From cam girls to strippers to prostitutes,
sex workers will tell you that much of their
work involves simply talking to men.
Several cam girls I’ve spoken with in the past
emphasized how little of their time is spent
taking off their clothes or performing sexually.
During sessions they often do their homework, watch
a movie or talk about their client’s day at work.
They lend virtual company and a sympathetic ear.
There is plenty of dirty talk and masturbation
but that’s only part of what they’re paying for.
The same is often true for strippers: Customers
will pay dancers to simply sit and talk with them.
Below the Gallery: The Sex Industry
Which jobs in the sex
industry are “better” than others?
Is there a hierarchy in the sex industry? There’s certainly a sense some jobs were “worse.”
Many sex workers looked down on others with “lesser” jobs.
Many individuals choose to work as pro-dominatrixes or dancers because they don’t have sex, give blowjobs, or exchange body fluids. They feel superior to those who do. They use contact as a meter.
Many sex workers agreed that they were often judged by this metric. A few strippers told me they didn’t think stripping was sex work at all, since they didn’t have to touch any of their clients.
An escort and porn actress told me seeing this hierarchy in action at a strip club in Las Vegas:
“Dancers thought of prostitutes as lower than them and would look down their nose at dancers who left the club for money with clients,” she told me.
“I always was amused: They walked around naked for dollars and grinded on guys crotches for 20s; let guys finger them in the club, gave BJs and hand jobs.
Yet some thought they were better than the call girl or stripper who goes to the guy’s room.”
“I’ve had a lot of men tell me they wouldn’t be OK with me being in porn but that it’s fine for me to work as a cam girl or stripper,” she said.
“Similarly, men frequently believe that prostitutes are filthy and desperate—but they praise porn stars. It’s as though the computer screen shields them from the reality that they are both women who sell sex.”