Masseuses, men, and massage parlors: An expoloratory descriptive study

One of the most interesting recent developments in the panorama of American sexuality is the advent of the massage parlor. To date there has been little psychological research into the nature of massage parlors, particularly the possible motivational and need factors at work, as well as necessary descriptive and demographic data. Thirty masseuses at five of six massage parlors in a moderate-sized midwest city completed a structured interview/questionnaire. The masseuses' mean age was 22 years, with 41% under 21, and 23% being teen-aged. For clients, the (estimated) most frequent age category was 40 to 50 years, followed by 30 to 40 years, with the two categories accounting for approximately 50% of all clients. Where occupations of clients are concerned, salesman was the principal reported occupation, followed by businessman, then trucker. The masseuses reported the major raison dětre for massage parlors to be "satisfaction of sexual needs," followed in order of importance by "relaxation and healthy physical consequences," "providing affection and relief from loneliness," and, interestingly, "the reduction of sex crimes and abuse in the street." Where possible substitutes for massage parlors was concerned, the most frequent response was that there are no viable substitutes. The main motivational factor for masseuses was money (73%). Results suggested that generally there were no important effects of the job on masseuses' personal life and habits, although where an effect was reported, it was usually a positive one. This study suggests that the massage parlor represents in general a transaction between a very young woman and a middle-aged man based on sexual gratification and monetary reward.