Definition
Reviews boards were created for people, mostly men, to leave written accounts of their experiences with sex workers (usually escorts who advertise their services online, whom they often refer to as providers).  These accounts are descriptive stories on what transpired between them and the person they hired for services. Their stories could be simple notes saying, “I met Krista for drinks and a date and had a wonderful time,” or they could be much more sexually explicit, “Krista provided oral sex without a condom”.

Review boards have different formats for stories. To me, the term “review” was really coined by boards using a rating system. With this system, men are able rate their experiences, services and looks of the provider on a scale of 1 to 10.

Review Pros & Cons
The majority of providers today have reviews on multiple boards about their services with links to their contact information.  Many of these women rely on these reviews in order to make it as sex workers. A provider with great reviews is guaranteed appointments from men in his/her area because of positive comments.

Review boards allow the board members to know which providers gave great service and which ones are scams or rip-offs.

Reviews are not always a positive marketing tool though. The negative things about reviews are:
1.    Unreasonable expectations: If a provider provides a service for one client, and he writes about it, the next client might expect the same thing and the provider may not want to give that service to the next client. That client might then write a negative review of her.
2.    Maliciousness: Some clients who are “hardcore” hobbyists won’t leave good reviews no matter how hard the provider worked to fulfill their requests because of what we call a “God” complex. No woman can meet their expectation, short of 8 positions, the blow job of a lifetime and no condom – of course.
3.    Negative reviews: Negative reviews can kill a provider’s business.
4.    Legal ramifications: Sexually explicit reviews are admissible in court if a provider is prosecuted for solicitation.
5.    Rating systems: One client’s “8” is another client’s “4”. The system is not balanced and there is no standard. It’s based on preferences and appeal, or to use the phrase so often used on the boards: your mileage may vary (YMMV).

Does A Provider Need Reviews?
The answer is NO. The only reason a provider has to have reviews is if he/she wants them. Once a sex worker becomes established in this industry, a lot of them realize that they can survive without reviews. They have to increase their web presence, invest more money in advertising and network a bit more with other providers.

What Happens When A Provider Pulls Reviews?
If a provider finds that being rated like USDA Beef is not such a great thing, she can request removal of reviews on some boards. Then the emotional up and down caused by reviews disappears. They also find the quality of his/her clients increase.  But there are some that find they can’t make it without reviews, so they have to have them reinstated (this is largely dependent on their market).

–Callie Simms

The term “provider” was developed by clients of sex workers (also known as “hobbyists”) who write detailed stories of their experiences with sex workers on discussion-oriented websites known as Review Boards. The term became commonplace in the adult world, replacing terms like sex worker or prostitute because the activities involved were not as simple as, “sexual services given in exchange for money”. The term also gave the industry a gender-neutral term to describe all sex workers; as sex workers can be male, female, couples and /or transgender. They can also be straight, gay or bisexual.

Providers fulfill a variety of sexual needs.  Often these sexual needs are not even sexual in nature, except for the person who has the need.  For example, services such as foot fetish, BDSM, tantra, role-play, sensual massage, et cetera, don’t have entail penetration and may not even include sexual release.  A provider offers sexual relief for their client who is unable to attain sexual fulfillment any other way.

–Callie Simms

Call girl – this isn’t entirely offensive or completely wrong because it’s not really slang, but it’s a little out dated. Escort is the preferred term these days, and in studies these workers are sometimes called “indoor workers.” See Tracy Quan’s 2001 novel Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl for a realistic depiction of this era in the business.

Prostitution ring – this phrase exists basically to get people wound up. It looks really shocking and scandalous in a headline. No one in the sex industry uses this phrase – in fact, I’m not entirely sure what it’s supposed to mean. Escort agency is a much more accurate way to refer to businesses that a client can call or email to request one of several escorts.

Hooker/whore – Why is it ok to use slang when it’s about sex workers? These are pretty offensive words, and the media shouldn’t perpetuate their use. Escort, prostitute or the umbrella term sex worker are all preferred to these.

Street walker – It’s a subtle difference, but “street worker” is preferred. People who live or spend a lot of their time on the street but may or may not be sex workers are often referred to as the “street-based population.”

The phrase “sex worker” is generally used to refer to workers who may be self-employed but are not management level workers. So: sex workers work in the sex industry, but not all people who work in the sex industry (like madams, porn producers, strip club bouncers) are sex workers.

This, of course, is up for debate and further refinement.

Do you think there’s a distinction between sex workers and people who work in the sex industry?

Sound vague? It’s meant to be!

It’s often assumed that “sex worker” is a euphemism for “prostitute” – but actually it’s an umbrella term for many different kinds of jobs within the sex industry. A sex worker might be a prostitute, porn performer, phone sex operator, exotic dancer, sensual masseuse, dominatrix, hustler, or many other kinds of jobs. His or her “erotic labor” may or may not include physical contact with a client. Some forms of sex work include “sex,” or some kind of genital touching, but many kinds of sex work don’t include sex at all.

The phrase was coined by Scarlot Harlot, also known as Carol Leigh, more than 30 years ago when she got fed up with the fact that the only words available to describe this kind of work were slang.