relationships – After Hours

Posted on March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 by Amanda Brooks

just add water

“Ode to Instant Gratification” by Guerilla Haiku Movement, is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Reading a self-help book that I unpacked (back when I was unpacking my stored stuff), I ran across the disparaging phrase “instant-gratification relationship,” which was lumped together with such things as drug abuse and alcoholism. Such relationships weren’t mentioned again in that book (which I have since donated). Looking online shows that some people use this phrase but not many.

What got me started was simply wondering what defines an instant-gratification relationship? Sex, apparently. There is no other definition, though there should be. Or maybe another euphemism should be chosen.

Of course this assumes the sole point to a “relationship” is sex. Naturally, one would expect my proud assertion that I’m in the professional instant-gratification business. That’s true…and not true. The relationships my clients (and those of many of my friends) yearn for are hardly instant, they require time to build.

Then I think about the traditional marriage, or even the traditional romantic relationship. Hardly instant-gratification by anyone’s standards. In fact, to hear the partners in these relationships speak about them — hardly any gratification at all. So what if I want instant-gratification from someone whom I’ve decided is going to be exactly that? They have every right to deny me gratification if it’s not for them and I have every right to find it elsewhere.

Posted on December 27, 2010December 27, 2018 by Amanda Brooks

how to be a boring sex worker

Be out.

When I put my first ad on Eros in early 2002, I did it in a “test city” on the advice of my mentor. Her advice was sound: if I discovered escort work wasn’t for me, I would not adversely affect my life where I actually lived. That test city was enough to convince me I’d found my perfect career. In fact, my first client was enough to convince me. I returned to Dallas and tangled with Eros on changing my ad to Dallas. During the week or so of lag-time, I completed my one huge task.

I showed my face and had no reason not to show my face (my mentor showed her face as well). Dallas is only a 2hr drive from where I grew up, where my mother still lived. I’d already done enough online research and enough talking with my mentor to know that my mother could either hear it from me or hear it from someone else. I decided to show her some respect. She would hear it from me.

Posted on December 22, 2010December 22, 2010 by Amanda Brooks

from the mouths of sex workers

The most popular topic on this blog seems to be relationships with sex workers, so here is another take. Hopefully it answers some of the questions readers have and gives a little more insight than just my own opinion. I agree with everything said on here — I’ve had all these thoughts at one point or another. (And there are some familiar faces too!) Though in my opinion the people on this video are more your average activist than your average online escort, the issues and opinions are very much the same.

I would love to see a similar interview with partners of sex workers offering their insights, advice and the issues they’ve struggled with. But since most partners are even more camera-shy than the average sex worker — probably won’t happen.

Posted on February 5, 2010August 19, 2020 by Amanda Brooks

sex and the single escort

Because my post on what you pay for with an escort devolved into a discussion on dating an escort (not the original intent of the post) and then into a discussion on men/women/relationships in general, I thought I’d give you a feeling of what it’s like to be a single escort based on my experiences and those of escorts I know. (Since I like men, this is from the traditional perspective of male/female romantic relationships.)