Thanks for joining us again for our interview series 'A Tryst With...' We're joined today by Oakland escort Bobbie LaRoux!
What’s your story? How did you get started as an escort and content creator, and how’s it going?
I might be going a little too far back with this, but it must have been from watching my mother at work. She was a graphic artist in Van Nuys, which in the 90s was the porn capital. This meant the sight of my mother airbrushing someone’s labia for a VHS box cover was a banal everyday sight. Funny compared to my mother’s nun-like lifestyle. Anyway… I was unflappably comfortable on the subject of sex and in the schoolyard I became a coveted expert for Q&A’s on the subject. I even went so far as smuggling xerox copies of my mother’s work to sell. THAT must have been the beginning.
Despite how primed and comfortable I was, it still became a challenge for me to embrace as I got older, but I got there. Slowly at first. I dipped my toe in as a sugar baby, then a dom. I ultimately found escorting to be the most rewarding.
Now I enjoy the flexibility and creativity attached to being a companion and content creator, skillsets I learned from watching my mom’s work as a graphic designer. I also still help people discover new things about sex and themselves and sometimes they even do the same for me! Not to mention all the other corners of my life this work has supplemented, from creative ventures to family life, possibly more so than other careers would offer. For all of this I am very grateful.
What has sex work taught you about yourself?
Well, I had many hang ups in my youth, but if you get naked with enough people for a long enough period of time, you lose them. Your body will change: hair changes, parts grow or shrink, etc… but their reactions don’t. You realize you’ve been hot this entire time just like anyone else who projects themselves out there in this way.
The ones who find you attractive find you. Realizing this completely disenchanted me from this desire to “achieve” hotness. You realize it’s the most achievable and least interesting thing about yourself.
How has the way you work changed over time?
I don’t have any time to sift through inquiries that don’t meet my expectations. I used to get worked up by the avalanche of single word or sentence inquiries I would receive after posting an ad. Now I don’t even see them. My eyes just wander over them and to the ones who come at me correctly.
Why do you think it is important for sex work to be decriminalized, not just legalized? How would it change the way you are able to work?
This occupation takes many forms. It can be considered performance, therapeutic, or even spiritual. But in all regards, the work is innately intertwined with the worker’s body and mind and is old, old, old. It is not going away. Any attempt to regulate something so intimate and varied is impossible. People will always find a way to do this work outside of legal boundaries. So, any legalization will undoubtedly criminalize and endanger other workers who don’t or are unable to work within legal bounds.
But yeah, how would it affect me if my work were to be legalized? I don’t know. If I’m looking at the Nevada model, I might be a brothel owner at this point. Then I would be extracting all sorts of wealth off of sex worker’s labor. Whether I did or not, I would require a license though. A license means there would be a permanent record of me being a sex worker. This could lead to discrimination down the line and limited mobility between occupations. This is not a fate I would like to have in a brothel heavy legal model if I weren't an owner. Those places are ripe with inequity.
But to be honest if I was a regular worker, I would likely do it outside of legal parameters just to maintain my anonymity, to keep my own profits and work freely under my own terms. The problem with that is, when it is known someone cannot seek help because they are working outside of legal boundaries and are threatened to be criminalized and fined, they are more likely to not seek help when victimized. This makes them more likely to be subjected to violence and theft. That’s pretty scary. That’s why the only way to ensure a sex worker’s well-being is to decriminalize them.
What do you think the public should know about the sex industry and sex workers?
In some ways it’s like any other job. You can have boring clerical days and others can be rewarding. You sometimes come home glowing cos you killed it, or came across someone or something surprising. Sometimes people will frustrate you when they are clueless and inconsiderate. But when a day is bad it doesn’t mean the work itself is. It’s just a day. We deserve the right to complain just like any other worker. I mean, complain without it becoming fodder to build a case against our occupation.
What’s an aspect of being a sex worker that you really love?
I like having a job where I bear witness to people tapping into unknown potentials. Even after doing this work for over a decade, I can find myself surprised by a new connection or still feel my heart warm when hearing what I have done for someone. More often than not, I leave with the affirmation that most people in this world are decent and so is the work I’m doing.
What would you consider a “speciality” of yours as a provider or content creator?
A sort of “loving” taboo. I like to straddle the line of inappropriate with a lot of heat and sweetness. I’m not much of a hard mistress; more of a tender, unbounded mother. The fact that I am nursing now makes me especially primed for this service. There’s just something I like about relieving the more masc types from performance and needing to be in control. They can calm down and know that things are well taken care of in my hands.
What are some of the skills you had to learn when you first started in the industry?
I don’t allow myself to work if I need to emotionally recharge or am financially desperate. This is something I’m fortunate enough to have been able to apply to my work ethos. I recognize many people in a wide array of occupations (not just sex work) don’t have the opportunity to have this choice. Whether it’s doing a double around heavy machinery, or not screening a client. When you’re unregulated you can make some life changing decisions. So if things are slow and some unforeseen expenses pop up, I ask myself if it would really be that bad to soak some beans, cancel some subscriptions, and lean on another skill set for a little bit. It’s usually possible. Business comes back. It always does, and it treats you better the better you treat yourself.
What are 3 things allies can do to help reduce stigma?
I’d like to see more people talk openly about being clients. You know, embrace it as the power move that it is! An ally can also educate themselves on the advantages of decriminalizing sex work rather than legalizing it and, donate to Bay Area Workers Support [BAWS]!
You’re a content creator, can you tell us about what that’s like, and what you like best about it?
It is HARD. It’s so hard in fact that my favorite thing about it is how it broadened my catalogue for roleplaying in real life. Doing customs got me acquainted with many new themes, but it’s extraordinarily tedious sifting through requests and organizing your work. I’m always going to like in-person sessions more. I’m grateful it generated income for me while on maternity leave though!
Support your fave content makers, they deserve it!
What kinds of styles do you like to shoot in? Do you have an aesthetic when it comes to your content?
Nothing too stringent. I like to play with different looks but everything kind of lands back to “casual mom next door”, I guess! I mean, it’s easy cos most of my shoots are me just taking advantage of whatever space I’m in and whichever sexy thing I have at arms reach. You know, “busy mom trying to be hot in a pinch”… Pretty meta, huh?
Your profile mentions that you’re an artist. Can you share a bit about your medium and about your art practice?
My practice is pretty loose. I like to make ceramics and write songs. I also love to dabble with new mediums regularly to keep things fresh. One thing I’ve always done is to scribble quick characters of passerbys. That’s probably my favorite.
The secret to getting to know me is: To read my 5th grade journal (a lot has happened since then but mainly distractions).
I get a big thrill out of: Witnessing someone chase a bus and catch it.
My most irrational fear is: Anything involving any mishaps with one’s nails… I don’t want to hear it!
My favorite scent is: My lover’s scalp.
My dream vacation is: In a beautifully designed house with large windows looking out to no one.
I feel most sexy when: My thighs rub against each other in a skirt.
My last meal would be: Nam Kao.
The dorkiest thing about me is: I had an extreme nasally voice growing up that was so bad I was regularly asked if I had a cold.
My social handles are:
Instagram @bobbie_laroux
MANYVIDS @bobbie_laroux
Want to meet Oakland escort Bobbie LaRoux in person?
Head over to her profile! 👇👇👇
