researchers have been dividing them into Male
Sex Workers (MSWs) with or without Gender Identity Disorders (GID). Typological studies
that evaluate the differences between both groups can help researchers develop effective
management proposals for this complex population, but this type of study is very scarce.
MSWs represent a high risk population for sexually transmitted diseases (STD), showing a
high prevalence of alcohol and drug use and unsafe sexual practices. Furthermore, they show
some specific characteristics, such as low educational level, history of leaving home and
dropping out of school, poor life support and history of violence. Illegal activities are
common, even before prostitution begins and many MSWs have been arrested, mainly the
street workers. There are few studies about MSWs and a structural understanding of them is
required. In this text, we present a literature revision and the initial data of our study that has
evaluated the use of licit and illicit drugs, depression symptoms, impulsiveness, dimensional
personality aspects and criminal history among male prostitutes.
