"The Stripper Index" Sex Work & The Economy

[OF_manager]

"The Stripper Index" - Kind of a long running joke in the financial sectors but its basically the idea that the amount of money people spend in a strip club or other forms of sex work is often said to be a leading indicator of whether the economy is growing or shrinking.

How accurate do you think this is based on what you have observed whilst pooning?
Have you seen changes in how things are going in the escort scene during different times when the economy is good or bad?
How do you think the escort industry is doing right now in this economy?

 

[rampart]

There was an article in the Georgia Straight last week about how the Craft Brewery Industry is going through some hard times. One of the reasons too many in the marketplace. I heard from a couple of liquor store managers that alcohol beverage sales in general are down quite a bit. With that I asked two of my providers recently how business was for them and both said things were slow and felt there were too many girls in the marketplace with new ones popping up constantly. Would be interested to hear other SP's relate on the industry in this economy.

 

[kelcaine]

Well, I used to be an exotic dancer many years to put myself through college (and continued at night while I was an educator during the day afterwards for a few years), and now work as a provider. I have found a lot of correlations to each industry, including when it’s typically busier or slower during the year, and times of day etc. But typically if the economy isn’t doing well people are going to spend less money on things they don’t deem essential. But what is essential for some may not be for others, so this would vary from person to person.

SW is one of the oldest professions out there, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, I can tell you that.

 

[Pumped]

One of the problems with using that kind of 'indicator' is validity and reliability. Validity is the accuracy of what you are purporting to be measuring, and reliability is how well you measure it. In order to be valid, you need a reliable measure. But a reliable measure doesn't mean it's valid.

First question is simply this: who the hell still goes to a strip club? And do they even still exist? Used to be one or more in every town, and now you have a hard time finding even one in larger towns or cities.

As for sex work, what do you measure? Ads on LL? Those are about as accurate as the pictures used in the ads.

We could use anecdotal evidence, but then reliability goes out the window.

The other problem, just like in any other study is the underground/cash economy. Lots of renovation contractors do 'cash' deals and so do many service providers. As rent goes up, and gas, food, clothing, and everything else increases in costs, so do SP rates go up. And those likely go up to the point where the SP finds herself with fewer clients.

TL;dr: When strip clubs were prevalent, there likely was some correlation between the frequency of visiting a strip club and the health of the economy. But given that strip clubs are now somewhat rare, there's likely much less of a correlation.

 

[B0rat]

if this were true, how come so many countries with bad economies have many more sex workers and prostitutes? very nice!

I would know, my sister is #4 prostitute in all of kazaktstan! high five!

 

[Austinpowersmojo]

It comes down to the elasticity of demand within different income groups for men.

 

[rizzgod]

The health of the economy does impact the escort industry, but people will always seek out escort services.

It's not a great way to measure because it's hard to capture the full picture. While you can count the number of girls advertising on websites like Leolist and Tryst, there are many girls having sex for money who are not advertising anywhere. There are also many people involved in sugar dating, which is even way more common than escorting these days.

I have mentioned this in previous threads, but every time I contact independent providers, they always seem to have wide-open availability in their schedules. This suggests that they are not very busy and likely don't have a lot of clients.

 

[vitaminD]

First question is simply this: who the hell still goes to a strip clubs?

Some people would say the same thing about escorts 😂

 

[vitaminD]

I have mentioned this in previous threads, but every time I contact independent providers, they always seem to have wide-open availability in their schedules. This suggests that they are not very busy and likely don't have a lot of clients.

Ive also noticed this. seems like the only girls getting lots of clients are the ones at agencies who have lower rates, and offer 30, 45 minute appointments in addition to 60 minute + appointments

 

[OF_manager]

One of the problems with using that kind of 'indicator' is validity and reliability. Validity is the accuracy of what you are purporting to be measuring, and reliability is how well you measure it. In order to be valid, you need a reliable measure. But a reliable measure doesn't mean it's valid.

First question is simply this: who the hell still goes to a strip club? And do they even still exist? Used to be one or more in every town, and now you have a hard time finding even one in larger towns or cities.

As for sex work, what do you measure? Ads on LL? Those are about as accurate as the pictures used in the ads.

We could use anecdotal evidence, but then reliability goes out the window.

The other problem, just like in any other study is the underground/cash economy. Lots of renovation contractors do 'cash' deals and so do many service providers. As rent goes up, and gas, food, clothing, and everything else increases in costs, so do SP rates go up. And those likely go up to the point where the SP finds herself with fewer clients.

TL;dr: When strip clubs were prevalent, there likely was some correlation between the frequency of visiting a strip club and the health of the economy. But given that strip clubs are now somewhat rare, there's likely much less of a correlation.

I mentioned that it's probably not a great indicator, obviously its not.

I called it the "stripper index" because it's a more interesting name. If you read what I said or did a little research, you would see that it's not just about stripping but all types of sex work. "stripper index" sounds more appealing than "sex work index."

There are still many strip clubs where people go. I can think of at least four within walking distance of me right now, that are always packed. There may not be as many strip clubs in small towns or cities because there aren't enough young women wanting to work there, not because there isn't enough demand. Anyways, we are discussing all kinds of sex work, not just stripping.

 

[OF_manager]

SW is one of the oldest professions out there, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, I can tell you that.

We know that sex work will always be around in some form, but the type of sex work that is popular often changes. Currently, escorting (in the form we discuss on this forum) is on a very steep decline.

 

[Austinpowersmojo]

I would be curious to hear more from other SW as to their thoughts. My guess would be that due to the inflation shock we are going through that overall business volumes would be down. $300 per hour is the benchmark rate these days

 

[Pumped]

I mentioned that it's probably not a great indicator, obviously its not.

I called it the "stripper index" because it's a more interesting name. If you read what I said or did a little research, you would see that it's not just about stripping but all types of sex work. "stripper index" sounds more appealing than "sex work index."

There are still many strip clubs where people go. I can think of at least four within walking distance of me right now, that are always packed. There may not be as many strip clubs in small towns or cities because there aren't enough young women wanting to work there, not because there isn't enough demand. Anyways, we are discussing all kinds of sex work, not just stripping.

If you read what I wrote, I did include sex work.

 

[80watts]

There was an article in the Georgia Straight last week about how the Craft Brewery Industry is going through some hard times. One of the reasons too many in the marketplace. I heard from a couple of liquor store managers that alcohol beverage sales in general are down quite a bit. With that I asked two of my providers recently how business was for them and both said things were slow and felt there were too many girls in the marketplace with new ones popping up constantly. Would be interested to hear other SP's relate on the industry in this economy.

As for liquor sales, I think that the 10% tax last year would have something to do with the lack of sales. But with summer coming maybe it will pick up in sales in the hot weather.

 

[Equity Market investor]

When I studied Business Admin. What was used in our courses to gauge the status of the economy were places of " entertainment".

IE -- Bars ( pubs) and attendance statistics towards all sports and concert acts held in arenas and stadiums. Somehow, in the entertainment world money comes in all size and shapes.

 

[Bridge]

I’d love to see the stripper index in economics text books!

 

[kelcaine]

We know that sex work will always be around in some form, but the type of sex work that is popular often changes. Currently, escorting (in the form we discuss on this forum) is on a very steep decline.

I disagree that escorting is on the decline when it comes to what is popular in SW. There are many reasons why some like to have online interactions with SWers, and others in person interactions. Prostitution is the oldest of all SW professions, and it has been for a lot of good reasons. I mean this forum/review board (and others like it) would otherwise not exist & be as active as it is.

 

[maniacalone]

I disagree that escorting is on the decline when it comes to what is popular in SW. There are many reasons why some like to have online interactions with SWers, and others in person interactions. Prostitution is the oldest of all SW professions, and it has been for a lot of good reasons. I mean this forum/review board (and others like it) would otherwise not exist & be as active as it is.

It is absolutely not in decline. I am inclined to believe that we are on the cusp of saturation. As such, deflation will ensue as demand cannot match the excess supply and pricing will plateau or fall.

 

[kelcaine]

It is absolutely not in decline. I am inclined to believe that we are on the cusp of saturation. As such, deflation will ensue as demand cannot match the excess supply and pricing will plateau or fall.

I have seen many providers who have been doing this many years and much longer than myself talk about how saturated the industry is right now, so I think this may be true.

 

[JackRyder]

We know that sex work will always be around in some form, but the type of sex work that is popular often changes. Currently, escorting (in the form we discuss on this forum) is on a very steep decline.

I think the lady is right, there are more and more available weekly, the market is going thru a saturation, and will balance itself out soon,
in person SW will always have a place in the world and will always flourish, though rates and packages/offerings may change.