The COVID-19 situation has turned many lives upside-down, including mine. I have struggled to come to terms with the idea that I’ll be unable to escort for the foreseeable future; I depend on my work not just for income but intimate connection. I miss my clients dearly and the nature of my work demands I maintain privacy by not contacting clients unless they contact me first.
Many clients have contacted me. I have not contacted a single one back, feeling mixed, confused and unsure about my place in their life and their place in mine.
Some clients have contacted me with offers of support. I have never been able to accept support easily, finding that it would be greedy of me to accept or that I must do something in return. This is an unfortunate consequence of childhood trauma; I have not yet been able to shake off deeply trenched feelings of guilt or suspicion that comes with accepting help.
Some clients have contacted me to express their thoughts and concerns for me. I find these words lacking in substance, while the notion is appreciated that I am in their thoughts, it is akin to the idea of thoughts and prayers. I do not feel my needs are considered with these sorts of messages – words cannot fix my fears for the future – and it is demanding of my time and energy to reply. Some clients have been incessant with their contact, having me believe that they are more concerned about their needs for attention than for my wellbeing. But I know in truth they are probably just lonely and miss me.
So again, I fall back to the question of where I sit in the lives of my clients when there is a pandemic at play.
I’ve witnessed my peers respond to this crisis with much more astuteness, urgency and creativity than I could imagine and I’m so impressed with their ability to adapt. By watching them, I am inspired to do something similar.
I had to ask myself hard questions about whether I could also adapt and if I had the capacity to transform my services to something more virtual. To the question of one-on-one virtual contact via text or video calls, I found myself uncomfortable with the idea. One of the reasons I’m a great escort is because I have the ability to draw upon the energy of the atmosphere and environment to fuel and tantalise my sexual needs and inspire another’s. However, in the space of my home, a retreat from the everyday world, I can’t imagine creating that same energy. How can I perform to the calibre that is the dynamic Estelle when I’m in the home of me: quiet, reclusive and restful?
But everything is worth a shot. I spent a day trialled content creation via phone in my home and found it a great success. This gave me the confidence and creativity to expand this idea out further. As a result, I am now offering VIP-membership.
To learn more about my VIP-memberships and what they offer, check out https://www.estellelucas.com/vip/. As a result of VIP-memberships I have pulled down all my escort related marketing material from my twitter @estelle_lucas and Instagram @estellelucas. All my content will now be available only through VIP-memberships.
The reason I went with a VIP space within my own website/Twitter/Instagram and not a platform like OnlyFans/Patreon/Manyvids is many. For one, I have always operated as an independent agent, relying on no one to interfere with the interactions I have with my clients. While platforms like OnlyFans offer greater access points and ease of use for patrons, it comes at a cost that I’m not willing to trade in. I’m mindful of my privacy and do not trust a platform that can track and trace my movements as a sex worker. I am also aware that they are not in solidarity with sex work as a whole, and I am ethically uncomfortable with financially supporting a service that discriminates against full-service sex workers, nor contributes anything to support the community. In short, my businesses practices don’t match theirs.
I understand that this may bar some people from accessing my VIP-membership and I apologise for that. However, it is my hope that through VIP-memberships my connection with my clients can be reignited and I can find my place in their lives again. In this time of crisis, I am incredibly appreciative of any financial support and feel my VIP-membership is a way where I can accept that support.
With my VIP-memberships, I wish to keep the space exclusive and will cap lifetime memberships to 100 individuals. The first 25 people only need to pay $100 for their lifetime access. After 100 members, I will reassess where I want this space to go and may introduce yearly memberships.
If all goes well with VIP-memberships and I feel the support and benefaction of my clients, this may inspire me to reconsider my stance on virtual services. Like sex, you don’t just know it, you explore it and learn what you like and what you don’t. With the VIP-memberships as a starting base I’m hoping I can discover how to excel in the world of virtual sex work.
And who knows! If this endeavour turns out a huge success, it’ll financially enable me to make more beautiful content to share!
For as long as this pandemic keeps me from my preferred form of sex work, all my content will be moved to VIP’s and I hope everyone can understand why.
Thanks for reading,
Estelle Lucas