#8 Nerding Out as a Sex Worker: Issues, Advantages, and Privacy
Does being a sex symbol offer me advantages when I game? Do the locals even know about it?
I am not the first nerdy sex worker, and I certainly will not be the last. In fact, just looking at the camgirl community and the awesome Kink.com performers and crew that I've met...I'd say sex work and nerding out go very well together. We are many. We are legion.
But what happens when my sex work and personal life collide? Does that even happen?
Sometimes.
When I appeal to the very same demographic that I'm a part of, there's bound to be some overlap. And that's okay. Sex work is one of those things I don't recommend getting into if it's going to be a dirty secret. Especially if you work online. If middle school taught me anything it's that you can't keep a secret if it never was a secret to start!
Yeah, the locals know about me. At least the regulars. I'm not quite Internet famous enough for it to be widespread or anything, but I certainly don't go out of my way to keep it a secret. When someone asks me what I do for a living, I tell them. And of course, people talk. Word gets around.
"Did you know there's a girl that plays here that does porn?"
That quote was something someone actually said to the regs at our LGS after discovering me online. But of course, they already knew. Because I told them. So everyone just sort of shrugged, nodded, and moved on with their day. No drama. No scandal. Easy.
People tend to look for social cues when reacting to news. Since it's not a big deal to me, it's not a big deal to them, and that laid back mentality spreads through the herd. People get over it.
Okay great, so you're one of the guys? But don't they like, treat you different because they've seen you naked? Doesn't that give you an advantage when you play?
Nope. Or not that I've noticed. The regulars don't care about my job, and most other people don't know what I do. If someone is nervous about playing me, it's because they know I'm a good player (I consider myself to be an "okay" player, but I suppose it depends on who you talk to). At the end of the day, all that matters is which of us has the skill, the luck of the draw, and the better deck.
The one time my sexuality came into play as a distraction, it made me lose! My teammate (I can't remember the name of the game we were playing) made a play that cost us the game on a turn we could have won, and then said it was because my boobs were too distracting and he wouldn't play games with me anymore. His loss - I played that game wonderfully.
I'm happy to be surrounded by players who have a genuine passion for gaming. It wouldn't be fun for me if someone played anything other than their best against me. If my presence alone puts you on tilt, then we are not a good match up. I'm happy that I have not experienced that.
For the most part, my job and my ability to play games do not interfere with each other and that is exactly how I like it. If I'm sitting across from you as your opponent, and you treat me as anything else, you're going to get punished so hard because I play to win and I expect the same from you.
To sum up, as far as I'm aware my job as a sex worker has caused zero issues and zero advantages when it comes to gaming. Locals know about it, but nobody cares. I do tell the best work stories, though! ^_^
