Laura Lee RIP

Laura Lee was a lady who took a stand and talked out for the right to decide. She acknowledged that there were many abuses in sex-work, but defended the right for women who chose to do it. In June 2015, legislation in Northern Ireland made it illegal to pay for sex. Her arguments about how that type of legislation made sex-workers more vulnerable need to continue to be heard.

Academic studies, observation in the real world and common sense all indicate that the illegalization of sex-work does not achieve a positive outcome.

There is a brutally stupid blind-spot in public discourse which refuses to recognize the difference between 'exploitation' (minors, slavery, trafficking, etc.) and an economic choice. Even when it comes to an 'economic choice', there are different shades of grey - it appears that people with economic means still choose to do sex work.

Instead of prohibition, legislators need to focus on how to deal with the real crimes: trafficking, slavery and the exploitation of minors. Of course, these are harder to identify...

Laura Lee Obituary

The Internet makes sex-work safer

An academic study from the University of Leicester in the UK has highlighted some interesting points about what matters for sex-workers. They claim that Beyond the Gaze (BtG) is the largest study to date about safety, working practices, attitudes and regulation.

One of the key findings was that online services were "....of considerable importance in developing services, enabling independent working and greater control over working circumstances, and improving safety strategies." The BtG study also, "confirms that levels of violent crime encountered by internet-based sex workers are considerably lower than those reported in studies of street-based workers.

Although some of these conclusions may be obvious to people working in the industry, it is good to see this type of academic study. Quantifying and describing real-world experiences will help influence public opinion and may help politicians understand and adapt legislation for the general good.

Website | Download study

Bad guys alert

We wrote a while ago about people trying to scam Massage Republic users.

We now need to add another alert. We have just had a couple of reports that advertisers are being contacted both:

• by phone, and,
• using fake email addresses like massagerepublic[something]@gmail.com

They are asking for for an account registration fee to be sent to them (Bkash has been one method they have used).

We don't:

• have a registration fee
• use Bkash
• call people asking for cash, email people asking for cash (if you want to upgrade, do so onsite please
• use any email that is not from @massagerepublic.com

We do know that it can be difficult to know if an email is genuine - so if you have any doubts, contact us and we will assist.

Freedom vs.Oppression?

We live in a weird world. In some ways, individuals are more free than ever to make choices. In others, much less.

The US spends billions each year on pot eradication, then semi-legalizes in some places? Liberal places like the Netherlands and Spain make it legal, then it gets less legal as laws get changed again. Marijuana is simple compared to the complexities of the personal services market....

Massage Republic works to do one thing: help people who want to offer services to do so, at no-cost or lower-cost than other methods.

We started with a 'free' option for providers - alongside the upgraded options - and hope to keep it forever. In total, we have generated more than 5 million contact inquiries to independents. That is a lot of people off the streets and a lot less risk for everyone involved.

Our paying customers are only paying 5% of their gross sales to upgrade listings on the site. Massage Republic has been a great help to many freelancers and independent businesses.

We do what we can to fight unfair or criminal practices on-site. We do extra verification in many cases and are very careful with listings where the provider listed could be underage. We have already contributed real cash and time to programs and charities working to help victims of exploitation and trafficking.

Safety First

Common sense means most people working in this industry let other people know where they are going when possible. The problem is this is often not possible.

If you use an Android phone, you might want to consider a new application that has been launched by Google, Trusted Contacts. It looks like they will be launching an iOS version for iPhones soon and you can register to get a notification when it's available on the site.

You can share your location when you want to, for instance when meeting with a client. There is also a feature where someone you have nominated a trusted contact can - if they are worried about you - ask for a location share and will be able to see where your phone was last located if you don't respond within five minutes. 

There are - obviously - some privacy implications, especially as the share happens automatically unless you respond. Make sure you read the instructions!

More sense in 17 mins than several millenia

Wow, this is a supremely enlightened talk. It properly addresses the real issues and explains many things that people do need to understand. The focus on 'rights' and especially sex workers' rights is so important.


The world is changing, every person like Toni Mac who speaks out and every organisation like SWOU makes a massive difference. Each individual who doesn't get arrested is a win. Each individual who can report violence saves a beating or even a death. These are not small wins - each one really matters. Share this talk please.

A big thank you kiss to reviewers

Nothing makes us happier than to see other people happy. Real reviews seem to having a very positive effect on what we can do in terms of quality.

The efforts made by many Massage Republic users to leave reviews is making a difference for everyone. We have received many messages actually pointing this out - many are from people who didn't feel comfortable making a review themselves - but wanted to say thanks.

When we see something like this:

Girl is the same in the pics ....but complete starfish experience...absolutely no interest from her side ....her mission was to finishing as quickly as possible... - SteveDubai

We know this is useful information for other users...

When we see something like this:

I had some additional spare time on my hands so decided to take in one or two more sessions. So, yet another young lady from massagerepublic (has changed my life !! lol) - georgeunited10

We get to know we're doing something right!

We hope to upgrade the review experience and the profile pages for users in the next months, and make it more fun to contribute and share experiences.

Fraud and scams

It has recently been brought to our notice that some people are pretending to be 'us' and trying to trick advertisers into paying for services (or maybe providing them for free?).

Hello! Just want to check something. I got a call from someone pretending to be a photographer from your website and saying that he has to take the pictures for me because you have a new policy . He sounded very strange...
Thank you!

We will never call you to make a request like this. If you ever have a query, please get in touch with us directly.

In the same way, if you ever receive an email which looks suspicious from us please send it to us. Emails are easy to fake and we would like to know about it. We are always concerned about our advertiser's safety, so any information or tips you can provide will always be appreciated.

Fake reviews

If you are doing fake reviews, you do risk getting your account blocked and also any associated accounts blocked. Don't try our patience.

Abuse

Some advertisers are trying to abuse the system to get more coverage. You cannot post from multiple accounts, repost or try and manipulate the system. It doesn't matter if you are a paying customer or not, all accounts will be blocked.

--

Thanks to everyone else (the massive majority) who behaves well and continues to make the site a safer place for everyone on it.

Politicians and Hookers

It seems to be some constant theme - the people who complain most vocally about the escort industry also get into the papers about it... This is obviously a self-fulfilling prophecy as a politian caught paying for time (with a hint of sexual sevices) will get into trouble. Unless they are Silvio Berlusconi, which might have meant several re-relections in Italy...

[not to say anyone in the images above, including Sr. Berlusconi would ever be involved in anything to do with this post. In fact, we are 'sure' that those re-elections were purely on merit and based on his performance in office and the policies presented in his manifesto].

Public debate and legislation about the offering of sexual services for money is basically dead, stupid and insane. The problem is the following:

• Some individuals choose to provide their services because it suits them to do so compared to other economic options.
• Some individuals enjoy their profession (and some really enjoy it, just because).
• There are others who offer their services because of real financial hardship, whether from circumstance or addiction. This is a really tough place for them. The only thing we can offer is a safer way of offering services. Society, at this point, is responsible to help with a safety-net or medical assistance with addiction.
• There are individuals (mostly young girls from less-developed countries) which are exploited for this purpose. This is plainly wrong - pretty evil - and we work to make sure they cannot be advertised on the site and provide feedback mechanisms to signal the problem.

The public debate is always about trafficking, people enslaved into prostitution. This is unhelpful and does not address the real problems.

Prohibition is not a solution. Real, effective policies to combat human-slavery, addiction and social exclusion are solutions. Dump the headlines and go to the roots of the problem in society. This is an appeal to any politician or journalist - keep it real; and don't let us find out you did something bad later... Starting with 19 Politicians Who Were Caught with Prostitutes.

Honesty in public debate is a starting point. Freedom of choice is a natural right. 

What do you realy want?

We really value the comments and suggestions we have had from users and advertisers over the last couple of years. Especially when something on the site made you feel like this...

We have always tried to get anything broken fixed pretty quick over time and have done a decent job to make sure that happened.

What we need now are your suggestions. What pisses you off? What do we need to add? What could work better? We are listening and will take every comment into account as we try to improve the site. Send feedback here.

Who decides? What's illegal?

Pretty much everyone agrees that forcing someone to provide sex is a bad thing. Modern slavery is still there and is a disgusting as 'old slavery'.

For good or bad reasons, many people choose to provide sex for money. We don't think anyone has the right to judge that decision.

Criminalisation has been proven to make things worse for working girls and boys. Why would any modern country want to do this? In Northern Ireland it was recently made illegal to sollicit services. The only thing studies have ever shown is that a legal framework where providers can operate freely and pay tax is the only one where violence is lower, trafficking is lower and the individuals have the most choice.

What do you think?

What makes a great listing?

We have been looking at some data recently to better understand what makes one listing more effective than another. We now want to share some of the insights. First, we're going to bust a couple of myths:

Myth 1: it's only about the photos

While there is a correlation between stunning photos and the number of enquiries, this is not the only factor. We don't allow multiple listings on the site, but we do have the data between when people have different listings and photos. In some cases the more homemade or real (but good quality) photos performed better than the studio shots. Video clips have also shown an improvement in contact rates.

Myth 2: the 'models' get all the enquiries

The most surprising thing we found was when doing an experiment with users asking them to judge interest based on just the images. When we compared this to the real-world results, we found that there there were many listings which got a low rating based on photos, but a very high rate of enquiries. We ran the experiment again using just descriptions and found the answer, the text is very important when it comes to getting enquiries.

What are the users saying?

Some really don't care, others are absolutely obsessed with cover-page beauty. But it turns out the big majority care a lot more about what potential experience they will get. It turns out that the initial evaluation is from what an advertiser says in their description, even down to the tone and how the text feels. Positive terms included: 'friendly', 'funny', 'approachable'. Just putting GFE is not enough to convince someone it will be like that.

The other bit of feedback was about how people answered questions and reacted to reviews. When an advertiser didn't answer a simple question and just wrote 'call me' or reacted in a very tough way to a review which didn't seem aggressive, there was a negative evaluation.

How to manage your listing?

• Take a look at your description. Does it really explain you and the services you provide? Try to provide a personal touch. A cut and paste which looks the same as everyone else is not the best way to get customers. Of course, it is quicker, but our data shows a quality text can generate from 3 times to 11 times more enquiries (when the images, price and other variables are similar).
• If you chose to answer a stupid question publicly - instead of clicking 'ignore' or 'answer privately' - be aware the way you do so will also influence other users' reactions.
• If you get a negative review, deal with it sensibly. Yes, he or she, might be an idiot, dangerous (as hopefully you know there is another way to flag that), or just have unrealistic expectations. Maybe you had a 'bad hair day'.  If you think it is unfair, say why very simply, don't attack. Other users will make their own opinions based on the quality of the listing and response to feedback. Listings with both positive and negative reviews (with sensible reactions) actually seem to be more popular than those with a couple of very positive reviews.

Lastly, the most important thing is to think about the type of client you want and make sure your public profile will appeal to them. According to our data, a little thought and work can make a big difference to the quantity and quality of enquiries.