I’m older — as a sex worker, this is how I treat the 18-year-olds who book me
When I started this job nearly 30 years ago, my clients were almost all older men. Mostly married men. They wanted something specific, discreet, and familiar: a release from the life they’d already built. These days, I still see those men. But alongside them, with increasing regularity, are much younger ones. Over a year ago, I appeared on a popular podcast to talk about my life and work, and in doing so reached a whole new audience of twenty-something listeners, all suddenly emboldened to message me and share their wildest desires. It’s sweet. I don’t mind a bit. The men, mainly in their late teens and early twenties, often with little or no sexual experience, arrive nervous, eager, over-prepared in some ways and utterly unprepared in others. It’s a noticeable shift in my client base — one I’ve had to think about more carefully than I expected. I haven’t always seen people of all ages. The change has been gradual, and it mirrors wider shifts in how young people approach sex and intim...