Ladies--say hello to Markus, America's first legal male prostitute. Markus is the newest hire at the Shady Lady Ranch brothel in Tonopah Nevada, a business that recently got the go-ahead to hire a few good men. However, as Markus told Details magazine, he'd really prefer it if you'd call him a gigolo:
I think for a male, if you want to be successful in this type of venture, you're not a prostitute. You're a surrogate lover.
He likened his decision to rise up and become a gigolo to the civil rights struggles of the '60s.
It's just the same as when Rosa Parks decided to sit at the front instead of the back. She was proclaiming her rights as a disadvantaged, African-American older woman. And I'm doing the same. I'm actually standing up now, and hopefully I can be supported by the male community and be understood as a person. This actually isn't about selling my body. This is about changing social norms.
Markus has dabbled in the adult industry, filming several scenes, which he called "cold and calculated." He told Details that as a gigolo, he has the heart of a saint, would never call a woman a bitch and that he can cook a three-course meal. For the whole story, visit Details.com.