Gigolo
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2018) |
Agigolo(/ˈdʒɪɡəloʊ,ˈʒɪɡ-/JIG-ə-loh,ZHIG-) is amale escortor social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship.[1]
The termgigolousually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially rather than having other means of support.[2][3]
The gigolo is expected to provide companionship, to serve as a consistent escort with good manners and social skills, and often to serve as adancing partneras required by the woman in exchange for the support. Many gifts, such as expensive clothing and an automobile to drive, may be lavished upon him. The relationship may include sexual services as well, and he also can be referred to as a "kept man."[4]
The wordgigolomay be traced to a first usage in English as aneologismduring the 1920s as aback-formationfromgigolette,a French word for a woman hired as a dancing partner. Bothgigoloandgigolettewere first recorded in French in the middle part of the 19th century, referring to dance club denizens inMontmartrepaid to dance with, and sometimes have sex with, unaccompanied male visitors. In the latter part of the 19th century, particularly after the scandalous murder case known in Paris as thePranzini Affair ,[5]the termgigolotook on connotations of the exotic, foreign male whose company and affections could be purchased by well-to-do French women.[6]
In popular culture
[edit]Films
[edit]- Gigolo(1926) – American silent romance drama film produced byCecil B. DeMille
- Just a Gigolo(1931) – American romantic comedy directed byJack Conway,starringWilliam Haines,Irene Purcell,C. Aubrey SmithandRay Milland
- Evenings for Sale(1932) – American romantic comedy, starringHerbert Marshall,Sari Maritza,Charlie RugglesandMary Boland
- Sunset Boulevard(1950) – American film noir co-written and directed byBilly Wilder,starringWilliam HoldenandGloria Swanson
- The Gigolo(1960) – French romantic drama film written and directed byJacques Deray.It is loosely based on the novel Le Gigolo written byJacques Robert.
- Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961) – American romantic comedy starringAudrey HepburnandGeorge Peppard
- Just a Gigolo(1978) – West German film directed byDavid Hemmingsand starringDavid Bowie
- American Gigolo(1980) – American romantic crime film written and directed byPaul Schrader,and starringRichard Gere,Lauren Hutton&Hector Elizondo
- Galactic Gigolo(1987) – American science-fiction comedy film directed byGorman Bechard
- Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo(1999) – American sex comedy film starringRob Schneider,followed by the 2005 sequelDeuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
- The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone(2003) – American television film remake of the 1961 film of the same name. Directed byRobert Allan Ackerman,it starsHelen MirrenandBrian Dennehy
- The Gigolos(2005) British comedy film directed byRichard Bracewell,starringSacha Tarter,Ben Willbond,andSusannah York
- A French Gigolo(2008) – French drama film directed byJosiane Balaskoand starringNathalie Baye.It was based on the novel "Cliente" byJosiane Balasko
- Spread(2009) – American sex comedy film directed byDavid Mackenzie,starringAshton KutcherandAnne Heche.It was also released asL.A. Gigolo
- Fading Gigolo(2013) – American comedy film directed, written by, and starringJohn Turturro,co-starringWoody Allen,Sharon Stone&Sofia Vergara
- The Gigolo(Chinese: Vịt vương ) (2015) – Hong Kong erotic drama film directed and written by Au Cheuk-man and starring Dominic Ho andCandy Yuen,followed by the 2016 sequelThe Gigolo 2(Chinese: Vịt vương 2)
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande(2022) – Directed bySophie Hydeand written byKaty Brand.StarsEmma ThompsonandDaryl McCormack.
Music
[edit]- "I'm a Gigolo" – 1929 Broadway show tune byCole Porter,written for the revueWake Up and Dream
- "Just a Gigolo"– adapted byIrving Caesarin 1929 from the Austrian tango "Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo"; paired as a medley with "I Ain't Got Nobody"byLouis Primain 1956
- "The Gigolo"– 1966 album by jazz trumpeterLee Morgan
- “Gigolo Aunt” – 1970 song bySyd Barrett
- "Gigolo"– 1981 dance single byMary Wells
- "Gigolo" – 1982 Song byMeiko Nakahara
- "Gigolos Get Lonely Too"– 1983 song byThe Time
- "Gigolo"– 1987 single byThe Damned
- "Gigolo" – 1991 song byLiz Phairlater rerecorded as "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into"
- "American Gigolo" – 2001 song byWeezer
- "Gigolo"– 2003 song byNick CannonfeaturingR. Kelly
- "Gigolo"– 2006 song by Greek singerHelena Paparizou
- "Gigolo"- 2008 song byNicolae Guță
TV series
[edit]- Just a Gigolo(1993) – British sitcom starringTony Slattery
- Absolutely Fabulous,TV episode "Sex", (1995) – British sitcom starringJennifer SaundersandJoanna Lumley
- Gigolos(2011 – 2016) – Americanreality televisionseries about the lives of five male escorts inLas Vegas
- American Gigolo(2022) – Romance series starringJon Bernthal.
Novels
[edit]- Hold Back the Dawn(1940) byKetti Frings
- The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone(1950) byTennessee Williams
- Breakfast at Tiffany's(1958) byTruman Capote
- Le Gigolo(1959) byJacques Robert
- Cliente(2004) byJosiane Balasko
See also
[edit]- Cicisbeo
- Escort agency
- Female sex tourism
- Male prostitution
- Male prostitution in the arts
- Prostitution
References
[edit]- ^"Definition of gigolo".Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- ^Otterman, Sharon,"'Swiss Gigolo' Sentenced to Six Years ".2009-03-09.,The Lede, March 9, 2009,News,The New York Times,February 14, 2013.
- ^Dahlkamp, Jürgen, Röbel, Sven, and Smoltczyk, Alexander,Dahlkamp, Jürgen; Röbel, Sven; Smoltczyk, Alexander (2009-03-06)."Gigolo Trial: Trial to Begin for Man Who Duped Germany's Richest Woman".Spiegel Online.,Spiegel Online International, accessed February 14, 2013.
- ^"A man who is kept by a woman".,Word Reference, accessed February 14, 2013.
- ^Maza, Sarah (September 2018)."The Courtesan and the Gigolo: The Murders in the Rue Montaigne and the Dark Side of Empire in Nineteenth-Century Paris. By Aaron Freundschuh.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2017. Pp. viii+258. $24.95 (paper)".The Journal of Modern History.90(3): 707–708.doi:10.1086/698789.ISSN0022-2801.
- ^Freundschuh, Aaron.The Courtesan and the Gigolo: The Murders in the Rue Montaigne and the Dark Side of Empire in Nineteenth-Century Paris(2017, Stanford University Press)
Further reading
[edit]- Chang, Juju; Thompson, Victoria; Harold, Kelly (February 16, 2012)."Secrets of Gigolos: Why More Women Say They Are Willing to Pay for Sex".ABC News Internet Ventures.RetrievedOctober 19,2014.