title: How do male sex workers on Craigslist differ from those on Rentboy? A comparison of two samples.
abstract: Much contemporary focus on male-for-male sex work has been with men who place advertisements on profile-based sex work websites. Less is known about men who sell sex via online bulletin boards. We compared two samples of men who were selling sex: a 2014-2015 survey of men on Craigslist.org (n = 95) and a 2013 study of men on Rentboy.com (n = 418). In multivariable modelling, compared to Rentboy, Craigslist participants had a significantly higher odds of being non-White (AOR = 5.32), gay identified (AOR = 2.32), making less than US$20,000 a year (AOR = 3.77), having used marijuana in the past 12 months (AOR = 3.41). Furthermore, compared to Rentboy, Craigslist participants had significantly lower odds of escorting full-time (AOR = .24), kissing (AOR = .23) or having anal insertive sex (AOR = .36) with their last male client, that their last paid encounter exceeded 1 hour in duration (AOR = .49) or having been paid over US$200 for that encounter (AOR = .19), and fewer clients in the past 30 days (AOR = .95). Craigslist participants were at greater economic disadvantage compared to men from Rentboy; however, they were less likely to engage in HIV risk behaviours (anal sex and condomless anal sex). These samples may represent distinct populations along the continuum of sex work.
authors.affiliation: a Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training , New York , USA.|b Department of Community Health and Social Science, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York , New York , USA.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grov
authors.affiliation: a Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training , New York , USA.|c Department of Health Sciences , LaGuardia Community College of CUNY , Long Island City , USA.
authors.forename: Juline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koken
authors.affiliation: a Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training , New York , USA.
authors.forename: Martez
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: a Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training , New York , USA.|d Health Psychology and Clinical Sciences Doctoral Program , The Graduate Center CUNY , New York , USA.|e Department of Psychology , Hunter College of CUNY , New York , USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Parsons
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005006:Ethnicity; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D060386:Sex Workers / Q000523:psychology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Craigslist; Rentboy; Sex work; USA; escorting; gay and bisexual men; men who have sex with men