When they see `nonsexual,' they're thinking `non-prostitution.' " "It was a big mistake, and I'm still paying off the bill."Ĭhuck Dean says that "even when massage therapists put the word `nonsexual' in an ad, they still get the same calls because some people consider masturbation as part of the massage. "When I advertised in the Yellow Pages, my ad looked professional, but I'd still get calls asking `How many girls work for you? What are their ages?' " notes Sandy Pearce of Body Balance Neuromuscular Massage Therapyon Washington Street.
Standards for individuals and training programs have been strengthed, but massage therapists still contend with the shady image fostered by massage parlors.
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Is that what you do?' " says Ann Hoeffel of The Sun Centeron Wells Street.Īn ancient healing art, massage therapy requires technical knowledge, clinical skills, manual dexterity and sensitivity. "There is such confusion with the Yellow Pages that guys would call and say, `I'm really just looking for legitimate massage. It's often a word associated with massage parlors."Īdvertisements in The Chicago Consumer Yellow Pages are organized under two headings: "Massage" and "Massage-Therapeutic," but individuals and establishments offering "adult services" are also mixed in with massage therapists. "If there are a number of different questions being asked, and if they ask for a female therapist or they use the word `masseuse,' you sometimes know that they're not looking for therapeutic massage. And although a lot of people may prefer male or female therapists, a legitimate client is not going to be as uptight about it. He's not going to ask a therapist what she's going to wear. There are certain questions that a legitimate client is not going to ask you.
"They talk to us about it in school but it really takes experience and intuition. "Screening can be challenging sometimes," says Pamela Lightcap-Jones, who, with her massage-therapist husband Adam, owns Zenergy, a massage therapy center on Armitage Avenue. What both male and female massage therapists do have to deal with is screening potential clients to weed out weirdos and those looking for services other than therapeutic massage.
"It was the easiest way to introduce my hands to people, and I didn't have to deal with the issue of disrobing," he says. Partly because of the gender issue, Miller says that he began doing chair massages - stress-relieving treatments of neck, shoulders and upper back - in business settings. Massage is about relaxation and some gay men don't find a female presence relaxing." A lot of gay men are more comfortable being touched by a man rather than a woman. He says he knows "a number of male massage therapists who do very well (with) the gay population. Still, Miller says male massage therapists also benefit from personal prejudices. Our society equates the nurturing touch with the feminine side of our population." "Most people would probably say they're more comfortable going to a female massage therapist. In my lingo, you're dealing with the heterophobes and the homophobes: the men who don't want to be touched by a man and the women, who, for whatever reason, don't want to be touched by a man. Walter Miller, a massage therapist based in Oak Park, says "The male massage therapist gets the double whammy.