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When talking dirty online pays
Secret life of Bucharest girl student
Cristina Mazilu
Adriana has a secret life. Most people know her as a second-year psychology student with a boyfriend and a normal life. But to her customers on a video sex chat Internet site, she is Anysia, a “blond with a perfect body, light skin and blue eyes”, who likes to “please all her guests”.
In the Catholic faith, Anysia was a saint who was killed by a Roman soldier protecting her chastity. On the Internet, the modern Anysia is one of 15,000 girls hosted by a mainstream network, highly recommended “pour les connoisseurs”.
Because her parents have limited means, Adriana has been earning her own living since she was 16. She started as a shop assistant, continued as a sales manager and gravitated to the video sex chat industry seven months ago. Even if she is playing a role and faking all the time, she finds the work degrading and sad.
“You see many people: some physically handicapped, others with psychological problems. Some are weird, frightful people. All these men give you some of their energy, positive or negative. You realize life is not as rosy as you thought and it changes you”, she said.
Ironically, Adriana thinks the job may be teaching her to be more tolerant of other peoples’ weaknesses and to have more patience and understanding. Still, she needs to separate her online persona for her normal life. Apart from her boyfriend and a few others, nobody knows her secret.
“It is all about imagination. Many people do not understand that nothing (online) is real,” she said. “I am an ordinary girl. I have school, I am happy because I love somebody and he loves me, I help my parents with money”.
On the Internet, there are a bewildering variety of sites devoted to sex talk. Newcomers can read reviews, grades and recommendations for the most friendly addresses, some dedicated exclusively to “girls from Bucharest”.
Adriana said most of her colleagues were Eastern Europeans, the majority Romanian. A chat experience begins in the free area, where guests can see a girl and talk to her without paying. The discussions are not supposed to be vulgar and the girls are supposed to keep their clothes on. Next, if both parties agree, clients enter the paying area. Anysia charges 1.65 euros per minute and can easily make 4,000 euros a month even after expenses.
Girls working in this profession can do so through a studio or from their own homes. The studios are legal and pay taxes but Adriana, like most other girls, chooses the second option because she makes more money, pays no taxes and avoids the risk of sexual harassment from studio owners.
Visitors come to Anysia for all kinds of reason, not just sex. Some just want to talk with a sympathetic listener. In a few cases, she even offers her services for free. “I had once a boy who was paralyzed from the age of two. The only contact that he ever had with the world was through the Internet,” she said.
Anysia said she often regretted entering this world but the money is too good to quit. When the choice is between 4,000 euros a month and what she can make in a regular job, “you accept it, at least for one more day”.
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