Perceptions of Sex Work

At various points during the past ten years I've wondered what it would be like to be some sort of professional (or semi-professional) phone sex worker. I've also had thoughts about writing erotica. I mention these two things because over the past few days I've read two blog posts about sex work that have been pretty interesting and revealing.

Dominatrix Next Door confronts her recent work week in a post called "Prickly." Discussing issues of body image and the way people treat people she relates "I signed up to sell sex, which is something I do, not to strive to be sex." I think she's mostly joking when she suggests "of course sex work is probably just reinforcing all these beauty myths I hate." Having read her blog for the past two months I get the sense she's a strong woman and that it's just had a down week. It sucks that she has to encounter attitudes like she has. And I feel for her that she struggles with perception of herself and her role within the sex industry. Since early in my college years I've considered myself a feminist. Put me down in the column for people taking charge of their lives and controlling their images. I hope the rest of the month is a good one for her.

La Coquette recently wrote about her work in the sex industry. She's got a few different jobs and one of them involves sending and responding to dirty text messages. She admits "I adore it. It requires quick wit, intelligence and a rather large dose of common sense." And working at a "boutique fetish phone sex agency" is another job she describes in a bit of detail. It's not something I'd ever thought of. The idea of keeping track of what clients like and how to please them and also keeping tabs on the things they like - dresses and shoes and restaurants. It's all quite fascinating.

The experiences of these two women are worth reading and thinking about. They reveal sides of the sex industry I can't say I think about on a daily basis and I'm glad there are people out there sharing these stories.