Between Pleasure and Intimacy
Experiences of Commercial Sex Clients in an Online Forum in Portugal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46661/relies.11875Keywords:
Comercial sex clients, Sexual experiences, Netnography, Digital plataforms, Risk behaviorsAbstract
This study investigates the experiences of commercial sex clients through a netnographic approach centered on the forum GP-PT.net, given the scarcity of research on this group in Portugal. The analysis aimed to understand how clients represent their interactions with sex workers, the negotiation dynamics involved, and the meanings attributed to sexual experiences. The results show that this group is not homogeneous, and their accounts go beyond the pursuit of immediate physical satisfaction. Many express a desire for emotional involvement, valuing not only physical attributes but also the emotional and relational characteristics of the professionals. Practices such as the Girlfriend Experience illustrate the search for the simulation of romantic intimacy, affection, and attention, challenging simplistic and one-dimensional readings of commercial sex. The analysis also identified the importance of the physical space (hygiene, privacy, comfort) and the communication process (notably via WhatsApp) in shaping the sexual experience. Interactions are assessed based on multiple subjective factors, articulating expectations, pleasure, and control. At the same time, recurring risk behaviors were observed, such as resistance to condom use and alcohol consumption, although no explicit forms of physical violence were reported. It is concluded that the consumption of commercial sex is shaped by a complex web of meanings—relational, symbolic, and normative—that goes beyond mere transaction. The study contributes to giving visibility to this often marginalized group, proposing a denser and more contextualized reading of digitally mediated sexual practices.
Downloads
References
Association of Internet Researchers. (AoIR). (2020). Internet research: Ethical guidelines 3.0. https://aoir.org/reports/ethics3.pdf
Belza, M. J., Fuente, L., Suárez, M., Vallejo, F., García, M., López, M., Barrio, G. & Bolea, A. (2008). Men who pay for sex in Spain and condom use: Prevalence and correlates in a representative sample of the general population. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 84(3), 207-211. https://sti.bmj.com/content/84/3/207 https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2008.029827
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.
Calvey, D. (2013). Covert ethnography in criminology: A submerged yet creative tradition. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 25(1), 541-550. https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2013.12035980
Connell, R. W. (1995). Masculinities. University of California Press.
Cordeiro, A. L. (2023). Trabalho sexual, estigma e saúde: Discursos e percursos de profissionais portugueses/as. [Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais]. Repositório Institucional da Universidade Fernando Pessoa. https://bdigital.ufp.pt/handle/10284/11506
Cruz, J. (2016). Estudo exploratório sobre as mulheres clientes de prostituição: Caraterísticas, motivações e significados. [Dissertação de mestrado, Universidade do Porto]. Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação. https://repositorio- aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/86662/2/160919.pdf
Cunningham, S., & Kendall, T. D. (2011). Prostitution, technology, and the law: New data and directions. In L. R. Cohen & J. D. Wright (Eds.), Research handbook on the economics of family law (pp. 221–231). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857930644.00015
Cunningham, S., & Shah, M. (2018). Decriminalizing indoor prostitution: Implications for sexual violence and public health. The Review of Economic Studies, 85(3), 1683–1715. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdx065
Deering, K. N., Shannon, K., Sinclair, H., Parsad, D., Gilbert, E., & Tyndall, M. W. (2014). Client demands for unsafe sex: The socioeconomic risk environment for HIV among street and off-street sex workers. American Journal of Public Health, 104(7), e80–e88. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0b013e3182968d39
Dimbuene, Z. T., Emina, J. B., Sankoh O. (2014). UNAIDS “multiple sexual partners” core indicator: Promoting sexual networks to reduce potential biases. Global Health Action, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v7.23103
Farley, M., Golding, J. M., Mattews, E. S., Malamuth, N. M., & Jarrett, L. (2017). Comparing sex buyers with men who do not buy sex: New data on prostitution and trafficking. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 32(23), 3601-3625. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515600874
Fernandes, E., & Maia, A. (2001). Grounded Theory. In E. Fernandes & L. S. Almeida (Eds.), Métodos e técnicas de avaliação: Contributos para a prática e investigação psicológicas (pp. 49-76). Centro de Estudos da Criança da Universidade do Minho. http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/4209/1/Grounded%20Theory.pdf
Garcia, S., Yam, E & Firestone, M. (2006). “No party hat, no party”: Successful condom use in sex work in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Reproductive Health Matters, 14(28), 53-62. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=951694# https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-8080(06)28259-4
Harcourt, C., & Donovan, B. (2005). The many faces of sex work. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 81(3), 201–206. https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2004.012468
Hine, C. (2015). Ethnography for the internet: Embedded, embodied and everyday. Bloomsbury Academic.
Jeffreys, S. (2009). The industrial vagina: The political economy of the global sex trade. Routledge.
Jones, K. Z. (2013). “Emotional landscapes” and the value of sex: Exploring the lived experiences of sex workers’ clients. [Dissertação de mestrado, Universidade Wilfrid Laurier]. https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2711&context=etd&httpsredir=1&refere r=
Jones, A. (2016). “I get paid to have orgasms”: Adult webcam models’ negotiation of pleasure and danger. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 42(1), 227–256. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/686758 https://doi.org/10.1086/686758
Jordan, J. (1997). User pays: Why men buy sex. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 30(1), 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/000486589703000105
Kozinets, R. V. (2020). Netnography: The essential guide to qualitative social media research (3rd ed.). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003001430-2
Malarek, V. (2009). The Johns: Sex for sale and the men who buy it. Key Porter Books.
Marques, C. (2013). As mulheres clientes de sexo comercial: Um estudo exploratório sobre as clientes do striptease masculino. [Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade do Porto]. Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/111011
Martín, P. & Falcón, C. (2021). La relación de compraventa en la prostitución. Revista de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, 78(153), 617-635. https://doi.org/10.14422/mis.v78.i153.y2020.004
Matias, S. (2014). Perceções de polícias sobre a prostituição: Um estudo exploratório feito no Porto. [Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade do Porto]. Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/79445
Melo, M. (2015). Masculinizar o trabalho sexual: Perceções e vivências de trabalhadores do sexo homens acerca do comércio de sexo entre homens. [Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade do Porto]. Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação. https://repositorio- aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/83106/2/120535.pdf
Mkono, M., Ruhanen, L., & Markwell, K. (2021). From netnography to auto-netnography in tourism studies. Annals of Tourism Research, 87, 103123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.03.002
Monto, M. (2004). Female prostitution, customers, and violence. Violence Against Women, 10(2), 160-188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801203260948
Monto, M. & Milrod, C. (2014). Ordinary or peculiar men? Comparing the customers of prostitutes with a nationally representative sample of men. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 58(7), 802-820. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X13480487
Morcillo, S., Martynowsky, E & Barbero, M. S. (2021). ¿El macho “apichonado”? Masculinidad, emociones y relaciones de género en los relatos de varones que pagan por sexo en Argentina. Contemporânea: Revista de Psicologia da UFSCar, 11, 608-622. https://doi.org/10.4322/2316-1329.2021007
Moreira, C. (2019). Mulheres trans trabalhadoras do sexo: Impactos e significados sobre o corpo e a sáude. [Dissertação de Mestrado, Instituto Universitário da Maia]. ISMAI. https://repositorio.umaia.pt/bitstream/10400.24/1214/1/TESE_FINAL_out.pdf
Oliveira, A. (2008). O mundo da prostituição: Trajectórias, discursos e práticas: Um estudo etnográfico. [Dissertação de mestrado, Universidade do Porto]. Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação. https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/handle/10216/95118
Oliveira, A. (2017). Prostituição em Portugal: Uma atividade marginalizada num país que tolera mais do que persegue. Bagoas, 17, 201-224. https://periodicos.ufrn.br/bagoas/article/view/13525
Orchard, T. (2019). Sex work and prostitution. In Encyclopedia of Sexuality and Gender (Vol. 2, pp. 1-5). Springer. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-59531-3_15-1#citeas https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59531-3_15-1
Pandor, A., Kaltenthaler, E., Higgins, A., Lorimer, K., Smith, S., wylie K., & Wong, R. (2015). Sexual health risk reduction interventions for people with severe mental illness: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 15, Artigo 138. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1448-4
Pinto, M. (2018). Prostituição de luxo: Sentidos e representações atribuídas à prostituição de luxo em contexto universitário. [Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade do Minho]. Instituto de Ciências Sociais. https://hdl.handle.net/1822/56049
Pitcher, J. (2014). Diversity in sex work in the UK: Meanings and values. Graduate Journal of Social Science, 11(2), 44–61. https://gjss.org/sites/default/files/issues/chapters/papers/GJSS%20Vol%2011-2%20Pitcher.pdf
Ramalho, N. (2012). O trabalho sexual: Discursos e práticas dos assistentes sociais em debate. Sexualidad, Salud y Sociedade, 12, 64-91. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-64872012000600004
Ramalho, N., & Vaz, A. (2016). Quem são os clientes das travestis trabalhadoras do sexo em Portugal? Breve caraterização dos T-Lovers. In Atas do IX Congresso Português de Sociologia: Portugal, território de territórios. http://hdl.handle.net/10071/23135
Ramalho, N. (2019). “Virar Travesti”: Trajetórias de vida, prostituição e vulnerabilidade social. [Tese de Doutoramento, Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa]. Repositório do Iscte. http://hdl.handle.net/10071/19313
Ramalho, N. (2021). A vitimação de mulheres trans em contextos de trabalho sexual. In VI Congresso Internacional de Direitos Humanos de Coimbra: Uma visão transdisciplinar (pp. 394-405). https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/bitstream/10071/25970/1/conferenceobject_89798.pdf
Ray, A. (2007). Sex on the open market: Sex workers harness the power of the Internet. In K. Jacobs, M. Janssen, & M. Pasquinelli (Eds.), C’lick me: A netporn studies reader (pp. 45–68). Institute of Network Cultures.
Rolo, A. (2017). Violência contra trabalhadoras sexuais. [Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade Fernando Pessoa]. Repositório Institucional da Universidade Fernando Pessoa. http://hdl.handle.net/10284/6160
Sacramento, O. (2005). Os clientes da prostituição abrigada: A procura do sexo comercial na perspetiva da construção da masculinidade [Dissertação de mestrado, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade do Minho]. Repositório Aberto da Universidade do Minho. https://hdl.handle.net/1822/37019
Sacramento, O. & Ribeiro, B. F. (2010). Mulheres que trabalham, homens que se envolvem: Género, estratégias e práticas na prostituição abrigada. In M. C. Silva & B. F. Ribeiro (Eds.), Mulheres da Vida, Mulheres com Vida: Prostituição, Estado e Políticas (pp. 165-182). Editora Húmus.
Sanders, T. (2008). Paying for Pleasure: Men Who Buy Sex. Willan Publishing.
Sanders, T., Connelly, L., & King, L. (2016). On our own terms: The working conditions of Internet-based sex workers in the UK. Sociological Research Online, 21(4), 133–146. https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.4152
Sanders, T., Scoular, J., Campbell, R., Pitcher, J., & Cunningham, S. (2018). Internet sex work: Beyond the gaze. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65630-4
Seidu, A. A., Darteh, E. K M., Kumi-Kyereme, A., Dickson, K. S., & Ahinkorah, B. O. (2019). Paid sex among men in sub-Saharan Africa: Analysis of the demographic and health survey. SSM Population Health, 11, 100459 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100459
Schei, B & Stigum, H. (2010). A study of men who pay for sex, based on the Norwegian national sex surveys. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 38(2), 135-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100459
Smith, C. & Attwood, F. (2013). Emotional truths and thrilling slide shows: The resurgence of antiporn feminism. In T. Taormino, C. Penley, C. Shimizu, & M. Miller-Young (Eds.), The feminist porn book: The politics of producing pleasure (pp. 41-55). Feminist Press at the City, University of New York.
Smith, N., Laing, M., & Pilcher, K. (2015). Queer sex work. (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203761960
Tariq, N., & Gupta, V. (2023). High risks behaviors. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560756/
Ward, H., Mercer, C. H., Wellings, K., Fenton, K., Erens, B., Copas, A., & Johnson, A. (2005). Who pays for sex? An analysis of the increasing prevalence of female commercial sex among men in Britain. Sexual Transmitted Infections, 81(6), 467-471. https://sti.bmj.com/content/81/6/467 https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2005.014985
Weitzer, R. (2000). Sex for sale: Prostitution, pornography and the sex industry. Routledge.
Weitzer, R. (2009). Sociology of sex work. Annual Review of Sociology, 35(1), 213-234. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-120025
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nélson Ramalho, Bárbara Moreno
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
