~ June, 2021 ~ Sex work has really broadened from the early days of prostitution and phone sex operators. Both still exist, but many other varieties have now joined them.
Here are seven types of sex work that may surprise you.
Erotic Tickling
Erotic tickling is when someone tickles another person with the purpose of sexual arousal and orgasm. The erotic tickling fetish is known as knismolagnia.
The tickler may also derive sexual pleasure from tickling, and someone can be aroused by observing other people being tickled from a distance or video.
In Erotic Tickling, there are certain terms you might hear:
- Tickle Top — This is the person performing the tickling.
- Tickle Bottom — This is the person being tickled.
- Tickle Torture — This is erotic tickling while tied up or otherwise restrained.
A commenter on the website, Is This Normal?, shared this story:
My friends sister always asked me to tickle her, and I would. Then one day I was tickling her and she climaxed and kissed me. It freaked me out because I wasn’t tickling near her private parts. I thought that maybe it was a one time thing, so I tickeld her two more times, on different occasions, and she climaxed both times.
Professional Baby Dom
Some professional dominatrixes offer adult baby/diaper lover services.
Adult babies enjoy roleplaying as infants or young babies, often with submission to a “caregiver.” In this case, a profesional dominatrix.
During the roleplay, the adult baby might:
- Wear a diaper
- Drink from a bottle
- Speak gibberish
- Engage in nurturing activities (such as being held or rocked)
Data on this subculture of sex work is thin because of the often closeted nature of the fetish.
However, a 2014 study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that males often demonstrated interest in the fetish earlier than females (by only a few years), that most men practitioners were heterosexual, and most women practitioners (43%) identified as bisexual.
Professional Animal RolePlay
Professional sex workers might also provide animal roleplay, where the “client” pretends to be an animal. It can also be called pet play.
The “pet” often acts out the part of the identified animal, taking on their vocalized sounds and physical mannerisms. For example, a person roleplaying a dog might walk on all fours, bark, pant, and eat from a dog bowl.
The dynamics of this type of sex work usually involve both psychological roleplay, dress-up, and power exchanges.
The “pet” may wear a dog collar or full animal outfit. He or she may release control to the professional sex worker much like a pet might seek the authority of its owner.
Erotic Humiliation
Another striking sex work you may not be familiar with is erotic humiliation.
Similar to the other type of fetishes, this is when a sex worker humiliates the client for their sexual gratification.
There are different types of erotic humiliation.
For example:
- Verbal humiliation
- Physical humiliation
According to Kinkly.com, “It may involve activities such as insulting a partner, making a partner display their private parts to a group of people, or even urinating or defecating on a partner.”
Stringer
A stringer is a sex worker who ties up his or her clients with a variety of ropes, straps, and other restraints.
The “tying up” can get quite complex.
Stringers might use binding materials to:
- Restrict movement
- Restrain their client
- Suspend their client into the air
Sex workers might also perform a Japanese style of sex work that emphasizes artistry over bondage.
Mummification
Another type of sex work is mummification, the act of immobilizing the client in tightly wrapped sheets of plastic. As with other forms of sex work, it’s important to keep safety in mind, especially breathing.
The allure of mummification is probably in the total submission and restraint to the sex worker. Essentially, it is a form of extreme bondage.
One or more people can be mummified together.
Looner
A person with a balloon fetish is called a “looner.” Some sex workers provide looner services, which can involve blowing up balloons, playing with balloons, and popping balloons.
Jolina, a 27-year old at the Berlin sex worker festival cheekily named the World of Whorecraft, said:
The other day, a customer asked me to rub two balloons together while he watched. He wanted me to play ‘gleefully’ with them at first, and then pop them. In the ‘looner’ [balloon fetish] scene, it’s not so much about sex as it is about having someone play the role of a mischievous girl — a fantasy they pay really well to see lived out.
