Easy Money For A Pretty Woman (Brains Required)

Emma Higgs investigates the stigma of escorting and how students are finding new ways to justify the phenomenon.

Students have always been used to the day-to-day juggling of funds: this usually consists of developing a fondness for “smart price” beans on toast and £3.62 bottles of wine (any qualms about drinking cheap alcohol tend to fly out the window, along with any dignity, during Freshers’ Week). However, when spotting that dream dress in Urban Outfitters, or passing up a night out with friends for the company of a jacket potato and Heartbeat, there is a definite longing for somebody to wave a magic wand and blast those money worries away.

The added issue now for students is the credit crunch. Despite many having the intention of working to try and pay off some of their towering student debts, companies’ reluctance to recruit due to the credit crisis means that finding employment has become increasingly difficult. The average student can expect to be in approximately £20,000 worth of debt by the end of their degree, and with no incoming wage, student loans soon disappear. On top of that there is the pressure to finish university with a degree to be proud of; ultimately, there isn’t a great deal of time to juggle a job and university work.

So what about that magic wand? If the answer to your money worries was to go to nice restaurants, to pretty much act as a person’s date and be paid for your time, instead of slaving away through the night as a Tesco shelf stacker, would you consider escorting?

The word “escort” is slightly ambiguous. Amy, 22, a Social Work student, perceives an escort as somebody who works as a companion for rich men (or women) and who, although not a prostitute or call girl, is expected to have sex with the client as part of the job. Most students in fact indicated some confusion as to what escorting involved, for example, Stephanie, 19, an English Literature student believed sex was part of the job whilst others’ perception was that sex was an extra optional service that could be provided but that wasn’t essential. Most female students who spoke to Student Direct agreed that, if they were not expected to sleep with the client, they would be willing to try escorting to pay off some of their sky-high student debts. Would there, however, be a difference if they weren’t students? Sinead, 20, studying Nursing, stated: “I wouldn’t even consider escorting if I wasn’t in debt, but as a student it is an option I would consider.”

The Times Online reported in 2006 that research from Kingston University showed a 50% rise in students entering into sex trades within the past six years and that 6% of the 130 students asked admitted they knew other students who worked as prostitutes.

But is there a difference between escorting and prostitution – if all escorting imvolves is a few fun dates with rich men or women, why is such a stigma attached?. Perhaps the negativity surrounding escorting stems from the fact that many view it as leading to prostitution; it can be argued that if you’re willing to go on a few dates with a nice-looking rich man and he offers you hundreds of pounds for you to sleep with him, therein lies the temptation. After all, many students have one night stands at university, is there a difference between having a man you met in Queen of Hearts buying you breakfast after a night of passion and a guy you’ve actually been on a date with handing over cash for sex? Or, is escorting a hop skip and a jump away from prostitution and therefore the exploitation of vulnerable students who are looking for an answer to their money problems? When I discussed this with Amy, she felt that temptation was the biggest issue: “You could have the best intentions in the world, but if a guy you fancy or even a guy you don’t is offering you all that money just to have sex with him, there’s definitely going to be a level of temptation.”

Perhaps the biggest issue with escorting is the mystification that surrounds it. Some Internet websites advise escorts not to have sex with their clients, while others indicate that sex is part of the service. One advertisement from a student in Manchester described herself as a “busty Manchester escort” and advised that she has “a fantastic range of underwear to complement [her] assets” – sex was clearly an extra she was happy to provide as part of her escorting role.

Another interesting concern when looking at escorting is the difference gender makes. Men’s perception of escorting is often that it is a glamorous and stigma free business for them to be involved with; for example, one of my friends, a former student, told me that his mum had suggested he become a male escort. Some mothers even suggest taking a male escort to a wedding as a “plus one” to prove to an ex that you’ve moved on to date a hottie, or to Great Auntie Nora that she shouldn’t bring out the spinster’s dress just yet (God forbid they find out your last meaningful relationship was with a bottle of wine). Often this comes from the same mothers who would faint at the idea of their precious daughters becoming escorts themselves.

Another male student admitted that he felt there was no shame in being a male escort, even if there was sex involved. Apparently he’d be quite happy telling his mates what he was doing as it was all “a bit of a laugh” and was convinced that it was “sexy” women who requested male escorts, perhaps conjuring the image of Mrs Robinson in his mind. He also said that he didn’t think women would necessarily want sex but to be “just taken out and shown a good time”. Does this indicate that there is more of a stigma attached female escorts? Is it perceived as OK for men to be taken out on dates for money but not vice versa? Jess, 20, a Zoology student, said: “Women are probably less likely to expect sex whereas for men it is constantly on their minds. A woman would hire a man for company and conversation but for a man to hire a woman, whatever he says, there’s got to be expectations there.”

The risks involved may be one of the biggest obstacles for many students. Stephanie felt that believing that you were not going to be expected to have sex as an escort was very naïve and, despite many students deciding that they would give escorting a try (providing sex wasn’t included), most haven’t reached for the phone to call up an escorting agency. If it is as simple as some of the online agencies convey, why are students still scanning newspapers for jobs and still printing out CVs with which to trudge around the Arndale Centre?  Amy explained that for her, the stigma would be too much and that although she’d know she wasn’t prepared to have sex as an escort, she wouldn’t be able to cope with the way others viewed her as a result of her job. Even the students who felt that escorting did not necessarily exploit women felt that they’d lose a little bit of self respect. So, no matter how much those stilettos from Office are calling, I don’t expect to see Amy advertising her companionship any time soon on the Internet.