I've been a prostitute on and off since I was a young adult. AMA.

[IAMAthroway]

Just that, really. I am drunk and bored, and I've noticed in the past on MN, many sweeping statements made about sex workers that I don't always agree with (i.e we are all brainwashed into thinking we are happy with our career choice, but really we are miserable)

For background, I started when I was 19, maybe late 18. I got into it because I was lapdancing and noticed those who offered "extras" after hours made 3x what I did. I was young and stupid, and sex just felt like sex to me, so it was quick, easy money. I left when I was 23/24 and met DH.

I got back into it when I was in my early 30s and left DH with nothing to my name, but left again when DH and I agreed to a suitable child maintenance arrangement, and I could afford to live.

I went back into it 2/3 months ago when possible redundancies were announced at my work, and I realised benefits covered only around 2/3 of my basic outgoings. I am in my early 40s with two adult children who still rely on me. DS is in uni, and DD has just started an NMW job; both still live with me.

Oh right, thank goodness. That at least should protect from STDs

I am not surprised you dismiss those ones instantly because anyone asking that probably has a habit of unprotected sex and therefore a greater likelihood of having an STD!

And the fact they are asking that against your stated wishes shows they are a certain type of guy who will disregard your boundaries.

So even if they eventually agree to wear a condom there’s always a chance they may turn up and kick up a fuss or somehow try and remove it on the sly during sex.

More women in general need to stand their ground about the need for wearing protection. It baffles me when women don’t use protection with ONS and FWB and men they suspect of cheating etc

Did you have any educational qualifications when you left home at 15 to escape abuse, ended up with an abusive boyfriend, and worked in dead end, low paid jobs?

How can you square that history with the implications in your posts that prostitution is just a reasonable alternative form of employment?

U looking to get into the game ?

to a degree and as the op proves on this thread to some people it is for certain people a reasonable alternative form of employment ? not that i advocate that
its just that for some people they can and do seem to be able to handle the role and have the skill set for the role

I finished school. I didn't move out in any official way; I just stopped going home. People knew where I was, so no one reported me missing. I went home occasionally, otherwise my mum probably would have reported me missing.

It sort of happened gradually, I stayed more and more with my boyfriend and less and less at home. I worked evenings and weekends in a food place and went to school during the day when he was at work. It was abusive from the start, given that I was 15 and he was 24, but I didn't start seeing it as abusive until later on in the relationship. I spent more time there than at home because I was happier there to start with.

I don't think I've ever said that prostitution is just a reasonable alternative form of employment. That's not quite how I feel. To me it feels like just another job. Women who do choose to do it shouldn't be shamed for it, imo but I wouldn't want to see it treated like any other job in the way that people on benefits could be pushed into it.

@IAMAthroway
Op if your happy and safe as can be, then rock on, and enjoy and make some good ££

yes the profession itself maybe omg but if proper relationships are anything to go by it then yea omg.

overall if a person is happy to sell their skill set and they are good at it, then why not get paid, rather than giving it away freely on one night stands (in the ops case they can choose the clients so in that sense its no different than going to a bar and choosing a person etc)

Sorry to hog the thread, but what sort of future did you dream of when you were a little girl, and have you ever had therapy to explore the impact of the abuse you suffered / witnessed at home and with your BF?

Hmm...I don't see sex as something women 'give away' to men
. I also don't think OP's situation is like one-night stands. Yes, she is choosing the client but she says she doesn't enjoy it & thinks about dinner or TV during the sex. That's generally not what women who have ONSs want them to be like, they usually do it for pleasure.

A 15 yo with a 24 yo is a HUGE power imbalance, not to mention illegal. It saddens me that none of the adults in your life reported this man.

I actually witnessed a prostitue bring brutally attacked by her pimp in Soho. It was horrific and my three children unfortunately witnessed it and were traumatised.

Broad day light on Sunday morning.
He was so violent men passing by couldn’t intervene for their own safety. Poor poor woman.

How do the men know who is forced though.

They can’t

Thats the point.

4000 trafficked women and girls are forced into the sex trade every year in Amsterdam alone.

Where have the women on here been condescending? This if person indeed if she is a sex worker seems really angry and unhappy with herself! Threatening that we are the life blood of the sex industry because we or some of us apparently don't have sex with our partners.
Yikes we are the cause of making these poor men pay for sex, always someone elses fault.
What about people ( men) taking responsibility for their own actions!!
That is what I believe in people being in charge of what they do facing up to their decisions.
Well glad to be a boring,happy condescending,person.
600 dollars would not be enough for my piece of mind,with all the worry that would go with it for me.

That's vile 💐 Couldn't the police have been called?

obviously the police were called.

ANY adult should report a predatory 24yo in a sexual relationship with a 15yo, not just the women!

Not true.

Agree! I wouldn't want to do her job, but admire OP's level-headed approach to life, not to mention her resilience.

Some* STDs

Why do you claim that?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&rct=j&url=www.aidsmap.com/news/jun-2013/female-sex-workers-frequently-offered-larger-fees-their-clients-return-sex-without%23:~:text%3DClient%2520demand%2520for%2520unprotected%2520sex,violence%2520and%2520users%2520of%2520methamphetamine.&ved=2ahUKEwjUkaj7gbuTAxUvXUEAHd7hGRwQ1fkOegQIBxAF&opi=89978449&cd&psig=AOvVaw1AUA9C4xD3TLPuiz6rKKbS&ust=1774526895581000

That article is from 2013!

Stay toxic ladies! Especially the ones who use sex as a bargaining chip in their marriages - your unhealthy attitudes and avoidance of conflict are the lifeblood of the sex work industry.

Sounds really happy and well balanced all the way. The second so called Prostitute!
Not angry at all.

Qué?

Wow - there certainly has been an awful lot of activity on this post in only a few days - obviously opinions run high on this subject x