As a sex worker, you’re often working alone. From meeting clients alone to making online bookings on your own, it’s a career best suited to those who enjoy being their own boss and not having colleagues. However, having a solid community is essential for success in any field, including sex work.
You may not work in an office, but staying in regular contact with other sex workers is essential for your well-being and professional development. With a strong network, you can learn about industry trends, vent your frustrations, and simply chat about your career with people who genuinely understand the job.
But where do you find other sex workers? This can be difficult, especially if you’re discreet about your profession.
- Why is community important for sex workers?
- How to find other sex workers
- Safety tips for networking
- Benefits of having a professional community
- The takeaway
In this article, we cover all you need to know about networking and forging your sex-positive community.
Ready? Let’s get into it.
Why is community important for sex workers?
A community of strong professionals is essential for sex workers, no matter your sex work niche.
Whether you’re an escort, dancer, or cammer, you should surround yourself with others who understand your job. While your friends and family might be understanding and positive about your work, they’ll never truly understand it like another professional will. Sex work is misunderstood and can be isolating, so sharing experiences and knowledge with like-minded professionals can boost morale and relieve feelings of alienation and loneliness.
Additionally, creating a community can help you learn more about the job. From tips on how to please clients and boost your earnings to information on healthy and safety practices, other sex workers can advise you on taking control of your career. A network of sex workers can be helpful regarding legal information, as you can share resources.
A community can even help sex workers advocate for their rights with more visibility. As a larger group, your network will gain more traction while fighting against unjust laws, discrimination, and violence. It’s ideal if you’re passionate about making a change.
Finally, a community of other sex workers is simply vital as it allows you to connect with others who aren’t clients. Whether you want to giggle at sex work memes or vent about a bad client, having a strong network by your side is essential.
How to find other sex workers
So, how do you find a community? Since much sex work is now online, many support networks can be found within forums and social media. It’s rarer to find sex workers in person unless you live in a major city.
However, you can find in-person friends by attending sex worker charities and organisations. You can also investigate sex work activist meetings or participate in educational talks, as other sex workers or sex-positive people will be at these events.
Meeting other sex workers online does tend to be more accessible, though. Social media and forums have revolutionised the landscape for sex workers. You can find thousands of people in the same industry in a simple search.
There’s a large community of sex workers on Twitter (or X, if you’re down with the latest lingo). Twitter is a great place to promote services due to its nudity and content rules. However, many sex workers use this platform to chat and meet other professionals. You can even look for sex workers to form in-person relationships in your area.
Reddit is another go-to for creating a sex worker network. r/SexWorkers is an invaluable resource, and here, sex workers chat about everything to do with the job. You can even join r/SexWorkersOnly, a private discussion board where applicants must prove they’re part of the adult industry to enter – ideal if you don’t want prying eyes.
Many sex workers on these boards have created Discord chats and regularly invite others to get involved. You’ll have to post a few times and prove you’re genuine to get involved, but that shouldn’t be an issue if you’re looking to create a network.
Safety tips for networking
Putting yourself out there can be nerve-inducing. However, you can use these tips to make sure you’re safe while meeting new people.
Screen potential online friends by looking at their social media profiles and previous posts. Sometimes, non-sex workers lurk on forums and social media communities, so make sure you’re chatting with actual workers. If you want to make sure you’re in a sex worker-only environment, take advantage of the private discussion threads on Reddit.
Set boundaries with your network. Building a network is exciting, but don’t overextend yourself straight away. For example, if someone starts sending endless messages, questions, or demands, you have every right not to reply. You can only give from a full cup, so put your self-care first!
Never give out any personal information online, either. Even if you’re in a sex worker space, it’s best to keep your private life a secret until you can genuinely trust your network.
If you’re meeting other sex workers in person, have an exit strategy and meet in a public place. As with meeting a client, ensure you’re always protected. Also, if it feels wrong, trust your gut and leave. Safety comes first, always.
Benefits of having a professional community
Fired up and ready to get connected? Before you build your network, we’ll quickly recap the benefits of having a professional sex work community:
- Emotional support from like-minded people
- Health and legal resources
- Career guidance and skill sharing
- Safety advice
- Mentorship from experienced sex workers
- Help build emotional resilience
- Humour and meme-sharing
- Advocacy and visibility
- Empowerment
At the end of the day, if you turn up as your authentic self and consistently make networking efforts, you’ll have a robust network in no time. And then you can enjoy these benefits while helping others. Perfect.
The takeaway
Building a community with other sex workers brings endless benefits to your career and personal development. But ensure you’re equipped with safety knowledge and realistic expectations before starting. And don’t forget to be polite! Kindness is critical in all situations.
Ready to get serious about your career? Explore expert sex work resources on the Vivastreet blog.
