The Brothers—Part III: Becoming and Being a Brother

This chapter explores men’s process of becoming compensated dating (CD) clients—Brothers, and how Brothers come to understand their roles in relation to CCs. It spells out the major stages that a Brother may go through during his CD journey with concrete examples. These stages include the first step of exploration, in which men become familiar with the CD etiquette; the second stage of actualization, in which men put the things that they have learned in the exploration stage into practice; and the final stage of protection, in which men extend their client role into a guardian role. Each of these stages provides a different type of psychological satisfaction and new life experiences for Brothers. The chapter shows how Brothers construct, redefine, and polish their self-identity and masculinity through these stages, which are part of the voyage of not only the CD journey but also their reflexive project of the self.