Adult content creator Emily Mai has opened up about the 'whorearchy', a term describing the hierarchy that exists between different forms of sex work. The phrase refers to how some types of sex work are viewed as more legitimate or acceptable than others, with workers often judged based on the services they provide.
Emily Mai's Experience with the Whorearchy
According to Emily, who has worked across stripping, topless waitressing, sugaring, and online content creation, the industry's biggest divide isn't between sex workers and the public—it often exists between the stars themselves. 'For me, 'whorearchy' is the sex workers' term for hierarchy,' Emily explained. 'Different people will see different types of sex work as being better than others.'
She added: 'Maybe there are people who do full service who say, 'Content creators aren't sex workers because they're not out there seeing clients.' Then other people will say, 'I'm a content creator, but because I don't sleep with anyone else, I'm better than those girls.''
Judgment at Every Level
According to Emily, the judgment can exist at every level of the industry, whether online or in-person. 'Some creators have the perspective that, 'I only sell nudes. I don't f*** myself on camera,' and think they're better than others. Then vice versa, creators think they're better because they don't post themselves online for a cheap price and instead charge a premium for custom content.'
Emily first became aware of the phenomenon while working as a topless waitress and growing her online content career simultaneously. 'I noticed it in the club because some girls would do full service,' she recalled. 'There would be girls saying, 'You better not be offering those services here.' Then they'd look down on dancers who were doing full service outside the club.'
Snide Remarks in the Changeroom
These attitudes were ingrained in everyday interactions, with judgment and gossip overheard in club changerooms all too common. 'It would come up as snide remarks. Girls would say, 'Oh, well I can just dance for a weekend and make this many thousand dollars. I don't need to do anything else for it.''
What surprised her most was how often jealousy fueled the judgment. 'If someone had a regular client spending thousands of dollars on them each week, other dancers would look down on her for doing things outside the club,' Emily said. 'It was a very weird dynamic. People would say, 'If you're a stripper, you're just a stripper. Stop doing other things.' But then as soon as they got a really well-paying client themselves, suddenly they wanted to give him their phone number.'
Online Content Creation Hierarchy
The same behavior followed her into online content creation. 'You would hear girls say, 'I do full service because I could never imagine putting my nudes out there for five dollars.' It's the same judgment we get from outside the industry.'
Emily argues that these assumptions ignore the reality that people choose different forms of sex work for different reasons. 'Some women choose full service because it's easier to be discreet and screen clients. With online content it's much easier for your family to find you. People choose different aspects of sex work for different reasons.'
Denial of Sex Work Status
According to Emily, some women in the industry who share less explicit content argue that they aren't sex workers at all. 'There are quite a few sex creators that I've met in my time who have convinced themselves what they do isn't a form of sex work,' Emily said. 'They just share nudes and bikini photos and they have little chats and in their minds don't believe it counts. But it does—they're still providing sexual intimacy to these guys and there's a transaction happening.'
