These two men barely kiss onscreen, though Kenan, who is bisexual, is shown having sex at least twice with Ranka, the village prostitute. The pair escape to Milan's village, where the disguise is maintained through a traditional wedding. Sadowski of the Ritz-Carlton, adding, “If the therapist is uncomfortable at any moment, they can simply leave the room.A gay male couple in Sarajevo, Kenan, a Bosnian, and Milan, a Serb, plan to emigrate to the gay-friendly Netherlands, but the war strands them in Serb-controlled territory, and Kenan adopts female drag to avoid being found out as a circumcised Muslim. Cases of appointments being terminated are few, said Ms. Therapists can just as easily end the massage, and report the situation to the spa manager or security. And if the therapist senses that the session has taken on an inappropriate sexual tone, they may gently remind the client of the boundaries, saying, “This is not that type of massage.” If that fails, they may redirect the massage to a neutral part of the body. When it does, therapists rely on their training. “We’re moving blood around very quickly, and this happens sometimes,” he said. George Powell-Lopez, general manager of the Red Door Spas Elizabeth Arden in New York, said that arousal during a massage is common, and sometimes has little to do with sexual attraction. “If you’re not sexually attracted to the person, that is less likely to happen,” he added. For heterosexual men, having a guy give the massage may lessen the chances of becoming aroused, Mr. Then there is a more embarrassing reason for preferring a male therapist. Other times, he added, “they want the attention of someone who might find them attractive.” “They want to avoid the judgment they might feel from another woman,” said Mr. Some women ask for male therapists because they feel competitive around other women. “But by the end of the week, they want the strongest possible male therapists that can get into their muscles as deep as possible.”
“Many men will only wish to have a gentle, nurturing female therapist,” he said. Law School graduate, believed she had no preference, until one experience changed her mind.īut Jay Anthony, a guest services counselor at the Ashram retreat in Calabasas, Calif., said he had seen guests gravitate toward male therapists over the course of their stay. Islam also forbids a man to touch a woman who is not in his family, even with a barrier.īut in most cases, massage therapists say, clients choose a masseuse because of their own comfort level and biases.Įven women who see themselves as open-minded prefer a woman to give them a massage. The concept of negiah, practiced by Orthodox Jews, restricts physical contact between those of opposite genders who are not related by blood or marriage.
American and Middle Eastern women tend to ask for masseuses, while Europeans often don’t care either way, said Sandra Sadowski, the spa director at the Ritz-Carlton in New York, which has a large international clientele.Ĭertain religions also dictate whether a client picks a male or female therapist. Indeed, 85 percent of massage therapists in the United States are women, according to the American Massage Therapy Association.īut culture and nationality also play a role. “Seventy percent of spa-goers are female, and there are more female therapists, so it makes sense that this would be the preference,” she said. Lynne McNees, president of the International Spa Association, attributes it to basic numbers. Most women ask for female massage therapists, spa managers say.