Now, however, Montenegro, who is currently an Intimacy Behaviourist based in Melbourne, Australia, has revealed that she believes that the portrayal of sex work is problematic. The glamorisation of the industry, she says, leads women to believe becoming a sex worker will afford them a life of luxury, when the reality is far from the truth. Speaking to The Independent , Montenegro explains that more needs to be done to ensure women know the truth before embarking on a career as a sex worker.
At one extreme there is the sad, human face of the street walker, who is using it to pay the rent, feed a child or possibly save up for their next drug hit. The reader is opened up to a world of high fashion, travel, huge amounts of money and copious amounts of sex. A world in which you can make thousands of dollars in a handful of hours, and all you need to do is look good and have a bit of sex on the side. No-one tells you this. What are you prepared to sacrifice? Most people think it is because you are attractive and have a good physique, they think that the men are lining up to give you money.
To push the boundaries of taste. To push the boundaries of protection. To push the boundaries of personal security. The reality is that it is a very competitive and ruthless industry, especially nowadays. Support within the industry can be hard to find, it can be a very lonely journey. There is always the threat of physical violence because people think they can get away with it.
Men have paid good money to spend time with you and sometimes they think they own you. This can manifest in rougher than usual treatment to physical restraint and may even manifest in other forms of violence. You know you are operating outside of the bounds of societal norms and there is a huge stigma attached to being a sex worker. You can feel ostracised, alone, unwanted and disposable. I think most escorts do at some point in their journey.
The pressures affect people differently. Some, it will cripple and bring to their knees with devastating results and others will confidently breeze their way through declaring that they have never felt more empowered. I was asking a lot and I was making a lot. I was rubbing shoulders with influential people and I was having the time of my life. I, once a church-going country girl, was living a drug-induced life of excess and I had myself convinced that I was empowered.
