Sex worker is an umbrella term. According to the Open World Foundation, ‘sex workers are adults who receive money or goods in exchange for consensual sexual services or erotic performances, either regularly or occasionally’. It is extremely important to differentiate between sex workers and victims of human trafficking. The two are very different concepts and are vastly separated by the important caveat of consent. Sex workers provide consensual services, victims of trafficking are being coerced or forced. This is a significant, but often overlooked, point.
It is unfair and unreasonable to paint the picture that all sex workers are exploited or unable to freely, and objectively, decide what their personal boundaries are. Not every person will feel that sex work is for them. Not every sex worker will feel that every type of sex work is for them. We are all individuals and we all have the right to have our personal limits. As long as these limits do not hurt anybody else, are fully consensual and do not shame another individual with differing boundaries, your body is your choice.
In this article we will give a broad overview of the types of sex work out there.
Stripping
Working as a stripper is not as simple as just taking your clothes off. Whilst it is unadvisable to pick up as career as a stripper unless you are willing to take your clothes off, some of the best earners engage in the least nudity. How? By being great saleswomen. The gift of the gab is what makes you money. In a room of beautiful dancers, you have to be exceptional to make money only from your looks. Self-confidence is magnetic. Being engaging, charismatic and a great conversationalist will get you far. This is, in fact, true across most of the sex industry. What really separates the great earners from the mediocre is using your brain to maximise your body’s selling power. There are three main branches of stripping.
Club Strippers
Club strippers, feature performers and private parties. They, of course, work club floors. They mainly make money from selling dances or time in a specific venue. There is a reliance on clubs to canvass for customers and provide security. In exchange there is an expectation to pay either of percentage of earnings or a set fee per night worked to cover this. It is, as a general rule, stripping with the least amount of admin. Dancers can turn up, do their job and leave.
Private Parties
Those that work private parties can do this through an agency, or independently. Working independently requires a knowledge of marketing, administration and it is recommended to go to jobs with a support network, preferably with a provision for security. There is a higher workload and more risk working independently, but it does result in a bigger slice of the pie. The performer is responsible for their own security and transport costs but they can incorporate this into their pricing if they are astute.
Feature Performers
Feature performers have less of an expectation to have the chat, although it always helps. However, there is a higher expectation on dance and quality of showmanship. Also known as Showgirls in certain countries such as Australia and New Zealand, feature performers are generally expected to have a repertoire of shows from 15-30 minutes in length with imaginative use of props, costumes and themes. Feature performers generally get paid by the show and rates hugely vary based on the following thats already been established and the titles that have been earned. Highly decorated and established showgirls can be a great draw for crowds and the most well known are in extremely high demand. Being a feature performer requires a large investment into costumes and training. Therefore, unless you are committed, stick to the club dancing. Having said that, top showgirls earn great, consistent incomes.
Erotic Masseuse
Erotic massage is massage that involves nudity and sexual services, but does not automatically include full service. This can vary hugely, depending on what the client desires and what the masseuse’s boundaries are. The massage can be conducted topless or fully nude. The masseuse can conduct the massage in a variety of ways using their hands or even their full body. Erotic massage generally doesn’t include penetration of the masseuse but can include bringing the client to orgasm.
Dominatrix
There are many kinks that come under the domme umbrella but the most common include sexual domination and financial domination, otherwise known as findom. A pro domina is a person within the BDSM community that gains financial reward from engaging in these activities. Some dommes work from a dungeon, but many work independently. Being a dominatrix requires a far greater skillset than people understand. This is especially true in findom, where a sub hands over full control of their financial affairs to their mistress.
The best dommes use psychological prowess to maintain full control of their subs. Many start as apprentices to a significantly more experienced mentor to really learn the ropes. Being a successful domina has a lot more subtleties and nuances involved in order to provide the best experience possible to clients. What can seem extreme to those with a more vanilla palate, can be very tame to those in the business. There is a huge range of Fetish toys available such as the neck to wrist restraints pictured.
Full Service Sex Worker (FSSW)
Full service sex work can include all sexual services up to, and including, full sex and penetration. Like sex work as a whole, full service sex work can do carried out in a variety of ways. There are those that work in official, and unofficial parts of town from the street to solicit business, there are those that work in brothels, or parlours, in the full service equivalent of a club dancer and those that work as escorts providing dates and companionship as well as sex. Incomes can vary widely and some girls prefer to work with support and some prefer to work independently. As long as the arrangement benefits everyone and it is fully consensual, the best approach is totally dependent on the worker at the centre of things.
Full service sex work often carries the most stigma related to sex trafficking. As mentioned consent is what separates sex work from trafficking and, just as it is dangerous to assume a trafficked individual is a sex worker, it really detracts from the real victims to assume sex workers are coerced. The two are not mutually exclusive, but awareness is majorly important to curb exploitation of the vulnerable.
Camming
Technology is constantly moving forward and the internet has facilitated and lot of new concepts in sex work, the most popular being live webcam and selling content. Webcam is fairly self-explanatory and involves streaming strip shows, sex shows and companionship. Much like any adult performer would, but remotely. The benefit to working on webcam means that the pool of potential clientele increases hugely. It is also possible to create more of a cloud of anonymity as the performer can disguise location and identity a lot easier than in face to face bookings. Prices are often set by the service provider and adds a huge amount of autonomy in many instances.
There has been a recent explosion in sites that facilitate content selling. This is where the performer has a profile that requires viewers to sign up to a paid subscription. In return, they get regular posts that can include stills and video clips. Furthermore, cam performers can give clients the option of creating custom content for a higher fee. Having wishlists and allowing clients to purchase items for content and using couples toys can enhance the experience and command higher earnings. We can offer content management and organise your profile on your behalf. All you have to do is submit content and collect your earnings. Contact us for this service today.
Being a sex worker with solid boundaries can be a positive experience
This list is an outline of the most common types of sex worker but the industry has many variations and subsets. Human sexuality is incredibly complex and each person has a preference that doesn’t have to align with anybody else. The most important consideration is consent, always. Being a sex worker can be very lucrative and there is something for everyone, however, maintain your personal boundaries and, if you are entering the industry, stick to them. Looking after your physical and mental health should always be priority and if you put that above, all else, you will rarely go wrong.
