Today, CNN published an article that takes a look at sex workers who use technology, social media and geek interests to attract “well-off engineers and programmers” in the bay area. These men are likely young and have disposable income, making them lucrative clients.
To clarify the term, CNN describes sex workers as a term that covers “a number of services, including sexual massage, prostitution, and escort and dominatrix work.”
One sex worker, Josephine, says she wears geeky clothes — like ones that are emblazoned with phrases such as “Winter Is Coming” and “Geeks Make Better Lovers” — to attract that specific clientele. CNN writes:
Josephine says her tech-themed online ads are both a marketing ploy and a savvy business move: They help bring in a clientele she says she genuinely enjoys spending time with. In her off hours, she goes to cons, dabbles in programming, and watches Game of Thrones.
“I like to bring in the kinds of people who I like being around,” she says.
“I’m trying to communicate to them that I understand a little bit what it’s like to be techy, nerdy, geeky,” she explains.
Another sex worker, Kitty Stryker, is a comics-lover who describes herself as a “steampunk courtesan.” She charges $US350 an hour and has a day job at a local start up. Stryker also “trains” geeky clients who need help in their love lives.
“You explain it to them in a way that’s like a formula,” she stated. “Then they say ‘ohhhh, maths. It’s maths. Eventually if I plug these things into the formula, it will work.’ I speak geek. It’s a way we can communicate that they understand.”
Many of these women consider themselves geeky/techie entrepreneurs and they heavily use social media such as Tumblr and Twitter as well as technology, as a means of improving their work.
One of the sex workers describes her work “very feminist and very empowering.”
Silicon Valley’s other entrepreneurs: Sex workers [CNN]
Image Credit: Shutterstock
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