Rentmasseur is combining erotic and sensual on the 20th

[Brocklmt]

Got an email saying that the two sections are going to be combined. So there will be only therapeutic and sensual. i'm based in Phoenix and hope it goes smoothly.  I personally will still do erotic when asked. 

[+ KensingtonHomo]

I noticed that erotic was showing up only intermittently. I wonder if they're trying to get ahead of the BS that's made Pornhub inoperable in a bunch of states. 

[Brocklmt]

I don't think it's a coincidence that it is on the 20th of January 

[Shawn Monroe]

I guess it makes sense? No one could really articulate the difference between all the massage types anyway. Although the dates are no coincidence. Reminds me of when SESTA / FOSTA passed and everything changed the exact same day. 

[d.anders]

1 hour ago, Brocklmt said:

I don't think it's a coincidence that it is on the 20th of January 

Exactly. Now watch the changes begin.

[+ Jamie21]

I got that message too. I guess it simplifies things. No one understood the difference between sensual and erotic anyway. I’m forever being asked ‘what’s the difference’ and there is no right answer. 

[d.anders]

24 minutes ago, Jamie21 said:

No one understood the difference between sensual and erotic anyway.

I always understood it to mean the following:

Sensual: Provider may touch sensitive areas without engaging in sex acts.

Erotic: Provider will provide HE, and he may get naked and let you touch him. Many also believed it was an open door to the possibility of penetration.

Obviously, the words were just another word-play marketing tool for providers who wanted another read-between-the-line choice. Now, there will be less choice, leaving many to wonder further what they will actually get for their money.

Edited January 13 by d.anders

[StarQualityLuke]

3 hours ago, d.anders said:

Exactly. Now watch the changes begin.

So do you think the site was closed down? 

[d.anders]

5 minutes ago, StarQualityLuke said:

So do you think the site was closed down? 

Closed down? Where did that come from?

I have no idea what is going on internally at RM. Even if they provide an explanation, I doubt I would believe it. I was a recent Premium customer, but I have not received any communication from them regarding this change. Maybe it only went out to providers. Nonetheless, I'm not surprised.

[pubic_assistance]

4 hours ago, d.anders said:

Exactly. Now watch the changes begin.

People need to be more discreet.

Both client and provider.

 

[Whippoorwill]

IMO, this will make it harder for clients to know what they can actually expect...If therapeutic was "no touchy no feely", sensual was "some" but not the "most" which was erotic. Now all one will know is it's more than nothing, but not how much. I think this will result in a lot more crossed expectations. 

[+ Jamie21]

1 hour ago, d.anders said:

I always understood it to mean the following:

Sensual: Provider may touch sensitive areas without engaging in sex acts.

Erotic: Provider will provide HE, and he may get naked and let you touch him. Many also believed it was an open door to the possibility of penetration.

Obviously, the words were just another word-play marketing tool for providers who wanted another read-between-the-line choice. Now, there will be less choice, leaving many to wonder further what they will actually get for their money.

This is the problem - the reticence (for good reason) to ask for what you want. I describe myself as offering sensual massage. But I include sex acts in that. Clients can and do ask me what’s included, which is sensible of you really want to ensure a specific act is included. Some are happy to leave it as ‘it will be sensual’ and they enjoy the unexpected outcome (always though with the anticipation of them climaxing). Of course this is all possible where I live because providing sexual services for money is legal, so I can be relaxed about describing in detail what is included if asked. But in places like the US you all have to be coy about it…and seemingly that is getting worse. 

[marylander1940]

1 hour ago, pubic_assistance said:

People need to be more discreet.

Both client and provider.

 

Without a doubt but clients when it comes to massage want to make sure they get the most for the least amount of money. Sad but true!

 

[d.anders]

4 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

People need to be more discreet.

Yep, we're back to that.

3 hours ago, Jamie21 said:

I describe myself as offering sensual massage. But I include sex acts in that.

There never really was a black and white interpretation, was there? Even being street smart, it was never good to assume or expect anything. As far as I'm concerned, these words were there to feed a fantasy, and many providers knew how to do word-play (mostly between sensual and erotic). The words were part of the search seduction, and they provided a few guys the ability to charge more. Any guy who took the words seriously did so at risk of disappointment. Lots of disappointment expressed here on this board. The truth is, a guy never knows when he'll encounter luck. Obviously, the hotter clients typically have more fun.

3 hours ago, Jamie21 said:

the reticence (for good reason) to ask for what you want

Asking is only fun if the response is "yes." I avoid asking because hearing "no" would kill the fantasy before the service even starts. Several providers would ask if I wanted more, and that was welcome. Because then I knew they were interested in going further. There was no negative interruption.

3 hours ago, Jamie21 said:

But in places like the US you all have to be coy about it

Until it becomes legal, we're stuck.

Edited January 14 by d.anders

[Simon Suraci]

I got the email too. This is not about RentMasseur responding to client confusion over sensual vs erotic services. It’s certainly a real concern and many of you have hit the nail on the head saying there is no standard regarding sensual or erotic. Fine. That’s the official story.

This is sadly just one symptom of many, like Visa blacklisting adult businesses, and PornHub responding to crazy new laws requiring adults to fork over their privacy to view adult content by no longer offering access in those states.

The real problem is how people in the United States publicly treat sex work. Plenty of us privately respect and enjoy it, but publicly decry its very existence.

We will only see more of this behavior until the majority of our society supports policies that acknowledge sex work as work and sex workers as dignified members of society with the right to offer services to meet the most basic and universal of human needs.

Also, human trafficking is not synonymous with all sex work, as many argue and believe. If we were safe enough to be more open about sex work services, it would be a lot easier to identify and prosecute human trafficking.

[GymGuy]

Unless proven otherwise, I'm betting that this is more about some kind of lexicon issue than anything else.  Having had many massage sessions over the years, the only ones (very few) that did not include a HE were those that explicitly advertised "therapeutic only."  I have found almost no difference in what was provided (without asking) between those who advertised sensual vs erotic.  The providers almost always just followed "response" signals.  The challenge has been finding a provider that combines a good full body massage with a very satisfying conclusion whatever the ad lexicon.  In any case, we shall see where this goes.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

On 1/13/2025 at 5:58 AM, Brocklmt said:

I don't think it's a coincidence that it is on the 20th of January 

Martin Luther King, Jr., taught us to judge a man by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.  The changes coming to Rentmasseur on January 20th (MLK Jr Day) is a good reminder to stop selecting new men to hire based on their photographs; but, rather, hire based on the feedback for their quality of service provided.

[UncutDad]

Ugh.  We are definitely moving in reverse.  I do think if we want to keep sites like Rent Masseur going it might be better to not show the "bits and pieces" on the front loaded pics.  We are a hypocrite nation. But for the purposes of what may be coming after the community the swinging dicks should probably be kept in private mode.  I still miss Craigslist, and Doublelist is a totally lame attempt at replacing CL.  The years of dread will begin on Jan. 20th. 

[UncutDad]

On 1/13/2025 at 7:51 PM, Simon Suraci said:

I got the email too. This is not about RentMasseur responding to client confusion over sensual vs erotic services. It’s certainly a real concern and many of you have hit the nail on the head saying there is no standard regarding sensual or erotic. Fine. That’s the official story.

This is sadly just one symptom of many, like Visa blacklisting adult businesses, and PornHub responding to crazy new laws requiring adults to fork over their privacy to view adult content by no longer offering access in those states.

The real problem is how people in the United States publicly treat sex work. Plenty of us privately respect and enjoy it, but publicly decry its very existence.

We will only see more of this behavior until the majority of our society supports policies that acknowledge sex work as work and sex workers as dignified members of society with the right to offer services to meet the most basic and universal of human needs.

Also, human trafficking is not synonymous with all sex work, as many argue and believe. If we were safe enough to be more open about sex work services, it would be a lot easier to identify and prosecute human trafficking.

I wonder what Lindsey Graham (aka Lady G) thinks about this.

[Boaxxx]

Because of the ambiguity around sensual vs erotic I simply state that I am looking for a full service massage and then leave it up to the provider, especially on the initial visit, to interpret it as he seems fit. Depending on how things go overall I will schedule follow-up sessions. For me my primary "want" is a good massage with sensual/erotic as my secondary "want".  I once had a provider move very quickly into the sensual/erotic area which actually distracted me a bit because then I was thinking that he may try to wrap this up in a half hour when I really want a good massage. I ended up telling him that I like what's happening but that I really want a good massage too. He told me that he likes to do some massage at the beginning, play and then go back to an even longer massage session knowing that the client is now completely relaxed. It made sense and it did make a difference. Now I don't know if this is how he normally operates (only met with him once since he was visiting the area) or if that's just how he proceeded with the session based on my comment.

[+ PhileasFogg]

On 1/13/2025 at 12:24 PM, Jamie21 said:

I got that message too. I guess it simplifies things. No one understood the difference between sensual and erotic anyway. I’m forever being asked ‘what’s the difference’ and there is no right answer. 

So what would you offer in response?

[+ Just Chuck]

For both terms, I want some erotic element throughout the session.  A therapeutic massage that includes some sensual body contact and caressing or stimulating erogenous zones throughout teasing for a long buildup before the ending is great.  

If I get a strictly therapeutic massage that then flips a switch at the very end for a happy ending, I'm probably not going to book with that provider again.  

I've booked with providers who advertised as erotic and been disappointed by the lack of eroticism for the bulk of the appointment and I've booked with sensual masseurs where they practically threw themselves at me for sex and I never got anything resembling a massage.   I agree, the terms are too blurred and they might as well be merged.

[nate_sf]

Moderator Note: Friendly reminder that while it’s easy to veer into politics here, let’s not. We don't know why Rentmasseur is making this change, or why the change is effective next Monday.

Please stay on topic - thank you!

[nate_sf]

Maybe this is a business decision to drive more business to their Rentmen site? Could even encourage guys to advertise on both platforms if they're wanting to offer truly erotic services, which further supports the bottom line. We know RM is not shy about finding ways to generate revenues!

[+ Jamie21]

8 hours ago, PhileasFogg said:

So what would you offer in response?

If you mean how do I respond to the question ‘what’s the difference between sensual and erotic?’ I’d say it depends on the masseurs opinion about what’s included so ask him for details if that’s possible. Some jurisdictions mean that the conversation has to be worded carefully, elsewhere you can ask for a blow job if you want one.