Seeing a sex worker is like seeing a therapist but not in the way you think A THREAD:
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1. The search process is similar - u look at listings for people who describe what they're on about, and it's hard to trust reviews cause ppl have such different needs. And so much depends on compatibility! You might need to try a few before finding one that works for you.
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2. Do they like you for you? Is the therapist just pretending to find your problems interesting? Are they impressed by you? Is the sex worker just pretending to like it? You're paying both for intimacy, and both come with a slightly weird suspension of social honesty.
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3. Both are strangers who see you nearly exclusively in a state of rare, raw vulnerability. Usually you don't have a good outlet for this vulnerability elsewhere - maybe ppl in your personal life don't want to, or aren't skilled enough, or ur life is structured in a lonely way
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4. Both really require strong professional boundaries - you're not supposed to get too friendly with them outside of your sessions, though the intimacy might suggest you have a real bond. Sometimes, rarely, this *does* happen, and it's a bit scandalous.
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5. There's *tons* of unskilled ones out there. Therapists require credentials in a way sex workers don't, but there's plenty of equivalence in counselors and life coaches. It's low barrier to entry, and few objective measures or feedback systems make it hard to learn and grow.
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6. They're both real expensive, the early process of experimenting to find one that works really well for you will be a money drain, and the rare, really skilled ones are reserved for the upper class
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7. There's stigma for seeing both, though less stigma in more progressive circles. This makes it less likely that you tell your friends that you're seeing someone, and also makes word-of-mouth referrals harder.
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8. Sex workers are more limited in choice of space, but when you give sex workers the same choice therapists have, they both tend to work out of welcoming, dimly lit, soft places with lots of plants and cushions and gentle music and weird toys laying around.
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oddly enough, seeing a therapist is traditionally the one more likely to cost you your job
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