Male Massage: Why You Should Avoid It
Massage therapy is one of the careers that has been projected to grow in the next ten years. It is viewed by many as a way to make a decent living without spending all of one’s time working. People also come to massage for quality work which can offer flexible hours, if desired. The rise in popularity both of getting massages and of massage as a career came about in recent years when most states made licensure a requirement. This in turn helped people to feel safer about getting a massage, with less and less worry that they may be inadvertently walking into a brothel when they make a reservation with a professional massage therapist. As one of the Rules of Ethics LMTs (Licensed Massage Therapists) must obey is to refrain from any sexual misconduct, meaning massages are to be therapeutic only, “Male Massage” is something to be aware of if you want to avoid a potentially sticky situation.
Male massage, though it implies that it is a normal massage given by a male massage therapist, actually usually involves sexual services. These services are usually offered to gay men, by gay men. In this case, people seeking out legitimate treatment should be sure they are not setting themselves up to get a massage with such a therapist.
For therapists, know what this is so you can avoid it in your practice. I have personally had a client who seemed to think that the clinic in our massage school offered such massages. It was very unpleasant to have to deal with this misunderstanding. So for male therapist, if you get clients asking you for male to male massages, know that they are most likely asking for the kind of massage in which sexual services are offered. Not only is this against the AMTA code of ethics, but it is also illegal in most states.