@sidneydawson may have been here

The internet changed everything for our industry. I can reach many more potential clients now, and stay safer with advanced screening protocols that were not around when I started.

Whenever my job is mentioned in newspapers, blogs, or magazines, the same tropes tend to pop up: moral panic, drug abuse, violence. Journalists quote us selectively, so that it sounds as if we’re living out the sex-negative, whorephobic stereotypes the public are used to consuming.

The lives of 19th century women are known to us today mainly through their letters and writing, but also through the then new (black-and-white) portrait photography, and the vivid paintings, pastels and watercolours of impressionist artists.

If you’re anything like me, you may be worried about poor labour practices, environmental issues...and above all, that you’re not throwing your money at a business that’s sexist or whorephobic. Thanks to some inspired entrepreneurs worldwide, we do have better options.

Whether you smell good. Whether you’re freshly shaved. Whether you’ve bothered to put on a clean shirt. When you make an effort, your worker knows you’re investing more than just money into the encounter - that you see the meeting as a special occasion.