Читать книгу Tell Me a Secret - True Confessions of Britain's Most Erotic Dancers and Models - Dawn Simpson - Страница 7

The sex industry is one of the largest in the world, and is worth billions of pounds each year. Sex, whether in the form of DVDs, magazines, or the entertainment on offer in lap-dancing clubs, has never been so popular, nor sold so well. Quite simply, the sex business holds a huge fascination for millions of us, whether we like to admit it or not! We spend our money on these things, and one look at the newspaper and magazine racks in your newsagent is evidence enough that we want to know all we can about the sex lives of the rich and famous. In an age where sex is no longer a taboo, men and women can celebrate and explore their sexuality in any way they choose. We all love sex, and we’re more ready to admit it than ever.

One of the biggest growth areas, apart from online sectors, has been men’s magazines, or ‘lad mags’, as we call them. In recent years, more and more of these ‘middle shelf’ magazines have hit the shelves. However different and unique the magazines try to be in order to compete in this aggressive market, regardless of whether they focus on men’s health, sport or fashion, they all have one thing in common – gorgeous women, and lots of them! Glamorous, seductive girls fill their pages with their irresistible looks – sex sells, after all, and at the moment it seems we can’t get enough of it.

The lad mag phenomenon has opened up all kinds of opportunities for girls to get into the glamour industry. Once upon a time, if a girl announced her career as a glamour model or lap dancer, she would have been shunned as if she has declared herself a prostitute. Now a career in glamour modelling or lapdancing is much more accepted, particularly by celebrities. Women can display their bodies for the pleasure of others without being made to feel cheap or dirty, and we too can enjoy what’s on offer without it being a guilty pleasure.

Glamour models and lap dancers play a large part in the sex industry. They are the girls that satisfy our large appetite for sexy stories, they are the subject of many sexual fantasies, and very often a hot source of celebrity gossip. Think of how many models have sold a ‘kiss and tell’ story to the press, and on the back of it become rich, famous or both.

But what about the girls themselves? Do we ever stop to think who they really are? Probably not. Until I started to research and interview girls in this profession, I, like many others, had preconceived ideas of who they were. I assumed they were wannabes, choosing an easy career, ‘all tits and no brains’. After all, what does it take to get your tits out for an hour and do a few sexy poses for a photographer? Get dressed, pick up a cheque – thank you very much. Or to do a three minute strip for some guy for £20? Not a bad hourly rate!

After the recent ‘Jordan phenomenon’ – Britain’s No 1 glamour model with no make-up, appearing vulnerable and stuck in the jungle on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, enabling the public to discover the personality beyond the common portrayal of her as merely a glamour model, or eye candy – I was intrigued. Was Jordan a one off? I couldn’t accept that she was the only model who seemed to be able to grow in popularity because of her personality, as opposed to what size her boobs were, or what celebrity she was sleeping with. Although we all bought her book to find out anyway!

It was at this point I decided to research the industry and the girls that worked within it. In order to gain a full understanding of who these girls were, I decided to carry out interviews in all parts of the Country and at all levels of experience, in both the glamour and lap dancing industries. I needed to know if my cynical view of ‘all tits, no brains’ was true.

Meeting these girls was truly interesting. I had imagined that they would all turn up looking like they had just dropped off page three! In fact, they were all dressed down, not wearing much makeup, and looking almost ‘normal’ – not what I expected at all. ‘It’s just a job,’ they all told me. I hadn’t thought of it as just a job, but I suppose if you were in the Police force, you wouldn’t go and socialise in uniform. Their make-up, false hair, nails and 10-inch shoes were just a uniform to them. Those who had a boob job classed it as an investment, just like getting an upgrade on a PC; it helped them to increase their earnings.

I discovered very early on that each of these girls was completely individual – they were all intelligent, interesting and unique. However, the thing that fascinated me most is that they all had a different story to tell. As the girls started to trust me, they began to tell me things that they had never told anyone before. Of course there were the sexy stories and celebrity encounters, but there were also a lot of life issues these girls had battled through. There was far more to these girls than met the eye. I had been proven wrong.

This was probably the toughest industry I have every encountered. One that only the strongest of individuals can survive and succeed in. They are all constantly on an emotional roller coaster. For every job, there are two hundred willing-and-able models. It’s not just about your look; it’s how determined you are and how hard you work at it. I remember one girl telling me about a casting she went for. It took her three hours to get there, over £100 in travel expenses, all for ten seconds of ‘Thanks for coming, but sorry you are not what we are looking for’. How many of us would stand for that? Does this mean that the only way these girls get the fame they desire is to go down the route of selling their sexual encounters with celebrities to the Nationals? After all, it has worked for so many…

The glamour industry is such a complex industry, and it now fascinates me more than ever. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for these girls. Through my journey of discovery I have made some good friends. They have trusted me, and shared their most inner secrets. Listening to their stories has taken me through every emotion. I have laughed at the things they get up to, been shocked at some of their sexual encounters, and cried at some of the things they have been through in life. But, most of all, I have come away with the feeling of respect for every single one of them.

Now every time I open a magazine, newspaper or visit a lap-dancing club, I look past the aesthetic of these beautiful girls, and look at them in admiration. I always wonder who they are, but more importantly I always ask myself one question …

‘What are their secrets?’