FEATURES Sex work for education Carla Wintersgill, The Eyeopener (Ryerson University) TORONTO (CUP)—The first time someone paid Jared* for sex, he wasn’t expecting it. He was working at the Barn and Stables, a gay leather-and-denim club, where he met a good- looking man. They spent the whole night dancing together. When the man invited Jared back to his hotel room, Jared accepted the invitation as part of the night’s natural progres- sion. After they slept together, Jared left to take a cab home. On his way out of the hotel room, the man handed Jared a $100 bill. He said it was to help him with school expenses. Jared went home with a new idea in his head. He liked sex, he liked meeting new people and he needed the money. Why not place an ad promoting his services? Blond 21 yr old university student, smooth swimmer’s body, green eyes, 30” waist, 6'1” tall, 9” dick, cute bubble butt. Clean. cut, boyish good looks and very friendly bottom boy. : His ad runs in the classifieds of a gay | scene magazine called Fab each week. He also has a similar one on-line. These.ads aren’t uncommon, but the fact that he is a university student is. Everyone knows post-secondary edu- cation is an expensive venture. Making enough money. to pay tuition is hard to do when you work in the mall—the hours suck and the job pays nothing. So, Jared found an alternative way to pay for * school. Jared’s first client contacted him through e-mail. Nervous, Jared suggested they meet in a public place, underneath the horse statue in Queen’s Park. The man who showed up was middle-aged, balding and slightly overweight. He had a nice smile and was just as nervous as Jared, which made him relax. Jared was 18 and he knew that escorting would pay his way through school. Jared, now 21, is a third-year University of Toronto student studying languages. His goal is to get his MBA. Jared is from the United States, so he pays international student tuition fees, which add up to approximately $15,000 a year. On top of that, he pays for room, board and books. His parents refuse to pay for his tuition. They have a rocky relationship and he left home when he was 16. “T’ve been on my own since then,” Jared says. “I was working as a lifeguard, swim instructor, waiter and a nude model for art classes. I had enough money to pay for about 50 per cent of first year. I thought that I would be able to get a work visa when I came here, which didn’t happen. You can’t ~ have a work visa when you have a student visa.” The only jobs available to Jared were low-paying, on-cam- pus jobs. And student loans were out of the question. “I’m not emancipated and my parents won’t sign off on a student loan,” says Jared. “My mother controls all the finances. The only loan I can get is a very small one, so that’s not an option.” Ryerson’s most notorious brush with prostitution comes in the form of former professor Gerald Hannon. Hannon was a part-time journalism instructor at Ryerson who confessed in a 1995 Toronto Sun article to working as a pros- titute. Shortly after, Hannon was fired from his teaching posi- tion. _ Today, Hannon still works as an escort for a select group of regular clients. The bulk of his income comes from free- 4 4 THE OTHER PRESS NOVEMBER 9 2006 lancing, while escorting provides him with “coffee money.” “My only regret was not advising my students that it was a good way to make a lot of money without taking a lot of time,” says Hannon. “If you’re at ease with your sexuality, you can sit at home, take calls and it doesn’t take a lot of time from studies.” Jared charges $200 for the first hour and $150 for every hour thereafter. Overnights start at $700. Prices are agreed upon before the evening starts. “That way at the end you’re not expecting one thing and they’re expecting something else. It lessens the stress and the possible conflict. Everyone knows what to expect,” says Jared. Jared isn’t the only person Lyne Genereux has heard of who uses prostitution to pay for education. Genereux is a resource centre co-coordinator at Maggie’s, a sex worker out- reach program. She acknowledges that prostitution is a viable way to make a living. “In this business, it’s very unpredictable. But if you’re prudent with your money and you take good care of yourself, you can earn a living,” she says. There are also the occasional perks. Some clients take Jared on extended vacations. His most memorable experience was being taken to Hawaii by a much older man. He had a house on a secluded beach where Jared spent the week scuba diving and getting to know the man’s cats. Jared sees escorting as a chance to be exposed to all differ- ent walks of life. He doesn’t just have nameless sex with men — he forms friendships with them. Last year when he had strep throat, a client brought him chicken soup. One client helped him move. That said, all of his encounters haven't been positive. Jared’s scariest experience happened in a hotel room. As they were getting undressed, the client walked to the closet and started pulling out whips and chains to use on Jared. When he expressed discomfort, at being tied up, the mat became angry and told Jared that since he was paying for hi he would do whatever he wanted. Hearing that, Jared jumps off the bed, grabbed his clothes and ran out of the room. Genereux knows sadistic clients are a hazard. She warns escorts to be “very careful.” “Predators prey on the weak at vulnerable,” she cautions. “Have a screening process. Trust your intuition.” Jared has given a friend access to t e-mail account he uses to communica’ with clients. Before an appointment, I e-mails himself the contact informatic for his client and when he’s expected back. He checks in with his friend reg larly. Jared also worries about his sexual health. Every six months he goes to t free clinic to get tested for sexually transmitted infections. He is currently STI free. “I always use a condom because I want to have another careet don’t want to play Russian roulette wi my future,” he says. Jared worries that the University 0 Toronto will find out what he’s doing and kick him out. He worries that on day he might meet a psycho. Plus, prc titution isn’t exactly legal in Canada. Jared jokes that he’ll never be able to president, but he doesn’t apologize fo what he’s decided to do. “I’m not har ing anyone,” he says. “I’m not selling drugs to other people. I’m not taking anything away from someone. I’m no blackmailing anyone for money. I’m n forcing anyone.” “Without this I wouldn’t be able t pay for school,” Jared continues. “I’d probably be working at a dead-end jo wey for five to ten years until I saved enon money for school. This way, my life i: going in a good direction.” He remembers the time he accide tally outed a client. The two were mic coitus when Jared heard a gasp. They turned to see the client’s elderly moth clutching her knitting bag in shock. S was visiting from Ottawa and had arrived in Toronto a day early. She ha let herself in with her son’s spare key Jared took the women into the kitche and made her some tea. He broke th« news to her that her son was more interested in men than women and introduced himself as her son’s boyfriend. Jare decided that the shock of finding out that her son was gay was enough. She didn’t need to know that he also paid for sex. The mother came around to her son’s sexual orientatic and even walked in the Ottawa gay pride parade. She has al added Jared to her holiday card mailing list. He has since received a Christmas and Easter card from her. Jared laughs when he tells this story. “It’s interesting,” he says. “But there are other things I want to do with my life. I’m not going to be 21 forever. As long as I keep my goals in mind, I’m all right.” *Editor’s note: Name marked with an asterisk has been changed.