clients, for example through websites, internet
“Internet and cell phones
forums, microblogs (weibo) and IM software. They
also help sex workers
looked for prospective clients through postings
[in Beijing] avoid some
and advertisements on websites, forums and
risks. Before deciding to
microblogs. Cell phone social contact apps include
accept a particular client,
functions for locating and contacting people in the
the sex worker can get to
immediate vicinity, which also helps sex workers
know him better through
locate potential clients more efficiently.
chatting. Sex workers
can refuse clients they
Xiao Zhou started sex work at 16. She told us: “My
don’t like or whom they
Wechat account includes my photo. The other party
distrust.”
can look at it, and I can send them more photos
if they want. Once we’ve reached an agreement, we
do it.”109 Xiao Dongbei often uses her cell phone to find potential clients around her: “I
spend about 20 hours out of every day using my cell phone to find clients. Wherever
you go, you can refresh your cell phone and see who’s around you. You see those
people, and they don’t know you, but you can remember them.”110
This method gives sex workers more freedom in selecting their clients. Different internet
platforms cater to different client bases, and sex workers can even more conveniently
find clients appropriate to them. If some forums target people interested in crossdressing, sex workers posting there don’t need to conceal their transgender identity.
Internet and cell phones also help sex workers avoid some risks. Before deciding to
accept a particular client, the sex worker can get to know him better through chatting.
Sex workers can refuse clients they don’t like or whom they distrust. Xiao Dongbei
refused a client whom she suspected of trying to entrap her:
“There was a client who added me on Wechat. I didn’t notice, and only added
him three days later. After adding him, we chatted, and later he said he’d
telephone me. I looked and saw that he’d called all three of my telephones.
I didn’t accept the calls – it was a trap for sure. How did he know I had three
telephone numbers? None of my clients know all of my numbers.”
But the convenience of the internet and cell phones can also bring problems. Some
software are known as “booty call tools,”111 referred to on the Xinhua News Agency
109 Interview with Xiao Zhou, Beijing, April 29, 2014.
110 Interview with Xiao Dongbei, Beijing , April 28, 2014.
111 Nicola Davison.”Momo, the Chinese app that exposes sex and generational divides,” The Guardian, June 12, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/
technology/2014/jun/12/momo-chinese-app-exposes-sex-divide(accessed October 1, 2014).
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