For some women, sex work started as a way to make money. For others, it seemed like an opportunity worth trying when other options felt limiting. But their experiences looked very different from what they expected.
These women tell us how they got into sex work, what happened when they did and what they think about the experience now.
After I graduated from university, I was desperate to move out of my father’s house and start a new life in Lagos. My biggest obstacle was rent. I’d begged my parents, friends and other family members, but I couldn’t raise the money.
In 2022, while complaining to a friend about my frustrations, an older man in his late 40s overheard me. He called me aside, and we got talking. He offered to make me his sugar baby and pay me ₦160k every time we had sex, and I agreed.
By my calculations, 10 meet-ups would cover my rent and leave me with extra cash. I also found him a little attractive, so I didn’t mind if sleeping with him brought me closer to my goal. We agreed on a date, time, and location and exchanged contact details.
On the day we were supposed to meet, I joined him at a bar before we went to the hotel. He had a few friends with him and spent almost half an hour making fun of me for being poor. I felt humiliated and stayed quiet for the rest of the time we spent at the bar.
At the hotel, I gave him a blowjob but pretended to be too tired for sex. He sent me ₦160K, with an extra ₦5K for transport fare, and we went to bed.
I blocked his number as soon as I got home the next morning. I felt dirty and humiliated. Whatever money I could have made from him wasn’t worth being treated that way.
I couldn’t move to Lagos until 2024. It took much longer than I’d planned, but it was worth it.
During my third year at university, I asked a friend who I knew was in the business to “show me the way.” She was reluctant at first, but I begged until she agreed to a test run. She always had money, and I thought that if I could get through the beginning, I could live a soft life. too
What I didn’t expect was how jarring the transition would be. The first and only time I followed her to a club to meet one of her regulars, the man started rubbing his hands all over my thighs. His hands were sweaty, and his breath smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. I felt nauseous and scared, and eventually, backed out.
My friend was upset because she had to find a replacement at the last minute and give her extra. It took a while for her to forgive me. I would never have tried it if I’d known I didn’t have the stomach for it.
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I got into virtual sex work in 2023 after seeing people on X talk about how much money they were making. At the time, I was between jobs and thought that as long as I hid my face, I could make easy money.
The reality was very different. Finding clients wasn’t easy, and I quickly realised that the women showing off the lifestyle I wanted weren’t showing the full picture. Most men wanted to negotiate prices and expected things that weren’t part of the agreement.
I also underestimated the emotional toll. Even though everything happened online, constantly presenting a version of myself that clients wanted became draining.
After about four months, I stopped. I wasn’t making enough money to justify the stress.
I thought selling sexy pictures online could give me a low-key side income to cover my bills and fund my education. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and I still had to drop out.
It’s not like I wasn’t making any money. The site I used required a paid registration before I could withdraw my earnings, and I couldn’t afford it. Without authentication, I couldn’t prove I was a real person, so I couldn’t earn.
I’ve paused for now until I can verify my account.
I’m currently staying with my parents, so I’m not suffering. But I hope to land a regular job soon, so that I can return to my studies.
I had a decent job, was comfortable financially and had no urgent reason to look for extra money. I was just curious about sex work.
I’d been watching content about findom and dominatrixes, and the lifestyle caught my fancy. I wanted to know what it would feel like to live that way.
So I created a burner account and started posting fetish and dominatrix content without showing any face. The account quickly attracted attention. People flooded my DMs with requests for private calls and videos. They also offered to pay, but I ignored them.
After a few months, I realised I’d started craving the attention. I liked feeling desired by men who could never access me, and I realised I was relying on that validation more than I expected. It also forced me to confront some of my insecurities about my body.
Eventually, I stopped making content and deleted the account.
If you enjoyed reading about these women’s experiences, then you’ll love Naijaonpoint Life’s A Happy Ending. Watch here:
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