What exactly is an ’escort’?

A reflection on one of the most stigmatized professions, linked to prostitution.

Sex is one of life's most ancestral pleasures, and it is not surprising that there is a big business around this practice. One of these businesses is that of prostitution, considered one of the oldest professions in the world, basically because the working tool does not have to undergo technological refinement: it is the body itself.

Although prostitution is legal in many countriesAlthough prostitution is legal in many countries, some of the practices are not, for example, soliciting clients on the street. This profession does not enjoy great social acceptance and is usually discredited, although the people who trade with their bodies are more often discredited than the mafias that are often behind them. The stigmatization that these people carry is part of the business and the type of product offered.

As a result of this stigmatization, in recent times, the term escort or luxury the term escort or luxury (or high-class) prostitute has become popular. (What exactly does this change of "label" mean?

Prostitution is an ancestral practice

Prostitution is the exchange of "sexual favors for goods usually money, and has been practiced since ancient times. In ancient Mesopotamia, priests had sex with prostitutes. In ancient Greece, brothels were legal and were used to cater to political leaders and those men who enjoyed privileges. Prostitution was also common in ancient Rome, and generally consisted of the trade in women.

During the Middle Ages and into the 19th century, prostitution was not uncommon, as legal brothels operated throughout much of Europe and were an important source of tax revenue. Today, prostitution is legal in many countries; however, social stigma remains, social stigma still exists.. As we shall see, this stigma serves to understand the existence of escorts from a psychological point of view.

Differences between escorts and prostitutes

Often, when we think of prostitutes, we can imagine a woman who has sex to pay for her drug addiction or because she is in a precarious situation. In short, this practice is historically linked to poverty and the most vulnerable people, in the vast majority of cases, or directly to slavery.

However, the figure of escorts aims to break with these ideas and beliefs about this class of sex workers. The 'escort' concept is associated with women of great beauty, many of whom are educated, and capable of offering interesting conversations or even acting as escorts for certain social events. The idea is basically to go beyond the sexual act itself when it comes to selling one's body; the service includes the possibility to experience something akin to a real affective relationship.

Not everyone is very clear about the difference between escort and prostitute, since they can offer similar (though not identical) services. Basically, escorts usually perform services that a prostitute or prostitute does not perform. Prostitutes usually charge less, and their services are closely related to sexual practice. In the case of escorts, they can have sex with clients, but they can also simply accompany them to events, parties or business trips. accompany them to events, parties or business trips..

Possibly, the main difference between prostitutes and escorts is that the latter can perform escort services, that is, they can attend social events with their clients. In other words, they do not limit their jobs to one or two hours, but to whole nights, days, and even weekends.

Occasionally, they may travel with their clients for several days and may or may not have sex. In other words, an escort is a paid escort and does not necessarily have sex with her clients. The price of an escort is usually more expensive, and this already indicates the kind of psychological burden that the escort concept has and how it relates to stigma..

The stigma that explains this profession

As we have seen, both prostitution and the practice of escorts belong to the field of sex workers. However, what says more about what an escort is is the fact that it is a service simply to differentiate it from prostitution, a field in which there is a great diversity of practices without the need for each person to distinguish themselves by using a different label to explain their work.

In other words, technically, there are no differences between the work of a prostitute and an escort that cannot be found between two random sex workers. The difference between these two professions has to do with classism.

Basically, the escort is a person passed through a marketing filter that keeps out all the elements of prostitution linked to poverty: precariousness, ignorance, etc. This perpetuates the stigma attached to prostitution (the only way to get away from it is not to be low class), and at the same time it gives the impression that the escort has had total freedom to accept and reject clients. gives the impression that the escort has had total freedom to accept and reject clients, something that brings her closer to a real couple.something that brings her closer to a real couple.

What is an escort? A question of classism

In order to hire an escort, it is usual to go to a dating website (usually on the Internet), where it is clear that they try to give a good image in order to seduce men with a high level of class. seduce men with a high purchasing power: escorts are considered prostitutes.Escorts are considered high-class prostitutes. Traditional prostitutes, although they can also advertise their services on the Internet or contact pages and go to the client's home, can be found offering their services in the street, on the road and in "clubs".

These are practices associated with the lower classes, and while for centuries that has been no problem for the better-off to resort to them, the emergence of human rights and the rejection of disguised forms of slavery have meant that the stigma can be bi-directional. have meant that the stigma can be bi-directionalThe stigma can be bi-directional: for prostitutes and for those who hire their services. Faced with this, the protection mechanism for people with resources has been to use classism, to create another profession out of what has been known for centuries.

Escorts, being expensive and refined, act as a retaining wall for the stigma, making it return only to people who cannot afford the freedom of transformation. who cannot afford the freedom to become luxury prostitutes.. The reaction to the violation of human rights involved in the trafficking of women and exploitation by mafias is not to materially end the problem, but to change the name of the services that one hires oneself.