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| Occupation | |
|---|---|
| Names | Male escort, call boy |
Occupation type | Male prostitute |
Activity sectors | Sex industry |
| Description | |
Fields of employment | Sex worker |
Related jobs | Stripper, porn actor, sugar dating |
A gigolo (/ˈdʒɪɡəloʊ, ˈʒɪɡ-/ JIG-ə-loh, ZHIG-) is a male escort hired by a woman for sex or companionship. The dated usage of the term referred to a man paid by a woman to be her dancing partner.
The word gigolo may be traced to a first usage in English as a neologism during the 1920s as a back-formation from gigolette, a French word for a woman hired as a dancing partner. Both gigolo and gigolette were first recorded in French in the mid 19th century, referring to dance club denizens in Montmartre paid to dance with, and sometimes have sex with, unaccompanied male visitors. In the late 19th century, particularly after the scandalous murder case known in Paris as the Pranzini affair, the term gigolo took on connotations of the exotic, foreign male whose company and affections could be purchased by well-to-do French women.
The term gigolo usually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially, rather than having other means of support.
A gigolo is paid by a woman to have sex with her or to spend time with her. As a sex worker and escort, he may also accompany her to social engagements. It can also denote a younger man who is employed by an older woman in exchange for sex and companionship. The dated usage of the term referred to a man paid by a woman to be her dancing partner.
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