How do male sex workers on Craigslist differ from those on Rentboy? A comparison of two samples

Much contemporary focus on male-for-male sex work has been with men who place advertisements on profile-based sex work websites. Less is known about men who sell sex via online bulletin boards. We compared two samples of men who were selling sex: a 2014-2015 survey of men on Craigslist.org (n = 95) and a 2013 study of men on Rentboy.com (n = 418). In multivariable modelling, compared to Rentboy, Craigslist participants had a significantly higher odds of being non-White (AOR = 5.32), gay identified (AOR = 2.32), making less than US$20,000 a year (AOR = 3.77), having used marijuana in the past 12 months (AOR = 3.41). Furthermore, compared to Rentboy, Craigslist participants had significantly lower odds of escorting full-time (AOR = .24), kissing (AOR = .23) or having anal insertive sex (AOR = .36) with their last male client, that their last paid encounter exceeded 1 hour in duration (AOR = .49) or having been paid over US$200 for that encounter (AOR = .19), and fewer clients in the past 30 days (AOR = .95). Craigslist participants were at greater economic disadvantage compared to men from Rentboy; however, they were less likely to engage in HIV risk behaviours (anal sex and condomless anal sex). These samples may represent distinct populations along the continuum of sex work.