Sex in the classifieds
The ‘personals’ sections on classified ad websites are a huge platform for those seeking casual sexual encounters.
IF hook-up apps are currently the “mainstream” way to find love in the digital age, then classified advertisements websites would definitely be the underground version.
A quick look into the “personals” section at the local version of an international classifieds website revealed plenty of ads for transgender escort services and a variety of sexual encounters.
James (not his real name), for example, uses the site to find men to have threesomes with him and his fiancee.
The 29-year-old realised he was bisexual three years ago.
“I was very shy about my sexuality, and because of that, I was very quiet among other people.”
Then he stumbled onto classifieds websites, and posted a personal ad saying he wanted to explore “interesting stuff”.
A man responded to it, and they had their first sexual encounter.
James continued using the service even after he had a girlfriend, with whom he would have threesomes on a weekly basis with men found through ads posted on the website.
“My ex-girlfriend was not the conservative type, so I pushed her to try it,” said James, who added that the site is the only platform he knows of in Malaysia where he can find other men who practise BDSM.
While most classifieds websites around the world have plenty of ads for housing, jobs, second-hand goods, services and events, the personals sections are normally pretty seedy.
In fact, critics have often complained that they promote prostitution, and in some cases, child sex trafficking.
Craigslist, probably the world’s largest classifieds website, even had an “adults services” section in the United States, which was closed down in 2010 after years of criticism.
Although the terms of use on most classifieds websites prohibit child pornography, obscene posts and solicitation, that hasn’t stopped people from trying their luck.