PUMP - Pride and Unity for Male Prostitutes

PUMP (Pride and Unity among Male Prostitutes) is the Male Sex Worker Project for the New Zealand Prostitutes Collectives.

PUMP provides advice and support to men working, or thinking of working, in the sex industry as:

• Men working with male clients

• Men working with female clients

• Men working with couples

There is often an idea that men working in the sex industry are all gay. That is not true.

While the majority of men working in the sex industry work with male clients, that does not indicate that they are gay, or even bisexual. Some men who work with male clients may be living with their girlfriend when not doing a job. Even though they may work with male clients, they do not see themselves as gay or bisexual. They view themselves as straight because everything they do outside work is heterosexual.

This is the same as any other person who does a job - it does not define their identity in any way.

Furthermore, there is often a difference in the relationships between a male worker and his male clients, and the relationships that exist between a female worker and her male clients.

There is also a big difference between either of those groups and male sex workers with female clients, or couples as clients. Because of this, issues that affect male sex workers may be different to those that affect female sex workers. As a result, resources produced for male sex workers address many of these issues and are as gender neutral as possible, but address any specific issues that arise. They include information for men working with male clients- as well as information for those working with female clients.