Escorts: The Modern Day Lorette?

While today women who want social mobility do not have to use sex to get it from men, there is a group of women who still achieve social mobility through these means.  Escorts most closely resemble the origins and mobility of the 19th century lorette, catering to a more financially and socially elite clientele than other forms of modern sex workers [1]. Despite their similarities, key differences between lorettes and escorts include payment styles, levels of apparent monogamy, and public persona. Where a lorette was portrayed in fictional and historical texts as solely dependent on men, escorts have an increased level of autonomy. 

Escorts, like lorettes, engage in sexwork not only for economic gain but also with the intention of gaining social mobility. Through their access to an elite cohort, these sexworkers bring in economic, social and cultural capital that allows them to keep up the illusion of a higher social class [2]. Escorts, like lorettes, show their social mobility through the consumption of luxury goods in their everyday life, such as carrying culturally significant handbags or living in the stylish areas of a city [3]. Lorettes were known for living in the fashionable side of Paris, notably the Notre Dame de Lorette. Today, the stylish section of a city that an escort may aim to reside are neighborhoods such as Upper Eastside in New York City or Central London.

In addition to buying or being gifted luxury goods such as handbags and jewelry, escorts are expected to disguise themselves as higher class in order to appeal to expensive customers when on the job [4]. While with clients escorts may wear specific clothing, such as lingerie, they are similar to their nineteenth century counterparts by also appearing well dressed in their daily lives. When off the clock and doing everyday activities, escorts also often continue this image, as they have the funds to sport lavish brands and appear well dressed, blending in with high society. 

Unlike lorettes, escorts sometimes take on a different identity while interacting with clients. While there is still an exchange of sex for money, escorts work to obtain social capital, such as being associated with upper class clients or having access to places that are reserved for those with higher social status, such as elite clubs and restaurants [5]. When interacting in these spaces, escorts may take on a different persona, including name and background. This is different from lorettes, who always used the same identity, except for a few occasions (like a ball, Carnival, or other masked party, such as those described in A Sentimental Education). Modern escorts, however, often have two personas, one for their escort life and one for their daily life, along with playing a character for a specific role play on the job, as seen in the TV show Secret Diary of a Callgirl.

The manner of obtaining clients also differs between nineteenth century lorettes and twenty-first century escorts [6]. Much like lorettes, escorts are selective in their clients, but they have Internet profiles or agencies to filter out men who do not meet their physical and monetary qualifications or pose a possible risk, rather having to meet them in real life, like the lorette [7]. The internet and third party agencies gives the escorts further autonomy in the process, letting the women decide who they wish to see. Clients find escorts through advertisements on websites, previous client’s reviews online, or agencies [8].

An example of escorts who employ the internet to find clientele can be seen in the image to the left, a screenshot from a typical escort services website. The website shows multiple women dressed in lingerie and posed in provocative positions. Notably, all the women are depicted wearing a form of lace which today, when worn as underwear, connotes a combination of wealth and beauty. Similarly, the image at the top of the page mirrors lacy lingerie. The positioning in the escort website's advertisment of the women’s bodies in these photos as sexually provocative; their bodies are shown either lying down or mounting an unseen partner. This is different than tactics utilized in sexualizing presentations of lorettes which would include uncovered hair or ankles (the only time she would be naked around another person is in her boudoir). In addition, none of the women’s faces are shown, which is not always the case with a lorette [9]. The choice of this website to provide this anonymity speaks to the desire of escorts to remain more hidden from society than other categories of sexwork. As a stylistic choice, the decision to leave out the faces of these women allows for a further dehumanization of them as it focuses exclusively on their offered ‘merchandise,’ their bodies.

Another difference between lorettes and escorts is the purpose of engaging in sexwork. Escorts usually use sexwork as a form of economic stability while pursuing other goals, such as a career that cannot be pursued without monetary assistance. Both lorettes and escorts share a goal of social mobility. However, one difference is escorts are careful to hide their work so as not to confront those that may oppose it, or get in legal trouble [10]. Lorettes rarely spoke of having to hide their work but this is largely because lorettes are rarely given a voice in texts, often only being presented in male fantasies. Escorts today, however, are continuously worried about the stereotypes and stigmas attached to their occupations, but are not shy to give their own perspective, just under the assumption of anonymity [11].

While lorettes lived in lavish apartments and wore fancy clothes, they did not have to pay for these goods. Lorettes had several clients at a time, each of which would exchange something for the sexual service. For example, one client would pay for her apartment, one would pay for her clothes, one for her furniture, etc. Escorts on the other hand mostly exchange money directly, which they then use to buy their luxury goods and apartments [12].

Lorettes and escorts share a multitude of similarities. While the historical lorette does place a higher dependency on their clients for gifts, the modern escort achieves higher autonomy through the payment of physical cash, allowing her to decide how she spends it. Other differences, as previously mentioned, include a difference in how they find their clients. Many of these similarities and differences become evident through the examination of media depictions of modern escorts.   

[1] Reed, Dan [Producer]. 2015. Escorts (High Class Call Girls) . Web

[2] Yu, Ding, and Petula Sik Yang Ho. 2013. “SexWork in Cina’s Pearl River Delta: Accumulating Sexual Capital as a Life-Advancement Strategy.” Sexualities 16(½): 43-60. Retrieved February 28, 2017 (SociIndex.com).  

[3] Lucas, Ann M. 2005. "The Work of Sex Work: Elite Prostitutes' Vocational Orientations and Experiences."Deviant Behavior 26(6):513-546.doi:10.1080/01639620500218252.

[4] Story, Rae and Glen Jankowski. 2015. “Victor or Victim? Foregrounding the Independent Escort Experience Debate.” Graduate Journal of Social Science 11(2): 55-75. Retrieved February 23, 2017 (SociIndex.com).

[5] Pickering, Sharon, JaneMaree Maher and Alison Gerard. 2012. Sex Work: Labour, Mobility, and Sexual Services. Routledge.

[6] Barton, Bernadette. 2006. Stripped: inside the lives of exotic dancers. New York: New York University Press. 

[7] Jones, Angela. 2015. “Sex Work in the Digital Era.” Sociology Compass 9(7): 558-570. Retrieved March 5, 2017. (SociIndex.com).

[8] Maticka‐Tyndale, Eleanor, Jacqueline Lewis, and Megan Street. 2005. “Making a place for escort work: A case study.” Journal of Sex Research 42(1):46–53.

[9] We also chose not to include an image of escorts’ faces as an ethical decision to protect these women’s privacy.

[10] Sterry, David Henry., Martin Martin, R. J. Martin, Richard J. Martin, and David Sterry. 2009.    Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money, and Sex. New York: Soft Skull Press.

[11] Bryan, James H. 1966. "Occupational Ideologies and Individual Attitudes of Call Girls." Social Problems 13(4):441-450. Barton, Bernadette. 2006. Stripped: inside the lives of exotic dancers. New York: New York University Press.

[12] Ditmore, Melissa H., Antonia Levy and Alys Willman. 2010. Sex Work Matters : Exploring Money, Power and Intimacy in the Sex Industry.New York: Zed Books