I don't think rates would go down and I don't think they should.
As someone said it is only men who want to dictate to women that they should lower their prices it's usually men who can't afford you at your given rate but want you so think cheapening you is the way to go. These men should stick to their price budget.

I charge ?120 an hour and I would never ever work for anything less than ?100 an hour in this job. I'm reasonably priced for my area at ?120 I could easily up my rates to ?130/?140 and still get the same amount of punters.

I doubt rates will ever go down to be honest. I haven't been in this business long enough to know what rates were like maybe 10 years ago but I bet they weren't that different to what they are now.

I think the point was would they go down "if there was less stigma"

The stigma was there 10yrs ago and is still there now

I think the point was would they go down "if there was less stigma"

Yes, it was .

I think it's probably a contributing factor, but not a massively significant one - all service industries operate with huge gaps between the highest and lowest price points; you can order and eat hot food for ?5 or ?500, get a haircut for ?20 or ?200 and have a shag for ?20-30 (the walk ups are a classic example, but there are parlours scattered about offering fps for ?25 too) or ?1000, or (in all the examples) much more. People can and will charge what suits them and the way they work.

What tends to happen is that the middle section expands since it's the one within most people's reach/comfort zone on both buyer and seller's side, and prices stay fairly static (which means they've gone down in real terms - I can't buy a packet of coffee or get a taxi ride for the same as I did 10-15 years ago, but prossie prices are virtually the same). I'd suspect that this is more down to the recession than anything to do with stigma - people are entering the industry because they haven't got enough money and the internet has made it much easier to do so, not because the level of stigma's really any different.

I'd also point out that there are plenty of far more dangerous and unpleasant jobs which don't pay nearly as well and I would say this shows that the market sets the rate, not what those charging it are actually doing to earn it. As lMG and VR have said, even ?60 ph (which is half my rate too) is a sum I'd have had to work a day and a half for in my last job, and I also find the idea that perpetuating damaging myths about prostitution and prostitutes is 'good' because it keeps prices high pretty repugnant.

Stigma rules and I am a perfectly respectable person thanks very much as is every other person on this forum even if we do spread our legs for cash. Just don't let others in on that secret! It definitely plays a part in how much we can charge and if prices fell to ridiculous levels I'd find something else to do everybody would shake their heads in disgust at lol.

Given the above post, I'd suggest politics would be a good bet.

Be it stigma or not I would still charge what suited me. I wouldn't put prices down. The stigma does not determine my earnings.

Too right!

Quote from: meetingdiversity on 07 March 2015, 11:21:58 pm

Be it stigma or not I would still charge what suited me. I wouldn't put prices down. The stigma does not determine my earnings.

Yes exactly and I still believe everyone has their own style and personality and some guys have chemistry with you and want only you but others want another.
The clients I truly like nearly always became my regulars.

That's true enough. For me, this business is all about having regulars. I don't mind sacrificing a little on price to have them keep coming back. That's got nothing to do with the stigma which is only what holds them back from coming through the door in the first place. If the stigma was less there would be more of them, so the prices would hold because the demand would increase. I agree with those that say the prices are held down mostly by current economics. Men who pay for sex regularly spend as much as they can afford to on it.

Yes unfortunately I have lost not nay one man who couldn't cope with my PAST--and I say my past because at that time I wasn't working any more.
It affected lots of my relationships and probably still does.

I feel like there is already no stigma in this job, there is a prossie in every corner, look type escort in google...or london escort.

There is stigma, and it affects the men most of all. Very few admit to paying for sex, and what they are to some extent paying for is confidentiality. I've asked many men if they've ever paid for sex and it's only when I have disclosed to them what I do that they will admit to it. Otherwise they always lie through their teeth.

For me the question raised in this thread is whether if the men could be more open about paying for it, would that automatically reduce the rates. I think not, because there would be more of them looking and therefore we could be more choosy about who we see.