The San Francisco-based startup ManServant provides women with men who do exactly what they want. The company, founded by two advertising copywriters, has a catalog of gentleman tailored-to-order and willing to be your butler, photographer, bodyguard, or cabana boy. Now, before you think this is some sort of gigolo service or Magic Mike (without the extremely hot strippers) scenario, it isn’t. Is it reverse sexism, where men are objectified to satisfy the non-sexual needs of women? Perhaps. ManServant offers women an alternative to the the sleazy male stripper humping your face in a banana hammock. Women are complex beings, who want more! We want more than a finger-lickin’ good bucket of tanned muscles who is willing to tend to our beck and call, tell us we are beautiful, and bring us vodka sodas on demand. If the same service were called WomanServant and offered men the same options, everyone from tech reporters to feminists would have a field day. But it isn’t, so let me enjoy the idea of having a Ryan Gosling look-alike to do my laundry.
ManServant allows users to select a man according to her personal tastes, give him a name (here is where I cringe with guilt), and set his dress code (I should cringe here, too, but I didn’t. Feel free to judge, I deserve it). ManServants can be anything users want and are available for events, and according to their website, “every woman’s fantasy is different.” “It’s completely PG,” said cofounder Dalal Khajah, in a recent interview. “We have a very strict code of conduct and a very rigorous training process.” If the code of conduct and restrictions are strictly enforced, this could be an alternative to the male stripper industry when it comes to entertaining parties, something not available for women. I would remove the whole “naming him,” though – chivalry doesn’t have to come with humiliation. ManServant is in beta, to be launched in August.
