The rates should have dropped a long time ago, if normal market forces where in play. But we have a case of Freakeconmics with Sex work I believe so who knows?
1. Price Stickiness from Stigma
Unlike Uber rides or tomatoes, sex work doesn’t operate on a perfect free market. There’s:
- Social risk.
- Legal risk.
- Emotional risk.
These risks create a
premium—a kind of “hazard pay.” That keeps prices sticky even when supply rises.
2. Platform-Driven Inflation
OnlyFans, Fansly, etc. made the industry more visible but also more
influencer-tiered. Many creators mimic the economics of luxury goods:
branding over quantity.
High follower count = High price floor, regardless of actual demand.
3. Fragmented Markets, Not One Market
The industry’s so splintered—escorts, cam models, dommes, foot pic moguls, IRL, virtual, etc.—that one segment might be crashing while another is
hyper-inflated. No unified pricing structure = chaos economy.
4. Emotional Economics
Some clients aren’t paying for sex—they’re paying for
parasocial intimacy,
kink-specific service, or even
status access (i.e., being on a top-tier model’s radar). That keeps rates artificially high. Think of it as the
Taylor Swift ticket pricing of desire.
5. Selective Exit from the Market
Experienced sex workers may raise rates
during downturns, knowing it’ll reduce client volume but increase safety and sustainability. Newcomers often underprice—but burn out or vanish quickly.
It’s the
Pareto Principle with a velvet rope: 20% make 80% of the money, and they control the pricing narrative.
During the Great Depression, some cities reported a
rise in sex work
and in prices, bizarrely. Why? A demand for “discretion” and “clean” girls created a luxury tier. Even in crisis, there’s always a market for high-end human connection.
