Sex Workers Already Predicted There's A Recession Coming — Here's How They Know

822 points by huffpost 1 year, 8 days ago on reddit | 59 comments

[OP] huffpost | 1 year, 8 days ago

From reporter Jamie Davis Smith:

While some people anxiously watch the stock market for signs of a recession, others look for more subtle cues that the economy is in trouble.

One of them is Catherine De Noire, a manager of a legal brothel, a Ph.D. candidate in organizational psychology and an influencer. When business at her brothel unexpectedly dips, De Noire takes it as a sign that the economy is in trouble.

According to De Noire, business at her brothel usually picks up in the spring once people give up on their New Year’s resolutions and recover from holiday spending. But this year, business is down.

“There are significantly fewer clients coming in, and the sex workers are reporting noticeably lower earnings,” she said.

Link to the full article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-recession-is-coming-sex-workers_l_67eaa67fe4b008c5a2ecc0bc?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=us_main

Bored2001 | 1 year, 8 days ago

ah, a Brothel House index to compliment the Waffle House index

The Hot Waitress Index: https://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/58195/

Wine_runner | 1 year, 8 days ago

Don't forget Big Mac Index.

Rhenjamin | 1 year, 8 days ago

I use the broken down car index. Record how many cars are on the side of the road compared to the miles in your direction of travel.

elperroborrachotoo | 1 year, 8 days ago

Brothels and waffles are a great way to keep tabs on the economy.

Wheream_I | 1 year, 8 days ago

The brothel house is just a new version of the stripper index.

chanaandeler_bong | 1 year, 8 days ago

>no hookers this year, guys

dreaming_of_beaches | 1 year, 8 days ago

My hairdresser is always the first one to let me know that there’s gonna be a downturn in the economy. She can tell by the habits of her clients.

Same. My barber said that he’s getting like 60% less bookings.

It's a recession hairline.

GildedCleric | 1 year, 8 days ago

Ba dum tss!

Riptide360 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Orange mop Trump hairstyle better not catch on.

sifuredit | 1 year, 7 days ago

It was a rigged erection

sharksnack3264 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Same. I had a long chat with mine a couple weeks ago when I went in for a trim. Aside from foot traffic in her shop she talks to a lot of people from all walks of life. Outlook not good.

TheSonofDon | 1 year, 8 days ago

My girlfriend cuts my hair and she hasn’t taken my calls in weeks. Is that a sign of a bad economy?

Jokkers_AceS | 1 year, 8 days ago

You probably need a new gf.

Same as my Aunt. She's a barber in a convent.

milkisgood1 | 1 year, 8 days ago

I work in events and am currently having the slowest March and April that I can remember in the 10 years I’ve been in the industry. An older lady had told me about events indicating how the economy was doing years ago.

how were you during covid

milkisgood1 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Essentially furloughed on and off for 2 years. Luckily my company continued to pay my health insurance, guaranteed my job back, and let me collect unemployment. I was extremely lucky.

We had a 400 person lunch and 600 person dinner when the world shut down. There was 30% attendance for the lunch, the dinner was cancelled and no one was back to work for almost a year.

plassteel01 | 1 year, 8 days ago

One thing I learned when I was active duty was if I really wanted to know what was going on, I would ask a sex worker. Command wouldn't tell us the straight story, but sex wokers always do, and this goes from the gals that work by the 15 minutes to the ones that work by the day.

akath0110 | 1 year, 8 days ago

People tend to get chatty when alcohol, drugs, and/or pillow talk are involved

plassteel01 | 1 year, 8 days ago

A thought that I never thought to ask is how they got that information. I know we were cautioned about spilling the beans, so to speak, but that was always for us enlisted, but officers, man, they were always blabbing more so captain's and command more so

akath0110 | 1 year, 8 days ago

If they’re savvy (and most successful SWers are) they wouldn’t disclose their sources anyway. Bad for business — and also, you know, staying alive

plassteel01 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Yea, the thought never crossed my mind. I was getting the service I wanted and was perfectly happy with that.

Publius82 | 1 year, 8 days ago

As prior enlisted myself, I thought that's pretty much all officers do

Back when there were newspaper boys, I could tell the economy was headed for trouble when I started seeing very old and very young ones.

pluralofjackinthebox | 1 year, 8 days ago

In the sopranos, when Tony asks Silvio “What two businesses have historically been recession proof, since time immemorial?” And Silvio responds: “Certain aspects of show business, and our thing.” I always assumed this would include prostitution.

You thought Sil and Tony were prostitutes?

KarateFriendship | 1 year, 8 days ago

They were gay, Sil and Tony?

Catching? Not pitching?

With this knowledge, you will find new things rewatching the show.

wanderinggoat | 1 year, 8 days ago

baddabing!

Maybe for the industry overall it's kind of okay, but from the pov of an individual sex worker a recession throws more competition in, even if demand doesn't dip - which it likely does at least a little.

Koolklink54 | 1 year, 8 days ago

The guy working the Hotdog cart I go to has been saying the same thing

samueltoinfinity | 1 year, 8 days ago

I call it talking about the indexes. Once you start seeing people talking about different kinds of indexes you know we are headed into a recession.

In good times people forget about indexes!

donquixote2000 | 1 year, 8 days ago

I guess they're seeing less of Trump.

TheEverchooser | 1 year, 8 days ago

Rapists don't pay for sex.

donquixote2000 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Good point.

Bryanthomas44 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Stormy Daniel said there’s not much to see of Trump. Just a little tiny mushroom.

LOCKHIMUP2025 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Because Republicans are taking over and sex workers are not young boys.

DataCassette | 1 year, 8 days ago

Actual audible laugh on that one lol

eliminating_coasts | 1 year, 8 days ago

Even if it's just fear, and means that people are saving more rather than actually losing income, it probably signifies anti-inflationary pressure.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see the EU hit its inflation target within the next few months.

pegothejerk | 1 year, 7 days ago

A famous EU economist explained recently that the US market indicators show the exact same signs the UK had when their middle class effectively disappeared. First they could blame recessions for a lack of spending, and it would recover, and then one day it was because all the money had been sucked up by the ultra wealthy, and policy had removed the ability to move any back to the middle class, so it never returned. He says the same situation seems to be happening now in the US. It might be a recession that never really recovers until there’s the political appetite to move money back into the middle class.

Scope_Dog | 1 year, 8 days ago

Pussy or rent? Hmm.

No_Spring_1090 | 1 year, 8 days ago

That was my band’s name in high school

It’s called the Stripper Index. More info in the link.The Stripper Index

Khanabhishek | 1 year, 8 days ago

Is this USA only?

Olealicat | 1 year, 8 days ago

They’re fucking the president and he leaks like a wet butthole.

kang4president | 1 year, 7 days ago

I've been hearing tattoo artists talking about it too

And if shit bottoms out, everyone will be turning tricks. When more people are hooking, then you'll know we're in big trouble.

heelspider | 1 year, 7 days ago

Maybe strippers are making less because everyone is on OnlyFans.

JamieMist | 1 year, 7 days ago

Profits must be sagging?

tsunamiforyou | 1 year, 8 days ago

These cheeks won’t clap themselves

No_Spring_1090 | 1 year, 8 days ago

Carie in a Coal Mine