Interview with a Former Escort

Escort Barcelona: We chatted with a former escort.

She is a former escort in Barcelona; her work in the hospitality industry marks another chapter in her life. According to her, she doesn’t want to reveal her former name, much less her real one, but her perspective interests us greatly, as she has witnessed the evolution of society—which we now call “modern”—through the lives of escorts, with their experiences, needs, and struggles.

-I’ll address you as a former Barcelona escort…

How did you get started in the escort business?

Well, it was a long time ago, back in the ’70s or so. I was very young, and things weren’t like they are now—everything was much more underground… although the atmosphere was also more laid-back than what I see today.

Escorts in Barcelona are different now.

-“But what do you think is causing this trend, and is it positive or negative?”

“Well, back when we escorts worked in clubs—which was the only thing we were allowed to do—we came from families with serious financial problems …

Women who had children out of wedlock… Back then, abortion and birth control were only accessible to those with very good connections; women who were abandoned, married, and had children; and divorce simply didn’t exist among the poorest segments of society…

We could say that the story about “he went out to buy cigarettes and never came back” was very common… (the Barcelona escort continues her story…)

“Families couldn’t—or found it very difficult to—deal with the financial or relationship problems that arose, and people had to fend for themselves just to survive. Of course, if a family member or neighbor found out where you were, you could consider yourself ostracized for the rest of your life; that was extremely serious, and the label of ‘promiscuous’ stuck with you for life. If you fell in love with someone and they found out about your job or your former job, drama was guaranteed—forgiveness, understanding, or a change in circumstances was impossible. The same thing happened if you looked for another kind of job and someone recognized you; you’d be fired immediately.”

Some were lured in with the promise of serving drinks and chatting with customers, while others came in knowing exactly what was going on, but the truth is, there were a lot of escorts working in the clubs, and they would open and close so quickly that the deception lasted no more than half an hour.

Customers were generally quite polite, and the relationship wasn’t as direct as it is now… we talked a lot, and you easily became part of their lives, and they became part of yours.

Of course, the sexual aspect was dominant… but it was more like heavy-handed flirting than a “so what are you going to do about it?” kind of thing.

Spain, too, was full of sham marriages and men looking for French movies.

We escorts took great care of ourselves… our hair, our manicures… we were fashionable, and we had to be knowledgeable about general culture or marketing, as I like to say, but the image of the “vamp” escort is what it is now; back then, what you had to be was very feminine, discreet, well-mannered, and of course… beautiful.

Back then, getting straight to the point… was something only uneducated, small-town people did—both the escorts and the clients.

Forms were very important.

There were plenty of customers who came in two or three times a week just to chat; they’d buy you a drink or two (there were a lot of drunken nights back then).

There were dinners, trips, and we didn’t ask for so many different ways to have sex—or maybe we just didn’t know about them; it was more about sensuality than eroticism.

But as I said, things have evolved. I’m a former escort in Barcelona, but sex is no longer a special event—it’s a way to relax and live out my dreams, which are often overshadowed by daily routines and stress.

The feeling that life is lived only once and the awareness of each person’s individuality—what is called “our space”—is no longer a philosophy in the same sense as it once was.

Men and women today want to act on their desires by determining for themselves whether they are positive or “not,” without letting themselves be influenced as much as they used to be by notions of “what is socially acceptable or not” or “what is sinful or not.”

I certainly think that when it comes to the topic of escorts, “just about anyone” chimes in with their opinion, twisting surveys, studies, etc.to suit their own interests or beliefs—even though they’ve never been escorts themselves! They make statements about how to approach this issue based on biased criteria, always focusing on the most marginal cases and those involving abuse and violence…

The escorts who are in this line of work because they choose to be—without anyone pressuring them—are often portrayed as being in dire straits, but there’s also a large majority who do it as a way to earn good money and build a better future, without any kind of pressure…

Showing the good as well as the bad scares them—they might be accused of promoting this issue, and taking a stand on it doesn’t win you many friends.

You can’t really understand this issue just by hearing fifty stories about it. It’s a topic where it’s very easy to focus on the unusual or scandalous situations, but very little is said about the positive aspects—which also happen—and I can assure you that they occur much more often than the negative ones.

Escorts are treated as poor, coerced women, or as if they were abducted, stupid, or lacking any sense of dignity or culture—women who commit the folly (they no longer call it a sin) of working in this profession, yet I know many people who aren’t escorts, and their dignity, IQ, personal views, or professional performance aren’t called into question unless they kill or assault someone.

Generally, this very polite way of describing something that isn’t a crime is referred to as an individual’s right to be oneself; but apparently, if you make a living by having sex, you’re considered brainless or desperate, and it’s this way of viewing escorts that causes them the most suffering, because they are forced to lead a double life to avoid being socially marginalized or treated as immoral or lazy. According to certain people from all walks of life—regardless of economic or intellectual background—this is not a dignified way to live or make a living.

I think that if that’s the case, it’s also wrong to charge for treating the sick, or to charge for water, bread, lentils, corn, etc…

After all, these are also basic human needs that people have from the moment they’re born, and for the very same reason that it’s considered sinful or illegal for an escort to charge for sex—I don’t know why—the rest isn’t illegalized as well.

As with everything, there is a dark side, but no more so than in medicine, the church, the legal profession, etc…. The only difference is that all these professions have their rights, obligations, and responsibilities, whereas with escorts, there’s no such thing…

Divorce, abortion, and same-sex marriage have been legalized and regulated, but escorts are still in the shadows; there’s still a stigma attached to them because people only see the negative side of this profession. For many people, sex is still something dirty, sinful, or purely spiritual.

Through science, humankind has explained that this or that behavior is normal; medicine has improved our mental and physical health; democracy has given us the right to freely decide what we want, but sex—which is something we all have, engage in, and experience, each at whatever frequency we are able or willing—continues to be restricted and criminalized in many countries as if it were a dangerous abyss where people might lose I don’t know what.

To be accepted as a decent person, you have to follow certain rules, but in Europe—which is the epitome of freedom—the only problem is that you get paid.

In countries like Germany and the Netherlands—which aren’t exactly known for nudism—it is legal.

Catalonia has tried to regulate this situation in light of the chaos that existed and still exists; it has regulated some of these businesses, but illegal operations continue to surface—even in the newspapers—which means that licensed establishments must keep all legal requirements up to date, while illegal apartments and venues—though this leads to confusion and situations that are hard to understand—at least the issue has been addressed rationally.

I suppose that in the future, the rules will apply to everyone who wants to be involved in this field; otherwise, it’ll be like trying to plug holes in a sieve.

If it were regulated, just like any other type of activity, the good things would continue to happen, and the bad things could be addressed more easily; and the terrible issues of abuse and situations of vulnerability—which occur and which we see so clearly on the streets, at street corners, and in apartments that lack basic sanitary conditions—would be minimal.

Anyway, I think that turning a blind eye to certain issues benefits very few and harms many. Even when escorts have demanded their rights just like any other group, this protest (masks and all) is made to look like a joke—as if to say, “Just what we needed.” It’s very sad that there are still people who, in order to demand their rights, have to disguise themselves as the very people who should be defending them, listening to them, and seeking solutions—solutions that, while not necessarily tailored to anyone in particular, should at least represent progress in adapting this reality to modern times.

The thing is, we’re going to master quantum theory, and yet escorts are still ignored as a caste of outcasts to be hidden away or eradicated, when simply by listening to them (and not just the four of them—they’re everywhere)—with a mature and level-headed mindset, most of the problems they face would be resolved.

Escorts don’t want problems or scandals; they want to do their job—one they choose freely, without pressure, on their own terms and under their own conditions—and put an end once and for all to the abuses of the illegal sex trade.

But anyway, the same thing happens with the Mariana Trench—they’re not interested in what’s going on here, and they head off into infinite space, which I’m sure will give us all a better quality of life, but of course, that won’t happen for another hundred years….

Well, former Barcelona escort, I didn’t even need to ask you—the afternoon is over, and I hope all the changes this world—or underworld—needs will come to pass, and that you’ll see them… It’s been a real pleasure hearing your story.