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Throughout the 1970's, multiple landmark cases were tried in the US that (re)defined relationships between gender, sex work, & criminality. The first of several we will be highlighting is that of John Doane in 1975, believed to be the first man charged with prostitution in MA (1)
Doane was a working class father and husband who had lost his previous job and turned to sex work out of financial need. This narrative, familiar to many sex workers, is too rarely one that the criminal justice system sympathizes with (2)
Though reporting was perhaps more sympathetic to Doane's plights than is typical of coverage of sex workers' arrests, this was not the backbone of his defense. Further, the offerings of sexual services were not denied. What, then, did they argue to avoid the 6 month sentencing?
"Doanes attorney, P.J. Piscitelli, said the case against his client is absurd because by definition, a prostitute is a woman. 'All the statutes speak of are women, the lawyer said. Have you ever heard of a male prostitute? Prostitution is strictly a female affair.'" (3)
Far from flimsy, this defense led to a not-guilty verdict:
"was Mr. Doane booked as a male or female? 'Male,' the officer replied; and on the strength of that single word, Fred Doane was acquitted in accordance with the laws of the state of Massachusetts." (4)
"was Mr. Doane booked as a male or female? 'Male,' the officer replied; and on the strength of that single word, Fred Doane was acquitted in accordance with the laws of the state of Massachusetts." (4)
The defense did not even feel the need to call witnesses; prostitution in MA, it was confirmed, was strictly "a female...offering her body 'for in discriminate sexual intercourse with men for hire.'" (5)
This is not to say, however, that male sex workers in MA were exempt from police harassment or even arrest before Doane; one can imagine that loitering, public indecency, and other similar offenses were often weaponized against men of color and QTPOC workers in particular.
Further, it goes without saying that the gender binary referred to and violently upheld by these courts obstructs these narratives; we'll be sharing experiences, cases, and law changes related to trials of trans sex workers of the 1970s in threads to follow.
As for Doane, his case was referred to as humorous, and was the subject of a television docu-drama three years later; he was also written of in pornographic magazines (6). "I think they ought to give him three gold stars and a turkey," his lawyer said (1)
Doane's attorney also concluded: "prostitution is 'the one bastion that women's lib does not have to fight to get into . . . It's an area which has been solely occupied by women.'" (7)
1. The Boston Globe, 13 Jul 1975, Page 14
2. The Herald-Journal, 14 Jul 1975, Page 2
3. The Daily News, 14 Jul 1975, Page 6
4. El Paso Herald-Post, 25 Aug 1977, Page 39
5. The Bridgeport Telegram, 17 Jul 1975
2. The Herald-Journal, 14 Jul 1975, Page 2
3. The Daily News, 14 Jul 1975, Page 6
4. El Paso Herald-Post, 25 Aug 1977, Page 39
5. The Bridgeport Telegram, 17 Jul 1975
6. OUI For the Man of the World Vol. 5 No. 6
"Chicago: Playboy Publications, June 1976 edition. 132pp
7. Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 04 Sep 1977, Page 54
"Chicago: Playboy Publications, June 1976 edition. 132pp
7. Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 04 Sep 1977, Page 54
