My favorite john: My very own “Pretty Woman”

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:59:00 +0000

When people learn that I’m a gay male escort, they invariably ask me how much my life is like the movie “Pretty Woman.”

“It’s more like ‘Daddy Day Care,’” I usually quip. And while that's meant to be a joke, there’s also some truth to it. I spend a good amount of my work time offering support and advice to men in their 30s and 40s who are just coming out of the closet. Surprised? I was too, at first. But then I thought, where else are these guys going to catch up on two decades of sexual and social experience? Until someone comes out with “Gay for Dummies,” the next best thing is a trained professional.

A few years ago, for example, a charming man from Vancouver hired me every night for a week while he was in Las Vegas for a conference. By the time he went home we'd checked off every item on his wish list, and he was finally comfortable lying naked with another man. It was strangely gratifying to help a guy learn the ropes.

A match made on Craigslist adult services

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:59:00 +0000

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous describes the fellowship as “people who normally would not mix.” That’s a good way of describing James and me. I was 27 years old, a grad student, bored and curious -- just like my ad said. James was in his mid-30s, a little too old and far too normal. He was not the kind of guy who’d approach me in another situation, at least that's what I thought when I saw him. Then again, James and I would never meet in any situation other than this.

I was a Craigslist call girl. James was my first. I had gotten the idea from a friend. “There are ads,” she said, “placed by men, looking for” -- she raised an eyebrow -- “company.”

That night I got online. It was just as she’d described: SWM seeks non pro, GFE, a little fun. FS. DATY. BBBJ. A lady that speaks GREEK, possibly, a road of possibilities, a chance encounter, no strings attached. For 200 roses, 300 reasons, a generous donation, a happy ending. You can start any day that you like.

On the now-shuttered adult services section of Craigslist -- to the left and below where you’d rent an apartment or sell a couch -- you could find ads, written in their own coded language, from men and women and everything in between, all of them after one thing: the simple exchange of money for sex.

Salon.com > My Favorite John

My favorite john: My very own “Pretty Woman”

A match made on Craigslist adult services