When Daniel, 33, decided to explore the gay world in 2000, he never thought he would eventually enter the oldest profession of mankind - prostitution.

The medium-built and sun-tanned young man from Anhui province asked to be identified only by his first name and declined any photos, but he spoke candidly about his life as a sex worker, offering a rare glimpse into a common subculture that is being overlooked in modern society.

Daniel claimed he was not sensitive to his sexual orientation when he was a boy. Driven by curiosity, he sought out gay photos online back in 1998, back when Internet access was still new to him. Soon he found some friends with similar taste. After about two years of nine-to-five office work in Shanghai, Daniel was bored. He decided to try a more exciting life. He uploaded his photograph to a compensated-dating website.

His first customer soon appeared. It wasn't very glamorous.

Read the complete article on wsu.edu.