Neurodiversity and Sex Work
By Nina La Cigale
Various occupations gathered under the umbrella of sex work share a common feature: they exist on the margins of society. We do not write our lives in black and white – we live between the margins, within enigmatic and misunderstood grey zones.
Yet, most neurodiverse people, before they’ve even crossed the invisible line into erotic work, are accustomed to feel out of step. Does sex work happen to be more accessible than so-called straight or vanilla jobs? Are neurodiverse people better equipped than their neurotypical counterparts to deal with the unforeseen circumstances and the demands of a job one learns through experience? What challenges do neurodiverse people face, and by what means do they face them?
Since I write this text from my point of view as a dancer, most of the examples I give come from this line of work. I still took care to include other forms of sex work in my reflection.
Why can sex work be better adapted to neurodiverse people’s reality than a straight job?
Flexible Schedule ++
Most sex workers have the freedom to make their own schedule. In many strip clubs, the only requirement for dancers is to work a “slow” shift (Sunday to Wednesday, generally) to be able to work the more lucrative weekend shifts. Once they’ve worked a slow shift, dancers can usually cancel their other shifts if they need to, without consequences, or show up during a day they’re not booked and still work. The flexibility can vary a lot from a club to another.
Generally Sufficient Income for Part-Time Work
The income of SWers is usually sufficient enough to provide for their needs by working 2 to 4 days a week. This seldom is the case in other lines of work.
Low Risk of Being Fired – There Will Always Be Clients
The risk for dancers to lose their job is much lower than in straight jobs. In strip clubs, the most frequent reasons for firing are: selling illicit drugs, fighting with other dancers or clients, overcharging, or even refusing to pay the bar’s fees.
Punctuality is not one of the causes for firing dancers except in one club known for its very strict rules. At worst, a dancer who misses a slow day will be suspended the next week. We’re also allowed to be rude or to firmly establish our boundaries with unpleasant clients. The customer is not always right.
Room for Mistakes
We don’t have to be experts at dancing from the get go. When I got started, I didn’t know how to do pole – I was frankly terrible on stage and very awkward in how I approached clients. I wasn’t making much money, but that was my problem, not the bar’s. Some bars fire dancers temporarily if they are clumsy on stage – however they’re easily able to work elsewhere and come back once their skills have improved.
What Are the SWers-Specific Challenges
Sensory overstimulation
SWers who do in-person work (escorts, masseuses, dancers) are exposed to a lot of stimuli. Touch, smell, sounds, lights. This can become rapidly overwhelming for anyone, particularly for neurodiverse people with an added sensibility to stimuli. In the bar where I work, the music is loud, the lights intense, and sometimes there is a lack of ventilation. Clients can either have too much perfume or questionable hygiene, leading to an unpleasant olfactory experience.
Precarity/Instability
Stable income does not exist in the sex work industry. Clients can cancel, massage parlors can be dead empty, and strip clubs also. Moreover, since SWers don’t have access to CNESST, employment insurance or sick leave due to illness or injury – physical or psychological – they do not get paid.
Lack of recourse in case of mistreatments from clients or bosses
SWers have little recourse when they’re subjected to violence from clients or bosses. Bad clients can be banned from agencies, massage parlors or clubs, but outside of this measure, there’s no reparation following an aggression. Some establishments care about the safety of their workers, others don’t. Independent workers are also very vulnerable to physical aggressions.
How do neurodiverse people adapt their work to their condition?
Earplugs
When working at the club I always wear Loop Engage earplugs to dampen the music’s intensity. I’m still able to listen to conversations well and I’m much less tired as a result. Many of my coworkers do the same. It’s an accommodation we allow ourselves. And we can also ask the DJ to not turn off the stroboscopic lights while we perform on stage.
Regular breaks and vacations
Burnouts can happen quickly to neurodiverse people, but even more in the line of sex work, which requires a great deal out of them: presence, vigilance and energy. Fortunately, sex workers are generally able to take breaks frequently. For instance, I know colleagues who work three weeks out of four. Personally, I tend to work all the time and take breaks only when I’m sick, which led me to burnout this summer. I decided to take approximately a week off out of eight, while taking into account the more lucrative and the quieter weeks to better take care of my mental health.
Masking
One factor my autistic colleagues have highlighted to me is that they’re so used to mask their neurotypical traits to conform to what’s considered “normal” that in the end they’re doing the same thing for sex work – and all the more so at the club, where the codes are even clearer. Once they know how to play the character, they know what to expect. Yet, the energetic cost of masking remains high and requires a longer recovery time for neurotypical sex workers. You don’t come out unscathed from performing constantly.
Neurodiversity among Clients
Many clients are socially awkward who experience difficulties with interpersonal relationships.
Dealing with SWers allows them to live an erotic experience in a setting with clear rules where they have room to express their needs without fear of judgment.
The Downside
Sex work is a double-edged sword for neurodiverse people. On one hand, they find a form of freedom and flexibility that are rare on the job market. On the other hand, sex work comes with a certain precarity and a lack of protection. Collectively, we would gain in organizing and fighting for a form of collective insurance to help compensate for this precarity, whose shadow is always looming.