Gigolos

A wildly entertaining and thought-provoking exploration that challenges our rigid assumptions around the dynamics of sex work—from a sex historian and client

What kind of woman would hire a gigolo?

It’s a question that gripped Hallie Lieberman since living in Berlin, where she first paid for sex, prompting her to go on a Gigolo Quest. What she finds is that the world of gigolos and their clients is more complex than you might expect.

Both sexy and cerebral, Gigolos is an absorbing tapestry of history, reportage, and pop culture critique that tells the story of male sex workers and their female clients. Lieberman takes readers across time and space––from clandestine tea rooms in 1920s New York to contemporary male strip shows in Las Vegas. She encounters escorts–turned–reality TV stars, comedians moonlighting as OnlyFans models, male strippers (past and present), and male escort agencies for women.

She also spoke to countless women who pay for sex, legally and illegally, for a wide variety of reasons: to guarantee an orgasm, to ensure a sexual partner who respected consent, to save a sexless marriage, or to access sexual touch previously barred by disability.

Ranging from heartwarming to hot to hum-drum, these experiences show that sex work is not just about male clients and female sex workers. They also provide a pathway to discuss gender norms, power, and sexuality.