Here is an interesting article about a woman who has chosen sex work over a promising career in law. Sex work does have its advantages and disadvantages, just as any other job in life. This story is familiar to me, and I can relate to it very well, this is why I wanted to post it in my blog. Once again there is an article about the blurred world of the sex-industry and how other providers deal -both mentally and physically- with this occupation. And once again I have read a story that goes beyond the simple anticipation of the sex-industry – that one might have in her/his mind. If you would like to watch a brief interview with Laura, please click on the link below. That will redirect you to the website of origin, where the interview can be find. Keep reading and I hope you will enjoy this short article.
“Dubliner Laura Lee has the self-assurance of someone who has packed several lifetimes into her 40 years. After a couple of cul-de-sacs in law and banking, Lee has returned to the job that funded her first law degree: sex work.
A decade ago, Lee was lured from Dublin to the Scottish Highlands with promises of a prestigious banking job with all the trimmings. Within months, she had returned to work as an independent escort. “Old habits die hard” she says, smiling.
Lee cuts through our preconceptions of prostitution. “I’m not going to say, ‘I love my job’. I don’t know any of my friends who leap out of bed on Monday morning and go, ‘Yes, work!’” she says. “But I do choose to do it. I enjoy the freedom it gives me in terms of managing my finances, spending time with my family and studying.”
Lee works with a broad range of clients, which presents challenges. Some are soldiers back from the frontline who are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Others are men with physical or intellectual disabilities, autism, Asperger’s, depression or body dysmorphia. Others are terminally ill. It demands quite a skill set.
“I had one client who passed away from liver cancer last year, and I held him tight and asked him, ‘Are you scared?’ When he said yes, we both held each other and cried,” she says. “This work isn’t about swinging from the chandeliers or re-enacting Fifty Shades of Grey. For these men it’s about remembering how to hold a woman, how we smell, and how soft we are.”
Lee moves between Scotland and Ireland for work and notes that the vast majority of her “typically Irish” clients are men who married young. “By the time they get to 50, the sex has stopped a long time ago for them in their marriage,” says Lee. “He can’t bring himself to have an affair, so he calls me. Sometimes their wives are gravely ill with Alzheimer’s or a degenerative condition. Those men battle with their conscience for years before they pick up the phone to me. But by the time most men get to me at 50, after no sex for 10 years, they want to try everything. I’ve spent the afternoon covered in custard. They’re hard work.”
Lee says there is genuine intimacy. “You grow very fond of them. Some of my regulars are wonderful. I broke my leg badly, and one of my guys brings me to Glastonbury every year, and he pushed me around in a wheelchair. You do become great friends with them. You have to mind your boundaries, as clients can get really attached to you. I state very clearly to a client what I will and won’t do. There are some things I won’t do [sexually], even for my partner, and if someone forces the matter, they’re shown the door. We’re service providers, like anyone else.”
