- Advertisement
-
Defining Safety Health
and Personal SafetyYour health and your personal safety are both important concerns. As an escort there are definite risks to both, and the more aware you are the higher your safety and comfort. If you are aware of what your risks are you are going to feel much more relaxed and confident than if you don't really know if you are in danger or not. Health Concerns STD's are the biggest topic here, and HIV is not the only health risk for an escort, but we'll discuss it first. There are guys out there who 'bareback', or have sex without condoms. The reasons they have decided to not use a condom are many: • they only have sex with guys who are HIV-: impossible! Unless you are in a long-term monogamous relationship you can not possibly know if your sex partner is HIV-. This is because the HIV virus is capable of hiding in the body undetectably for months. When you get an HIV test done the results are actually telling you what your HIV status was three to six months ago. So when a guy tells you he got tested and was negative, that means he was negative six months ago. How many guys has he had sex with to possibly get infected with since then? • they are already HIV+ so it doesn't matter: yes, it does matter. There are several different strands of the HIV virus. When another persons strain comes in contact with your own they begin to form a new 'super-virus', so called because it is far stronger and more resistant to treatments currently available. • want to 'live' and the risks are worth it: are they? Have you had a heart-to-heart chat with a guy who has been on HIV meds for a few years? Sure, they give the appearance of being very healthy but what you don't see is all the time they have to spend in the doctors office. The countless drug combinations they had to try before they came up with one that they could live with. The many problems they deal with at different times: diarrhea, inability to keep food down, frequent infections of various natures, decreased energy, alertness, and sexual function. The list is endless. And while the drugs today work well at helping many guys (never mind all those side effects), there are unfortunately many guys whose body doesn't react well to them. • it's my life, I can do what I want with it: okay, we can't argue with that. As long as you promise that when you do get infected you will not accept tax-payers money paying for your drugs and other health care needs! While very sympathetic to those who are HIV+, it's hard not to feel resentment towards those who became infected through deliberate risk-behavior choices. How can one justify deliberately engaging in extremely high-risk behavior that causes them to become a great expense to health care? In short, barebacking is 'fucking stupid' (pun intended). There are many other STD's prevalent to be aware of. Hepatitis, gonorrhea, syphilis, crabs, and herpes are the most common among them. Eros Rising strongly recommends a visit to either your local gay community center or your local health unit to learn about them. The information available is excellent and they're eager to provide it. Don't worry--there isn't an assumption that you're an escort or even that you're gay because you ask for information about contracting STD's. The only assumption they make is that you're a responsible sexually active adult. And they wish more people would be! Read up about STD's to learn all you can. The more information you have the better decisions you can make about what you are going to do. The fact is that sex inherently contains risks. Sex contains the possibility of body fluids being exchanged and there is no guarantee that the person you are with doesn't have a virus to pass on to you--even if its something as simple as the common cold! Questions you need to get good information to be able to competently answer are: will you rim? will you require condoms for blow jobs? will you swallow? will you bottom? will you bareback? Having consciously made decisions on these issues will give you so much more peace of mind. Get yourself tested for STD's every three months. The more frequently you get tested the better your chances of avoiding health problems. Some STD's can be eliminated if caught early, but will cause permanent catastrophic health problems if left alone. If you're not comfortable with getting your doctor to have the tests done, once again your gay community center or local health unit will do it. And in most places you can use a pseudonym if you so desire. Can't afford the cost? Most areas also offer the service free for those considered 'high risk', which includes escorts and in many places includes all gay men. Drugs One basic truth can not be denied: in addition to providing their desired result, every single drug has other effects, known as 'side effects'. The stronger the drug the greater the side effects. Caffeine is a mild drug whose side effects include increased blood pressure. Tobacco is a fierce drug whose side effects include death (in 1 out of 3 users!). Marijuana is a mild drug whose side effects include slow reaction time (don't drive if you've use it!) and unreasonable hunger. Heroin is a strong drug whose side effects include extreme slowing of many body functions. Make wise choices on the use of drugs: the more often you use them the more resistant you are to their effects as well as any similar drugs. So if you're a regular recreational drug user, the emergency room may find it difficult or impossible to find a drug that meets your requirements when you really need it because your body resists everything they have. Popular street drugs such as speed and crystal meth are extremely risky because it is difficult to know how strong the dose is, so many people overdose on these unintentionally, and deaths from such occurrences are frequent. Crystal Meth is proving to be an incredibly dangerous drug for two reasons. First, it is incredibly addictive. So many men are coming forward now saying how they thought they'd just try it a couple of times, and three years later found their lives destroyed, now trying to pull it back together. Also, emergency rooms are reporting cases where the patient took crystal meth several days before their need of emergency services: the effects can be very delayed, and are as severe as one would expect from the immediate overdose of any hard-core drug. Aren't there more valuable, enjoyable, and worthwhile ways to spend your money? You're worth too much to waste your time and money on risking your health and life. Personal Safety Although fortunately not frequent, unfortunately you will run into guys who are psychotic, or just get a kick out of causing you some minor harm. The best advice on the topic is to listen to your intuition. If you've got a voice in your head telling you that something feels wrong, or just an overall uneasy feeling about a particular client or situation, listen to it! The famous line, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." has never been more fitting than in the escorting business. There are many guys out there who will string you along for whatever reasons. You'll be amazed at how many offers you get for high-price encounters that never follow through. Here are a few guidelines to follow: - Never spend your own money towards an encounter with a client outside of your normal every-day activity. To drive to the suburbs to meet a client is one thing. But to pay for a plane ticket because a client has promised you he will reimburse you is to be just plain stupid. - When a client tells you that they have lots of money and want to spend lots of it on you, assume they're lying. People who really are wealthy never brag about their money, and rarely announce they plan to spend lots. The big spenders will do so quietly and discreetly, especially if they're spending it on an escort. - Reason out a story. If a guy wants you to 'audition' for a party he's going to be hosting at which you'll be well paid, doesn't it stand to reason that all he's really wanting is to con you into giving him a session for free and there is no party? This example was chosen because it is a very real and popular scam. The story sometimes alters a bit: the guy is a big-name fashion designer, and he's interested in you as a model is one of the variations. Or he's a porn producer . . . . You get the point. - always demand partial payment up front for any out-of-town travel or for anything that involves more than a few hours. If they refuse to pay it, you can count on it being a scam. - don't believe stories from 'rich' men whose money is all tied up, or whose credit cards were all stolen, so they'll pay you 'later' and just need a 'favor' from you. Does it even sound reasonable? - never accept a check from a client. Cash, money order, or credit cards are the only payment methods recommended. Eros Rising files are full of stories about stop-payment checks or checks written on nonexistent bank accounts. - when you have an appointment make sure a close friend knows about it, and that they will be checking out for you if you don't contact them at a pre-arranged time when you expect the appointment to end. If it is an out call make sure they know the address. - making appointments with guys where you don't have a telephone number is generally not recommended. When a guy knows you have no contact information on him he feels no onus to be responsible. These type of calls end up in 'no-show' clients a very high percentage of the time. Resources Check out your local HIV clinic. The staff there are more than happy to educate you about STD's. If you don't want to tell them what you do for a living that's fine--they're always just happy to find more people interested in safe sex information. There are online resources too, such as TimeWasterZ, an online forum about keeping escorts safe. It covers much more than just safe sex info. |
|
|||||||
Web
Hosting Home | Contact Us | Site
Map | Links | About
Eros Rising | Advertising Information 
Entire Contents © 2000, 2009 by Eros Rising. All rights reserved. Starting Up 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | Get A Web Site 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | Advertising 1 2 3 | Online Promo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | Other Stuff 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
