What Sex Workers Think About the “Girlfriend Experience”

Perhaps you remember the alcohol- and drug-fueled sex binge Lamar Odom went on at a Nevada brothel, which landed him in a coma.

Odom’s $75,000 visit to the Love Ranch included herbal Viagra and buckets of KFC, and of course sex. But the bulk of his bill paid for five days of having 24-hour access to a female companion with whom he could go out to dinner, watch TV and cook.

Called the “Girlfriend Experience,” the package Odom signed up for costs up to $1,000 an hour at brothels in the area and includes other features like kissing, cuddling, hiking and just talking.

More or less the same deal that inspired the 2009 movie starring Sasha Grey and the well-reviewed series on Starz. 

So why does companionship cost more than sex? Quartz got the lowdown from several “girlfriend” sex workers themselves.

Main image courtesy of Siyi Chen