Hallie Lieberman, sex historian and journalist, was Dr. Diana’s guest on Dec. 29, 2020, when they spoke about her book, Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy. Today’s show concerns Hallie’s next book about the history of male escorts (including Rudolph Valentino). “Older woman with means seeks a young man – for adventure, connection, and sex.” What’s wrong with older women paying for sex?

In an Australian study from 2018, the women explained why they paid for sex: for therapy (medical and trauma issues); to learn (new types of sex play/experiences); for intimacy (touch affirmations); but overwhelmingly it was for pleasure – their own pleasure, not the man’s. We have a sex industry because we need and want one. Understanding the people in this huge industry is not helped by either idealizing or condemning them. Tune in for a lively conversation between Hallie Lieberman and Diana Wiley, who did research in 1992 on Japan’s “BoyToy” phenomenon and is also author of Love in the Time of Corona: Advice from a Sex Therapist for Couples in Quarantine.