Sex Work, $$$$$, Race, and Gender

 As a sex worker, I've been asked many questions.  One is how much money I make. You may have also noticed sex workers are sometimes asked this in interviews.  Being a private person, I don't say how much money I make other than that it varies.  However, I will speak more generally. (As I said in a previous post, I'm not currently seeing clients in person and am just camming).  

Like with other forms of sex work, porn performers don't typically have a base salary (except the small percentage of performers who are under contract).  Instead, we're usually paid per scene.   Thus, the more work we get, the more income we can make.  If we go through a "dry spell" where we're getting little to no work, then less income.  This is the same as for other forms of sex work I've done.  When I was working in the legal Nevada brothels, I only got paid when I booked a client based on a rate the client and I agreed upon (though some brothels have house minimums we cannot go below).

When camming, I only get paid when I do private or group shows, or when viewers tip or pay to view a pre-recorded video.  We can also set up fan clubs on some sites where viewers can pay to join, but I haven't set mine up yet.  Setting up profiles on cam sites can provide additional opportunities to make income, such as selling used panties (which I actually had people ask to buy).  Yet, I find that the vast majority of my income comes while I'm camming live- namely private shows and tips.  This helps keep me on cam if I can make a living this way, which I enjoy doing.  

Not sure what it is now, but when I did porn 18 to 20 years ago, the standard for female performers was that $300 for a scene was the low range cheapest rate and it went up from there.  The amount we got paid per scene depended on various factors, such as the production company, type of sex act, and name recognition (though the biggest name performers were often under contract).

Though this may seem like a lot of money with $300 being considered "low end" for a scene, most porn performers only get paid per scene as I said.  Thus, if we don't have a steady amount of work coming in, then $300 can only last so long. 

Some performers (though not most) are under contract, which is generally considered most desirable because it provides a more stable income.  Some contracts are exclusive where the performer can only work for the company they're under contact with.  Some are non-exclusive where the contract stipulates a certain amount of work and income with the production company, but doesn't require the performer to work just for them.  I haven't been under contract with a porn company and am not an expert on how this works. 

The smaller production companies typically don't have contract performers.  Even in the larger companies where some performers are under contract, not all of their performers are. Women under contract typically work for the "White" companies and are usually White, though not always.  There are some Asian, Latina, multiracial, and biracial women who've gotten contracts. The few Black women I know of who've had contracts are lighter complected.  In terms of body types,  I don't know of any bbw (big beautiful women) or "chunky" women who are under contract with specific production companies.  

 With men, it's kind of different.  The "Black" porn production companies often specialize in "big black cock" (bbc) and some offer contracts to Black men who are "well-endowed" and perform well, but I don't know if such companies offer contracts to women.  Black performers may know more about this than I do.

I don't know of many "Black" porn production companies.  My understanding is that they more commonly do interracial scenes and interracial-themed videos than the "White" companies.  

I'm speaking specifically about cisgender heterosexual porn production companies (which also includes women on women scenes) in this blog entry.  I don't know how this works in trans or gay porn production companies.

In closing, no matter how much we enjoy our work, please recognize sex workers as human beings making a living.  Please understand that cam performers don't get paid for free chat, so please tip or get a private show rather than making free requests and always respect boundaries.