How I got into sex work, and why.
In this post I’m going to talk about my journey into sex work, but first, a little intro. To make a long story short I’m disabled. I have and have had undiagnosed widespread chronic pain, plus a wide assortment of weird medical maladies for 10 going on 11 years now. Being a medical mystery/pain in the docs butt is a huge part of my life, and it affects me daily. Not a day goes by where I’m free of pain or annoying symptoms, and if I try to do too much too fast then that day gets a little more stressful.
So, why am I telling you this? Well, I’m going to ask you a question. What job could I do that would allow me to earn as much as I do, have the freedom to take as much time off as I need to recover and give me as much personal freedom as I have, all with the possibility of job growth? If you have an answer that isn’t sex work/freelancing, do let me know.
Of course, as with any industry, there are bad points – you can’t go more than a day without hearing about sex work in a negative and exploitative light in the media. I’m not denying there are problems, however, this post isn’t about those problems, this post about why sex work is right for me.
Getting into sex work and the adult industry was a choice I made just before I left University. I wasn’t coerced into it. Nor do I have a pimp (though you should see my partner’s face when I jokingly call him one). It was a choice I made of my own free will. In some ways, I fell into it. I’ve adored fetish and BDSM for as long as I can remember. Once I turned 18 I went to munches, met like-minded people, and explored fetish in quite a hedonistic way.
It was thanks to one of those munches I met my ex. At the time she’d been in the industry for quite a while working as a Dominatrix, and a model. And after we got together she wanted to try her hand at clip work. It seemed a logical next step, and she had my full support. At first, I helped behind the camera, editing, and occasionally filming, and then I started in front of the camera … well, my hands did. After a month or so of clip work, she started webcamming and it was then that I jumped into it – on a whim. We both knew people that had made money showing their feet on cam, and I figured showing my feet on cam was a good to pay for books … and now look at me. Just a few years later I’m now a self-employed one-woman production company, with a whole host of skills.
And I love it.
One of the best parts about this job is that everything I do is within my complete control. It’s really the best job for me. I’ll go so far as to say that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without sex work. It’s given me the freedom I never thought I’d have, and it’s allowed me to take back my body. I run my own schedule – I’m not pushing myself to attend lectures or get ready for work at a certain time. I work at my own pace, at my own level of comfort, and the best part is that I can tailor what I do day to day depending on how I feel.
Aside from the practical reasons behind my career choice, there are also a bunch of purely sentimental reasons why I adore this industry, and why I’ve stayed. I fell in love with it because of the people I got to interact with. I’ve met some wonderful, and awe-inspiring women, I’ve met creators that inspire me to do better, and to learn more. I get to talk with people all over the world, from all walks of life, and there are even some I now consider friends. The work I do allows me to further my studies, progress my career, and explore topics that interest me. And last, but not least, sex work allowed me to move across the country, and meet the guy I now share my living space with. What’s not to like about that?
Great article.
We (my wife & me) are also debating should we dive into it or not, aside from writing an adult blog.
Money is the biggest motivator, but not the only one.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.