Would you take your clothes off for $500? Being a college student and having to work a full-time job and pay for my schooling, my apartment and my car, I considered it — for all of two seconds.
When I saw an ad asking for “nude models,” with the possibility of making $500 per session, I thought, I do things that are outlandish and wild all the time, just to say I did them. But this was beyond that — I needed to see what it was all about, as a service to our readers.
I e-mailed a photograph of myself and a contact phone number. In about 10 minutes, I got a call back from “Gary” — which may or may not be his real name — saying he liked what he saw and would like to set up an
interview. I agreed to the meeting, not knowing what I was getting myself into.
I met him at a coffee shop on 18th Avenue. He began by telling me a little about the “business” and how they’d been an established part of the community for more than five years. It sounded all right until I heard the details. They would take several still pictures and/or prints, along with a 20-minute movie that sometimes could take an hour or more to tape.
The interesting part was I would put absolutely no money into this. I had done some modeling and acting when I was younger where I sometimes had to give money to the directors or photographers as a sort of “contract fee” for discovering me.
But then “Gary” got into the details of the work. If I was interested, I had to do an audition, which included a photo shoot where I took off all my clothes so he could see if the money was worth it. Well, being the woman that I am, I can be pretty self-conscious, especially around people who’ve never seen me naked before.
Which lead me to my second option, which was called the “Point-of-View.” This is where I could give a guy oral sex where it just showed me and him, so the person who gets the video can pretend it’s them. Oh, and I would be paid $75 for getting my knees dirty. One thing I noticed is that he made sure to quit talking when people walked by, which gave me the feeling he was ashamed of what he did.
But that wasn’t all — for pleasing myself in front of the cameras, I’d get a paltry sum, as well. For them to videotape my raw talents with a man, I’d get a little more. And since many male fantasies are woman-on-woman, that payment outweighed all the rest. Remember, each session also includes the still photographs.
And to add insult to injury, I would essentially have to sign myself away. Any photographs or movies done are the sole possession of “Gary,” and he can then sell them to anyone he wants. Not such a good idea if I ever want to go into politics.
I know many people would love to hear that I was ready and willing that very moment, but the truth is, the minute he told me all of this, I wanted to get up and run away as far and as fast as possible. But I sat there with the smile glued to my face because I knew I was doing it as a service to our readers — to let them know what’s up if they consider answering ads like this.
I might as well have put on some knee-high boots, a tight mini-skirt and a tube top and stood on the corner of Broadway and peddled my wares.
Ads like these prey on students who need quick cash, and it’s sad that people are willing to do it. I, on the other hand, left the meeting knowing I could never go through with it. My self-respect and dignity couldn’t take it. So, sorry “Gary,” but you won’t be pimping this woman out to the highest bidder.
That said, before you drop your drawers, weigh the pros and cons. Could you swallow your own self-respect and dignity for $500? I couldn’t, so I guess my minimum wage job will have to do.