Monday, January 05, 2009
Sex Workers' Fees - Part II
On December 13, 2008 under “Sex Workers' Fees Always Go Up” I wrote that when the economy is in a down cycle, sex workers usually raise their prices. This is their way of coping with a financial downturn. They have lost some clients and are trying to make up for it by charging more. But I have never witnessed a near economic collapse. How will sex workers act given the present dire situation?
If I remember my Economics 101 correctly, in bad economic times there will be a cadre of new sex workers seeking employment, after having lost their regular jobs. Because many former clients are also unemployed, the fees sex workers charge should go down. However, these workers operate in what economists call a “disorderly market,” and predictions are difficult to make.
For one thing, most sex workers (not erotic masseurs) look at their situation with complete disregard for the economic realties. They are willing to escort only for a fee that suits them, regardless of market conditions. I have written about this particular phenomenon at great length in my three books on sex work. In this their clients help them. The latter are sometimes inexperienced in hiring workers, or do it so rarely that the price doesn’t matter that much, or feel guilty about the transaction and the higher fees assuages their guilt. Whatever the reason, prices do not seem to go down in hard times. Whether this will change in the present economic downturn I am unable to predict. It is also not all that certain that there will be many new workers as a result of the economic hard times. From time to time one sees ads saying something like this: “I am broke, rent is due, and am willing to do anything for $$$.” But these are not the same kind of people who have advertised their services for the last ten years and, miraculously, are always “young.” Escorting is not a “neutral” occupation, like data processing. It requires a set of psychological traits that some men possess and others lack.
Things were different in the bad old days. When the former hustlers stood on street corners soliciting johns and setting their fees, they were keenly aware of their personal needs, and only to a limited extent of the market conditions around them. On a cold and rainy day, a hustler who stood on street corner at eight o’clock in the evening, would be motivated by midnight to lower his asking price regardless of what the competitors around him were demanding. A colleague, who may have arrived at midnight, would stick to the market price on the street, until he too felt that enough was enough.
Erotic masseurs are much more business minded. First, many of them don’t consider themselves sex workers and are often not considered as such by their clients. Second, masseurs are more likely to have a regular clientele. Third, “release” masseurs can see more clients per day than sex workers. Physically, most sex workers who are tops have their performance limits. If they are bottoms, they have psychological limits. Physically, it may not be easy for masseurs to give many massage in one day, but not impossible. Also, their clients are more likely to discuss their economic problems with the masseurs, while the latter do their thing. Therefore, masseurs are much more aware of the trials and tribulations of the clients and understand when they must lower the prices to keep their clientele. Indeed, masseurs’ fees have started – ever so slowly - to go down in San Francisco. As I wrote a year ago, prices in Los Angles move more in tandem with the economic realities. I have no explanation for the divergence between San Francisco and Los Angles.
Economists refer to price elasticity of demand. That is, the phenomenon that as prices for certain commodities go up people buy less of them. For example, when gasoline prices rose, people curtailed their driving. The classic example of non-elactic commodities is water. People do not drink less water when its price goes up. Is it possible that sex workers’ prices are also not elastic?
On December 13, 2008 under “Sex Workers' Fees Always Go Up” I wrote that when the economy is in a down cycle, sex workers usually raise their prices. This is their way of coping with a financial downturn. They have lost some clients and are trying to make up for it by charging more. But I have never witnessed a near economic collapse. How will sex workers act given the present dire situation?
If I remember my Economics 101 correctly, in bad economic times there will be a cadre of new sex workers seeking employment, after having lost their regular jobs. Because many former clients are also unemployed, the fees sex workers charge should go down. However, these workers operate in what economists call a “disorderly market,” and predictions are difficult to make.
For one thing, most sex workers (not erotic masseurs) look at their situation with complete disregard for the economic realties. They are willing to escort only for a fee that suits them, regardless of market conditions. I have written about this particular phenomenon at great length in my three books on sex work. In this their clients help them. The latter are sometimes inexperienced in hiring workers, or do it so rarely that the price doesn’t matter that much, or feel guilty about the transaction and the higher fees assuages their guilt. Whatever the reason, prices do not seem to go down in hard times. Whether this will change in the present economic downturn I am unable to predict. It is also not all that certain that there will be many new workers as a result of the economic hard times. From time to time one sees ads saying something like this: “I am broke, rent is due, and am willing to do anything for $$$.” But these are not the same kind of people who have advertised their services for the last ten years and, miraculously, are always “young.” Escorting is not a “neutral” occupation, like data processing. It requires a set of psychological traits that some men possess and others lack.
Things were different in the bad old days. When the former hustlers stood on street corners soliciting johns and setting their fees, they were keenly aware of their personal needs, and only to a limited extent of the market conditions around them. On a cold and rainy day, a hustler who stood on street corner at eight o’clock in the evening, would be motivated by midnight to lower his asking price regardless of what the competitors around him were demanding. A colleague, who may have arrived at midnight, would stick to the market price on the street, until he too felt that enough was enough.
Erotic masseurs are much more business minded. First, many of them don’t consider themselves sex workers and are often not considered as such by their clients. Second, masseurs are more likely to have a regular clientele. Third, “release” masseurs can see more clients per day than sex workers. Physically, most sex workers who are tops have their performance limits. If they are bottoms, they have psychological limits. Physically, it may not be easy for masseurs to give many massage in one day, but not impossible. Also, their clients are more likely to discuss their economic problems with the masseurs, while the latter do their thing. Therefore, masseurs are much more aware of the trials and tribulations of the clients and understand when they must lower the prices to keep their clientele. Indeed, masseurs’ fees have started – ever so slowly - to go down in San Francisco. As I wrote a year ago, prices in Los Angles move more in tandem with the economic realities. I have no explanation for the divergence between San Francisco and Los Angles.
Economists refer to price elasticity of demand. That is, the phenomenon that as prices for certain commodities go up people buy less of them. For example, when gasoline prices rose, people curtailed their driving. The classic example of non-elactic commodities is water. People do not drink less water when its price goes up. Is it possible that sex workers’ prices are also not elastic?
Labels: Escort Fees During Economic Downturns
