In my opinion the stigma without a doubt drives up the rates we can charge and clients will pay.  Essentially, prostitutes are paid a very high "premium" for work that the majority of their society believes will have an incredibly detrimental and damaging impact on every aspect of our future lives.  Whether it's true or not, most people would probably tell us we're ruining our chances of finding love/marriage, having a "real" career (ha) and being emotionally sound, not to mention the risk for STD's and physical violence that most non-sex workers believe run rampant in our industry.  Because of the huge negative stigma we are seen as sacrificing so much of our futures and are compensated accordingly.  In my country prostitution is illegal and because of that the risk is obviously much greater.  Prices in my area are about double what I see people talking about here, and in major cities quadrupled.  I work with 2 agencies and independently and I've found I can charge whatever I want and clients who seek me out will pay.  One agency charges $300/hour and the other charges $600/hour, and my independent rates are in between the two.  Different markets/areas, but no lack of men (and some women) who are willing to pay what we ask despite lots of working girls available.  Now if all of us women were doing something that was safe, legal and completely normal we'd certainly not be making anywhere near these amounts, and not just because there would be more women signing up for the job.  I don't think any man would pay half his weekly paycheck for an hour of sex if it wasn't a secretive, underground service performed by someone willing to go against everything society has told him/her.  We wouldn't have any grounds to justify the high prices if selling our bodies wasn't stigmatized, marginalized and potentially illegal.  And honestly thank god for that, I'll take the calculated risk as long as it's worth the reward!

Chloinnyc I assume you live in NYC,
Wealthy Americans in general make more money. So they will pay more bc NYC is just the city for crazily driven business people and those ones use sex as a relaxation. They pay whatever bc they have it.
Same with Chicago and other business driven places. LA is far more relaxed, that;s why IME rates are lower.

It is illegal in Sweden and other countries and rates are still not like in NYC or some parts of the US.

You truly got me back in the mood for NYC:-))))
Found the men there to be also genuinely family oriented. Not the most faithful, but then??I am promiscuous too.
I don't really like men in London--too secretive and they think they deserve everything for nothing bc there are too many gorgeous girls who go crazy when they see a little bit of money (mostly Eastern Europeans who look for a wealthy man). They are too spoiled and lost sight of what a woman is truly worth.
God, until I received my first present from my London ex bfr?.
In NY men literally throw gifts at you (as you said);-))))London men are far more superficial. NYC men look for the educated, classy type but care a lot more about personality and intelligence when it comes to their girlfriend's and strangely also escorts. But it might be just my perception and we all just shape our reality by our experiences.

But you go to places like Dubai & the Middle East and the average price is ?250 -?300 per hour
But there are escorts charging ?150 per hour

Qatar  your looking at ?350 -?400min per hour

Cairo ?250 and lovely guys as long as you screen before you go

I've found that places where it's illegal due to strong  religous beliefs are way more lucrative than places where it's illegal but everyone turns a blind eye

I think one difference may be that Americans are often very happy to see someone make a lot of money. As someone (Jeremy Clarkson?) said: "If you drive down the street in a Rolls Royce in America, people will say 'I'm going to get me one of those, one day.' but in England they sneer and say 'What a fucking wanker!'"

Not without some justification though.  Most of the men who turn up in Porsches and Ferraris are arrogant tossers. Not all, but noticeably more than the regular guys are.

But in America, such people are less likely to be perceived that way. It's a general attitude towards success, I think.

Interesting thought, why do you think?

Stigma is definitely alive and kicking. In my English class this week a brief discussion of prostitutes revealed I was surrounded by (including the tutor) people who despise "disease ridden whores", it's funny that even if I told them what I do (I never would) they would probably never believe me, I don't fit their image at all

When I tell people what I do I am often told that I don't look like an escort. I think you're expected to look like billie piper in a designer suit or a street walker. I spend my time in jeans, trainers and hoodies lol