Yes, I’ve experienced discrimination. Invariably, it comes from spa owners who project their own preferences onto their clients. Clients do sometimes have preferences, but in the absence of any, are easily led. Asking if you want a male or a female therapist sets up in the client’s mind that they should have a preference. Guys are unlikely to state that they prefer a male, but guys account for a small segment in the massage market. Women, in my experience, if they have a gender preference, are at least as likely to prefer a male as a female- BUT if the question is direct as to gender, will often respond that they prefer a female so as not to BE JUDGED by their preference. I agree with the various posters who suggest that there are alternate ways of offering the client a choice without making it about gender. For exmple, “We’ve got a 1:00 with Michael and a 1:30 with Michelle, which would you prefer?” In this case, the client can make their choice without declaring a gender preference(even if that was the basis of their choice.)

As for discrimination, as I said, it’s all about owners projecting their prejudice. I worked for one person for 3 years and frankly, it seemed she was jealous of my success, she tried several times to get the front desk to start asking “Male or Female” and when my wife interviewed with her, she offered her MY JOB, right in front of me, and stated that the reason was that she was a woman. Still the entire time I was there, I only had one client who ever had a problem with my being a male- it was a 60+ year old indian woman whose daughter had bought her first massage for a birthday gift. But she declined to be massaged altogether, even when we offered a female as an alternative. Most of my practice there -95%, was women, and I always had lots of referrals and excellent client surveys.

An openly gay male spa owner in Rehoboth actually told me that it was illegal for a male to massage a female, or a female to massage a male. I called him on it- I have a law degree, but naturally did not get(or at that point want) the courtesy of an interview.

And the owner of another Spa where my wife worked consistently refused to hire a male for any reason whatsoever, though finally, after several years, asked me to come to work for her- but balked when I asked for a larger percentage(I didn’t need the job and knew she had started people after my wife on a larger % than my wife was getting).

Each of these was an instance of a spa owner assuming that their client shared their own biases. Stupid thing to do in business, unless you live in a community full of clones. Unfortunately, I have found that many small spa owners are good practitioners, but very poor businesspeople.

As to legality, if they have more than 15 employees, they are probably subject to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and while I doubt it has been tested in the case of massage- advertising, hiring or offering a preference based on gender(as an employer, not as a client) even based onyour client’s preferences, would clearly be illegal. No law firm, for example, would ever answer the phone, “would you prefer a male, or female attorney?” regardless of their client’s preferences. And before you talk about the personal nature of massage- neither would a Gynecology practice answer the phone in that manner!

MIchael Brechtel, BS, MEd, JD, LMT, NCTMB, Mensan

Whatver it is you can have it! But, if you feed into the idea that it is more difficult for a male massage therapist to build a clientle, then I can guarentee that you will have a difficult time. I would wonder why you would not feel comfortable giving a female a massage in her home? Professional is as professional does.
I would suggest that you keep an open heart and ensure that your skills are sharp and sensitive.

Great Success For All!
Chris Cassidy, President CEO
Active Wellness, Inc
DBA http://www.cassidysclinic.com
DBA http://www.sandiegospa2go.com

I am a straight, married, Christian male massage therapist who has been practicing for a little over 3 years. My background is in somatic disciplines such as personal training focusing on postural distortion correction. I was introduced to the field when one of the nation’s top myofascial massage therapists (a male) assisted me with my personal longstanding problem with fibromyalgia and concurrent trigger poin myofascial pain syndrome.

My practice has been based almost exclusively on a referral basis. In short, people like the work that I do and they come back. The split is approximately 50/50 male and female clients. I am very pleased by this fact as it indicates that both men and women feel comfortable with me as their therapist. There is nothing magical about this, but I will give some insight into a tip or two that I believe has been helpgul to my practice and to my clients/patients.

I “introduce” every client (whether they have had massage before or not) to the massage room and to my massage technique by talking to them about draping procedures, therapeutic intent, what to expect and offering them the opportunity to ask questions. When my client/patient feels that I am there for the same reasons that they are there (therapeutic massage), they are relaxed and comfortable. When the patient/client gets the results that they were seeking and I provide them with a plan of care that is going to help them to make the most of their massage and teach them how to avoid some of the ways of living (posture, muscle imbalances, etc.) that brought on the pain in the first place, then I have a happy, referring client.

In short, massage therapy gives you a real chance to make a real difference. I STRONGLY believe that your gender need not be an impediment to a fantastic practice. If you want it badly enough, keep working, praying and believing for it.

I love my work, when I get to do it.

What is frustrating is when one person thinks they are representing each persons’ wishes and desires for their session and therapists choices. Like they know what is best for them! The two best examples are 1), I moved my vacation one week to accomodate a church couples (22) retreat the following week. I returned and called to verify the bookings and a lady said only 6 couples wanted sessions, and oh, all wanted females, because you know “we are a church group, ya know?” Well, after calming down and remembering all the rescheduling I did for them, I said sure, but can you tell me why the men need a female also, if you are a church group ya know? No answer yet.

The other female requests was from a church lady representing 30 women who didn’t want any sexual problems, of course. I gave them 4 names of good professional female therapists I knew. I told them to choose one and contact them. She set up all sessions with an excellent female therapist who is open about being lesbian if asked. I did not plan it but I wonder what women think sometimes when they encounter this situation. Do they have the same homophobia feelings that some men unfortunately do?

I am happy to say that 6 years into practice I do consistently 22-25 hours per week of hands on and am absolutely loving the work… it took time though and practice building is still a major part of my focus.

Started off in a new chiropractors office… double whammy there : new therapist and new office… it didn’t work out so I moved on…

In order to have a steady workflow and variety in my work I have several different locations that I work from… Central Ontario has numerous resorts and have been fortunate enough to be hired on by two of them… This has allowed me to not only build some regular clients, but get a lot of new clients relaxing at the resorts… I also affiliated myself with a company that supplies massage therapists on site to corporations and trade shows… Contracts have come and gone with this company but the work has been steady and I currently provide massage therapy at an office close to home that has approx 300 employees all with $500-$1000 per year benefits coverage… I also have my own office that I work at in my spare time (what little of it there is)…

I do a lot of relaxation sessions but I also see quite a few muscle strains and tension headache cases (therapeutic stuff)… I quite like the mix…

I feel the main factors that have allowed me to have a career in this field were: being open to different possibilities, willingness to work, dedication to reputation building (cannot be done overnight…I’m getting clients now whom I first met 1-2 years ago), and building strategic contacts (for me a couple of spa managers and the owner of the corporate massage provider company), and not giving up (and of course having good technique).

There were numerous times during my first three years that I thought about switching careers, but I am glad I stuck with it… Yes it is frustrating when I encounter an occasional person who prefers female only… at the resorts though every effort is made to avoid any issues of that sort… I know there are plenty of people that prefer female and thats fine, I would just rather not have that thrown in my face every day…

I hope that my letter will give some insight to male therapists… I’ve been able to make a career of it… it hasn’t been easy but it has been worth it… and I can further say that 2007 is looking like a very promising year.

Take Care

Tim Adams, RMT
Barrie, Ontario, Canada