To be we also want to be
Director Aida Schlaepfer
Countries Switzerland
Duration 75 min
Synopsis
Although male prostitution is legal in Switzerland, the men who prostitute themselves for other men are faced by a particularly strong aversion to them by society. Based on four sensitively portrayed protagonists, the director Aida Schlaepfer shows us, in the documentary “To be we also want to be” the everyday life of male prostitutes in Switzerland and how they deal with the complexity of their situation in life. This collage, composed of the politically active hustler Benjamin, the Cuban emigre luxury Callboy Alexo, the transsexual Sonja and the rubber-clad transvestite named Leila who specialises in bizarre games, reveals the, in many respects, distinctive origins, motivation, and sexual orientation of man/male prostitutes in Switzerland. The issue is further illuminated from different sides by both legal and religious representatives, who also clarify the current legal and social situation of sex workers.
Although male prostitution is legal in Switzerland, the men who prostitute themselves for other men are faced by a particularly strong aversion to them by society. Based on four sensitively portrayed protagonists, the director Aida Schlaepfer shows us, in the documentary “To be we also want to be” the everyday life of male prostitutes in Switzerland and how they deal with the complexity of their situation in life. This collage, composed of the politically active hustler Benjamin, the Cuban emigre luxury Callboy Alexo, the transsexual Sonja and the rubber-clad transvestite named Leila who specialises in bizarre games, reveals the, in many respects, distinctive origins, motivation, and sexual orientation of man/male prostitutes in Switzerland. The issue is further illuminated from different sides by both legal and religious representatives, who also clarify the current legal and social situation of sex workers.