RE: I am Virtual Geisha, an 18 year old girl who is an online adult worker, artist, and most of all, a person like you.
"(because instant gratification from making "easier" money is a habit of mine I'm trying to curb)".
The thing about Steemit is you don't have to exploit your sexuality in order to contribute to the creation of this community. Of course, if you decided to take that route voluntarily, you could if you wanted. I think you would find a bigger audience though if you brought your entire self here.
It's my guess that most (not all) sex work is done because it's easy money that pays more than many other careers. Ask yourself this question: if you didn't have to work, if all your basic needs were taken care of, what would you choose to do with your energy?
I believe in you from what you've said. I am also trying daily to understand how I can turn my creative energy into a means to sustain myself, both monetarily and artistic. I think you can do great artistic things in steemit. I get the sense that you want something more from your life than pimping yourself.
I am actually a very sexual person and don't consider it "pimping" myself. I used to be very unhappy with myself because I repressed my sexual feelings, was told that it was wrong or unhealthy. Especially growing up in Asian society, where it would be rude to even just kiss someone on the lips in public. As I mentioned previously in my post, also a lot of the men and women who pay for my services suffered from this as well. They feel like they can't fulfil their sexual desires or fantasies with people in real life, even their beloved partners, out of fear.
Something I am also trying to combat, is thinking that sex work is something you do out of a last resort, because you're desperate or poor- it's not always the case. I know a lot of girls who do it on the side to studying in university, because the time spent to money earned ratio is great. In fact most girls on Reddit who are sellers, are actually also university students getting degrees in fields even like engineering or medicine.
Doesn't mean the job is easy though, it's just "easier" depending on what kind of person you are. I'd say only 30% of the girls I've seen who started actually kept it going for more than just a few months. It is mentally and physically very very tiring.
Even if I had all the money I wanted, I would still work in this field at least a little. Why? Because I genuinely enjoy it, and think there's nothing wrong with showing your naked self. Because some of the greatest people I've met are other girls who also work in this field. Because it is wrong (imo) to think that this job is any less reputable than any another job.
I understand that all individuals have different opinions on this.
I guess my point is that most end up doing it because it pays well. Would they do it if it paid minimum wage? I doubt it. I guess what really disturbs me is knowing that there are many women who are trafficked, who have no way of getting out. They are essentially slaves. The fact that they are being exploited by pimps is super disturbing to me. I think those who are their own managers and who exploit themselves are actually doing it correctly. Men have been exploiting women for profit forever.....this is what really makes me sick. Steemit represents a place where people are free to be themselves, where they will not be exploited by others. If they choose to exploit themselves, then so be it. That is something pretty amazing actually.
My past has shaped me as I was a fashion model for Elite when I was young. I really hated everything about it except the money, of course. I didn't like the way I was objectified and I got out pretty fast. The whole experience left a very bitter taste in my mouth, so that's why I hate any type of career that exploits others.
@stellabelle
Fact check, even historically speaking most brothel owners are women. In ancient times it was temple priestesses not the priests that ran the bordello rites and if you check the rolls of your local prison you'll find far more women doing time for pimping than men.
I know it's a fun narrative to think it's big ol mean men doing the exploiting, but it's not factual.
Male pimps are more physically violent there's far fewer of them, female pimps work mostly with psychological abuse and there are far more.
Even look at who does the arranging in cultures where arranged marriage is the norm, generally it's Grandma and the aunts.
When speaking of pimps, here's your stats:
From this site: http://www.attn.com/stories/4943/what-pimps-look-like-in-2016
When we're talking about the owners of camgirls, porn production movies, etc. the majority are male. However, with the internet, more women are taking on roles as director, or just exploiting themselves. The camgirl operations take a huge percentage of the profits, though, and these sites are male-dominated.
That's not a statistic, that's a survey.
It was conducted by a Think Tank in Washington DC called the Urban Institute which is headed by a well known Feminist and included data from 8 major cities.
Beyond the source and it's methodologies being suspect, the fact remains the demographic breakdown of pimps exactly matches the demographic break down of inner cities in USA, ergo the title could just as easily have been what do inner cities in the USA look like in 2016.
This is why you need to look at the conviction rates.
Yes! I really am agreeing with you that it is very worrisome about women being trafficked, or being taken advantage of by managers. Even camsites or video selling websites take such a huge cut (70-30%) it is quite sickening. I never joined any of those websites because I hated the thought that I would be taken advantage of. Patreon takes a fair cut of 10%, so I don't mind that. I'm also in the process of building my own website with a friend, so hopefully that works out!
When I heard of steemit I was also super impressed, and loved the idea, so I am super happy to be part of the community.
P.S. Really like the art work you posted!
you can build your audience here. I had a website that I built but to be honest, i am making more here. Plus, I have developed an audience, like I'm at 1600 followers, so this has more meaning to me. I think you can do everything you want to do on here. It all depends on how much energy to put into it.....but it is possilble and you'd be your own boss too.
I wanted to comment on that... but I will not...