Students Making Ends Meet As Sex Workers

It’s a bright but chilly May morning, and Megan, a curvy brunette receptionist, is perched at her desk at an office in Brisbane’s CBD.

The phone suddenly trills and she swiftly answers it. “Hello, Megan speaking!” She recites the name of the establishment, and I hear a click and a dial tone sound on the other end.

“We get a lot of hang-ups,” she says. “Most people aren’t comfortable chatting to a ‘brothel madam’ over the phone!”

“’Brothel madam’?” I ask

“’Manager’ sounds better,” she says. “But some people are just old-fashioned in terms of how they view the sex industry.”

That’s right. Megan isn’t just any old receptionist, and the desk she’s sitting at isn’t situated in just any old office. As well as studying law and criminology part-time at a local university, Megan works as a brothel manager and receptionist. That means fielding calls, setting up appointments and making sure her girls are healthy, happy, and cared for. She acts as something of a house mother, banning wayward clients from the brothel, ensuring that the girls eat enough whilst on the job, and listening to their personal woes – financial issues, relationship troubles, and difficulties with study – and offering advice.

 “Ninety per cent of sex workers work alone and unlicensed. They get themselves into all kinds of troubles, which could be avoided if the laws were a little less restrictive.”

When I ask her why she chose such an unusual part-time job, she explains that the hours fit around her studies, and that her work and uni lives complement each other well.

“It’s interesting learning about the legislation around sex work,” Megan says. “The laws in Queensland are very strict, and I’d really like to go into the field responsible for legalising brothels. Although the girls here are very well looked after, strict regulations mean that 90 per cent of sex workers work alone and unlicensed. They get themselves into all kinds of troubles, which could be avoided if the laws were a little less restrictive.”

Sarah is an employee at the unnamed brothel, and juggles studying a fulltime law degree with raising her two-year-old boy. Like Megan, she says her profession has made her more open-minded about her studies. During classes on prostitution law, for example, she’s afforded a different perspective to her classmates.

However, she adds that she doesn’t think it’s a job that can be done by most women who are studying. “I think you need to have a certain personality type where you can … not shut off, but really separate your work and private life. It can be difficult.”

“I enjoy this job, but it’s not for the faint of heart.”

Mika agrees. She’s been employed at the brothel for three years while studying medicine. “I enjoy this job, but it’s not for the faint of heart,” she says. “If something bad happens at work, you can’t let it affect your home life … more so than most jobs.”

But, she says, work at the brothel isn’t any less professional than your standard desk job. “Despite what people think, it’s a clean, honest job,” she says. “Everyone here is rigorous about protection and sexual health, and we have checks done every month as per the government’s requirements. At this brothel, at least, we’re all healthy, hardworking girls who are using our work to support our education.”

“What about the ‘feminist’ side of things?” I ask. Many critics say that sex work is a sexist industry which assigns value to a woman based on her body.

“Maybe that’s true, but there’s also something empowering in using your body to make a living,” Mika says. “Look at athletes: is anyone criticising them for using their bodies to make a living?  The fact that I’m using a tool that I have at my disposal – my physical form – to fund my education shouldn’t be frowned upon. If anything, I’m using my body to invest in my future.”

Megan agrees, emphasising the empowering factor of working here and getting through uni.

“At the end of the day, it’s an honest living,” she says. “There have been girls who have come looking for work and they’re obviously not in a good place mentally, so we turn them away. The women who work here feel empowered about their bodies, are open-minded and want to do this job for a living… and who are also getting themselves an education.”

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Jordan Bissell is studying journalism at the University of Queensland. She likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

(Lead image: How I Met Your Mother official Facebook page)