The movie “To be we also want to be” is about prostitution from men for men.

Although the male prostitution is legal in Switzerland, the men who prostitute themselves for other men are exposed to a strong aversion in the society.
As both prostitutes and homosexuals are discriminated by society,male sex workers are stigmatized twice. The male prostitution is a taboo and is hidden even though their history is as old as that of female prostitution.

Based on four sensitive portrayed protagonists, who are not a homogeneous audience, the director Aida Schlaepfer shows us in the documentary “To be we also want to be” the everyday life of male prostitutes in Switzerland and their dealing with the complexity of their life situation.

This collage, composed of the politically active hustler Benjamin, the Cuban emigre luxury Callboy Alexo, the transsexual Sonja and the to bizarre games specialized rubber transvestite named Leila reveals the in many respects’ distinctive origin, motivation, and sexual orientation of the man / male prostitutes in Switzerland.

Through interviews and excerpts from the everyday lives of the protagonists, viewers get a glimpse at the lives of the four sex workers and their work-related problems. Topics such as emotion, and exclusion, financial security, life perspectives and the practice of the profession as well as complementary issues such as migration and Coming-Out as prostitutes or homosexuals are shown in this film and also all aspects of this profession and definitively breaks with prevailing platitudes.

By a legal representative and a representative of the religion the issue is additionally illuminated from different sides and clarified the current legal and social situation of sex workers.

Without any ideological constraints, the director explores in this film primarily the sentient human expressions of the protagonists and lights all facets of their lives. The film shows respect to all people working in the sex trade regardless of their origin, their gender and their life situation.