LONDON – Gareth May of The Telegraph has a question: Why are so many young men paying for sex?

Gee, I’m not entirely sure, but I think it might have something to do with the fact young men have always paid for sex.

To be fair to Gareth May, his reflexive belief in the notion that only “lonely older men” frequent prostitutes also appears to have been adopted by the researchers who recently published a not-so-groundbreaking study which asserts one in 10 British men have paid for sex.

Judging by the British media’s response to the study, the shock isn’t that one-tenth of British men have paid for sex (or, more likely, one-tenth are honest enough to admit they paid for sex, with another portion unwilling to admit such even in the context of an anonymous survey). The shock is single, professional men between the ages of 24 and 34 are the most represented demographic in the study.

The lead researcher behind the study, Dr. Cath Mercer, said “the picture that emerges does not necessarily fit the stereotype of the lonely older man…. Men who pay for sex are more likely to be young professionals.”

Here’s what I want to know: From whence did this “only old men pay for sex” stereotype emerge, and why did anyone believe it in the first place?

One of the better-known circumstances in which men are known to frequent prostitutes, for example, is the phenomenon of “shore leave” among sailors. Members of various nation’s navies are possibly the most reliable clients of prostitutes in seaport towns across the globe. Does anybody really think it’s just the older officers who head to the red light district as soon as their leave begins?

One former sailor I know, who wound up spending about 12 years of service in the Canadian Navy, often regales me with highly detailed accounts of where the “best” prostitutes can be found.

“A lot of people think it’s Bangkok, but to me, that’s all just hype from people who have probably never even been there,” he said, growing increasingly excited as he waxed nostalgic about all the places where he’d been serviced by working girls. “Amsterdam is good, sure, but to me, the very best are at the Port of Marseille. I fucking love French girls.”

When he told me this, my sailor friend was the ripe old age of 31. What a crusty old duffer, right? He’s retired from the navy these days, at the positively ancient age of 39. He doesn’t go to prostitutes anymore. Among other things, he figures his wife, who has borne him three children, just might object to the idea.

When his wife is not present, however, my friend is still more than happy to dole out his sagacious escorting advice. Guam, for example, is not the place to find a good-looking hooker, evidently.

“In the navy, we had a joke,” he said. “The name of the island is actually an acronym: Give Up And Masturbate.”

Got it. I’ll file that one under “More Information I’ll Never Need,” right alongside the real scoop about Bangkok.

I’m not suggesting my one friend and his whoring anecdotes are undeniable proof that a lot of young men go to prostitutes, but I also doubt he’s a particularly rare breed among sailors, be they military, merchant or strictly pleasure-cruisers.

Two more reasons I have never bought into the “lonely old man” stereotype concerning the average “John”: I have been to Las Vegas, and I possess a functioning set of eyeballs. When prostitutes working the clubs and watering holes located inside the casinos introduce themselves to prospective customers, do they only flock to the sides of the older gentlemen who have bellied up to the bar? No way.

I’m in my early 40s now (OK, OK…my mid-40s), but I’ve been approached by Vegas hookers trawling for dates dozens of times, starting when I was old enough to play the table games, but not yet old enough to take advantage of the “free” drinks. Hell, the first time it happened, I was still naïve enough to believe a woman twice my age would approach me and ask me to buy her a drink just because she thought I was cute. (Luckily, an older friend straightened me out before I got around to “partying” with her, as she suggested, without mentioning the “party” came at an hourly rate….)

While we’re on the subject of prostitution and stereotypes, let’s clear up another one: Men don’t retain the services of prostitutes because they’re “lonely.” Men retain prostitutes because they’re horny and they want to address their horniness in a way that doesn’t require a lot of preamble or postscript.

In other words, men want to get laid and get out, no fuss, no muss and no need to call her tomorrow.

So, Gareth May, there’s your answer: So many young men are paying for sex because so many men in general are paying for sex[FONT=Arial]—[/FONT]and this is not a new development.

I’m still not sure why we needed a university research team to tell us so. We could have just asked the Royal British Navy.