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Questionnaires gathered from men arrested while trying to hire female prostitutes in three Western cities indicate that the desire for fellatio is an important reason clients seek female prostitutes. Respondents were more likely to select fellatio than any other practice when asked which sexual practices they (a) had ever experienced with a prostitute (81 % in comparison to 55% for vaginal sex; N = 995), (b) usually experienced with a prostitute (51% in comparison to 12%for vaginal sex, the second most common practice; N = 926), and (c) experienced during their most recent sexual encounter with a prostitute (68% in comparison to 43% for vaginal sex; N = 424). Though a majority of respondents (65%) found the practice of fellatio very appealing, an even greater proportion expressed that opinion about vaginal intercourse (76%; N = 55). These findings, when analyzed in the context of other research on sexual practices, suggest that the desire for fellatio may be one reason some men seek prostitutes.
Like prostitution policy, research on prostitution has focused primarily on prostitutes rather than on their clients (Carmen & Moody, 1985). Some argue that the neglect of clients, virtually all of whom are male, reflects a double standard in which women are held responsible for male deviance (Davis, 1993). Others argue that the lack of attention to male clients is due to the assumption that seeking prostitutes is natural behavior in men, hardly worthy of explanation (Prasad, 1999). A more common explanation for the lack of research on male clients is that they are inaccessible. Clients usually seek to keep their activities hidden, and the justice system may assist them to spare embarrassment to them and their families (Faugier & Cranfield, 1995; Special Committee on Prostitution and Pornography, 1985).
Recently, efforts to curtail prostitution have begun to focus on clients. Since 1995, weekend educational programs for arrested clients have developed in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Portland, Oregon. These "johns schools" provide unprecedented access to this formerly hidden population. San Francisco's First Offenders Prostitution Program (FOPP), the largest and longest-running program of this kind, sees as many as 80 men per month (Monto, 2000). For a description of a similar but now defunct program in Portland, Oregon, see Monto (1998).
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