Dear Sasha,
What other services could a heterosexual guy market to women besides full service? It seems like the entire market is geared towards guys always getting services from women. I might like to investigate if there's a place for me, but I'm just lookin' for options.

Thanks

Dear Thanks,
In my 14 years in the back pages of Canadian weeklies, I have witnessed a few trends that I couldn't have predicted, such as stripper poles in nightclubs and pole-dancing studios.

So let me get this straight: when a woman is paid to do it, it's morally objectionable, but when you're doing it free or for fitness, it's fine. Murray S. Davis' remark about sex being the only activity where the professional gets less respect than the amateur is oft-quoted here.

I gotta tell you though, despite the fact I truly believe it might one day be more common, I've yet to detect any exciting new developments in the male-escort-for-female-clientele marketplace.

Female interest in this topic remains one of my least received questions - letters from men inquiring about paying gigs far out-number those from women looking to procure them, and I think the ratio of male to female strip clubs in most cities provides at least some testimony to an overall lack of demand for male to female sexual services.

Women are still inclined to engage the services of men for occasions imbued with an ostensible jocular quality, such as stagettes or birthday parties.

Still, I don't think it ever hurts to place an ad if only to get a personal sense of what's going on out there. This is not to say that there aren't women who wouldn't love some heaving hunk to come over and break their box-springs (then leave), but if you aren't going to offer full service, you've got to be creative: nude housekeeping, domination, scantily clad massage.

Women like pampering. Learn to do a pedicure. Then learn to do it with your nuts. Take some time to research and refine your services. If you are going to be one of a few, you've got to be worth it.

I'd like to open up the lines on the topic, too.

Ladies, if you were to pay for a sexual service from a man, what would your interests and expectations be, and how much would you pay? And if there are any women out there who have had some interesting experiences paying for it, please feel free to share.

Dear Sasha,
In your July 3, 2008, article, you tell Alisa that "Prostitution is also not illegal in Canada" ("Check Your Bias...", Uptown, July 3). Pardon my naivety, but I thought that prostitution was contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada? Can you clarify?

Anon

Dear Anon,
This is an issue that often perplexes people. After all, if prostitution were legal, why would you hear so much about raids and busts, right?

Prostitution is legal in Canada - it is simply the laws around it (210 to 213 in our Criminal Code) that make the occupation unlawful, challenging and dangerous. Sections 210 and 211 make it illegal to keep a bawdy house or transport a person to one. Section 212 makes it illegal to encourage or force someone into the sex industry as well as to live off the avails. Consider the second part of this provision, which puts all people who live with sex workers in jeopardy of being criminally charged with living off their income. Section 213 makes it illegal for a person to communicate in public for the purposes of procuring sex. This law really concerns sex worker advocates because it forces women to make hasty judgments about potentially violent clients. It also pushes them into more remote and industrial areas so as not to be seen negotiating.

Toronto lawyer Alan Young is currently challenging provisions 210, 212 (the avails part) and 213 as unconstitutional, hoping to strike them down as violations of sections 7 (the right to life, liberty and security of the person) and 2(b) (freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The job is legal - it's time the workers had rights that reflect this.

Questions? Comments? Contact Sasha at pouledeluxe@yahoo.com.