"Oh... my.... Gah!"
-Shawn McCormack as Jack McFarland
from "Will & Grace"
So I was talking to my friend (who shall remain nameless) the other night, he's a pretty good friend but not one of the ones I talk to all the time so our phone convo consisted of a lot of catching up. In the midst of our conversation about my upcoming 24th birthday on the 28th (MARK YOUR CALENDARS!). We eventually got onto the subject of work and I was telling him about my web design thing and I'm not sure exactly when the segue happened but he began to tell me that he was a sex worker. You know, kinda like the guys you see in the back of the Village Voice or Honcho or something, but he advertises via the internet. He even went as far as showing me his ads online with his rates and everything. Needless to say I was shocked, in a non-judgmental way of course as I'm nobody's angel. Sensing the tinsiest tinge of uneasiness from me he recited his mantra, his retort to our puritanical, hypocritical, judgmental, self-righteous world:
"I'm gettin' paid for what you bitches been givin' away for free!"
Wait a minute, it's no shade, but he's kinda right. I've been giving dick away for free for years and it hasn't gotten me much of anything (except a lot of satisfied ex-lovers) ;) . This nigga is making money and I know I could turn a coin doing it, I got skills! LOL Having said that though I could never see myself having sex for money. It's not that I'm so perfect or great or even that it's beneath me I just couldn't do it. If put into the situation I'd probably bitch up and not even be able to go through with it.
During our conversation he cleared up alot of escort related misconceptions 'cuz ya know I had questions. He told me that the escort business has alot less to do with actual sex that we think. A good night for him would be to get the client off without any type of penetration and that a lot of clients don't even want to have sex. Some of them really want massages, some want company. I also asked him whether he feared for his safety and surprisingly he said no. He said a lot of these men are professionals, some even wealthy, in relationships, and even married (which I totally don't agree with!) so trying to hide the body of a dead sex worker isn't exactly in their calendar of upcoming events. I asked him about safety, condoms and such and he said that everything is very safe. Then I asked him the million dollar question; how could he do it with someone he wasn't attracted to. He told me that he just imagines that it's someone else. He went on to tell me that all his clients weren't unattractive and that he even enjoyed some of his trysts. Very interesting.
I remember a few years back this guy offered me $1000 for sex, at the time I was really broke and the money woulda been nice. Of course I didn't do it but every now and then when I get a little low on cash I wonder hmmm... maybe I should... nah! As shocked as I was, more because I never thought that he would do something like this I wasn't really appalled. After all, it's the world's oldest profession and I'm sure he's not the only person I know doing it.
My friend's new occupation won't change anything between me and him. It'll just make our conversations a little more interesting from now on.
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Song of the day: "Best Of Me"
by Chrisette Michele
from the album "I Am"
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