On either side of the coin, being a legitimate gay male therapist can be nearly impossible.” Conversely, therapists battle the extreme opposite with gay clientele who are looking for sexual pleasures from male therapists. “Whether straight or gay, therapists frequently battle homophobia from straight male clients who assume all male therapists are gay and looking to exploit their position for sexual pleasure. But that won’t be enough to overcome some of the more common stereotypes in the massage industry, writes Jason Knight. Not advertising on certain Craigslist sections, or the back pages of alt weeklies, is a good start. (Unlike openly straight college wrestler Hudson Taylor, who’s in it for LGBT rights, and not the chance to do this.) So what’s a legitimate gay masseur to do if he doesn’t want clients thinking he’s going to strip down and give ’em a handy? Gay massage therapists - the type who do not advertise themselves in the Village Voice‘s “erotic services” column, thank you very much - face some of the same dilemmas as gay wrestlers: Clients (or opponents) think you’re in it just to get sweaty and rub nasties with another dude.
