Location:
The Kirby Institute Level 6 Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Open to
All
Contact for enquiries
Rata Joseph +61 (0)2 9385 0900 rjoseph@kirby.unsw.edu.au
The Kirby Institute is pleased to present:
Dr Denton Callander-Research Fellow, Kirby Institute;Adjunct Lecturer, Centre for Social Research in Health
"The (modern) male sex worker: Exploring and redfining a 'high risk' population."
Abstract:
Research and writing on sex work has tended to focus on females as the sole purveyors of sex, even though the global male sex industry is large and thriving. What research does exist has tended to focus on male sex work in terms of risk and pathology, which are not unimportant topics but are often narrowly framed without full consideration for context or the demographic and situational diversity of those who sell sex. Further, clients of male sex workers have been all but ignored in the research literature. In this presentation, I will argue that it is necessary to draw upon diverse perspectives and methodologies to gain the most complete and useful understanding of the issues relevant to male sex work today, and I will illustrate this contention with three of my ongoing projects in this area. The first is an overview of the epidemiology of HIV and other STIs from 2007 to 2014 among men who attended public sexual health services in Australia and reported selling sex. This analysis will consider if sex work contributes to a greater likelihood of infection. Second, as a way of conceptualising ‘risk’ and ‘safer sex’, I will review a content analysis of online profile data posted by male sex workers. Finally, I will explore emerging discourses around pre-exposure prophylaxis among male sex workers and their clients. Individually, these studies tell only a small part of the story but when considered together a more complete and nuanced appreciation for male sex work emerges, from which new and meaningful questions can be asked.
Biography:
Denton Callander joined the Kirby Institute in 2011 and is a research fellow in the sexual health program. His work focuses on sex, sexualities and sexual health in the areas of public health, epidemiology, sociology, and psychology. Denton is also an adjunct lecturer with the Centre for Social Research in Health.