Escort Terms

This article was updated in 2026 to reflect new terms and revised definitions.

Slang and abbreviations have been used by sex workers for as long as there has been a sex industry. To keep ourselves safe, and to communicate with one another and our clientele, we’ve had to create a language of our own. 

Tryst.link is sex worker-run, so we know that communication is an extremely important part of any intimate meeting. We’ve produced this glossary of terms to help fellow sex workers and their clients understand each other!

Why is it important to use the right terminology?

Using the right terminology and abbreviations means that communication between clients and providers is clear and easy. Knowing the right escort abbreviations helps to create an understanding of the services that workers are providing. It also helps to know about the language sex workers use to identify themselves to avoid causing any confusion in your communication.

Queer terms

We recognise that we exist in a queer space, as a much higher percentage of workers are queer than the general public. We’ve included the terms that queer people, as well as queer sex workers, use to describe themselves and their services. 

Escort terms glossary

• Abolitionist – A person—often a so-called ‘feminist’—who believes that sex work is inherently exploitative and akin to slavery, and should be abolished. Also referred to as “anti-sex”, “prohibitionist feminists” and/or “anti-sex workers' rights feminists”, abolitionists focus on the abolition of sex work, rather than advancing the human and labour rights of sex workers.
• Anal play – Sexual play with the anus; includes toys and anal sex
• Anal sex – Penetration of the anus
• ATM – Ass to mouth; moving sexual contact from anus to the mouth
• BJ – Blowjob; oral sex
• BBBJ – Bareback blowjob; a blowjob without protection
• BBBJTC – Bareback blowjob to completion; a blowjob, without protection, to ejaculation
• BBW – big, beautiful woman
• BLS – Balls lick-and-suck
• B&D – Bondage and Discipline; practices centered on restraint, rules and/or correction
• BDSM – Bondage and Discipline, Sadism and Masochism
• BNG – Bang and Go; straight to sex, minimal chat
• Bondage – Restraining or tying up a partner during BDSM play
• Brazilian – Waxing of the pubic area to remove all hair
• CBT – Cock and Ball Torture; pain or restriction applied to the penis
• CD – Crossdressing
• CFS – Covered Full Service; complete sex with protection, usually with penetration 
• CIM – Cum in Mouth
• CIMWS – Cum in Mouth, with Swallow
• Cisgender or Cis – Description of a person who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth
• CBJ – Covered blowjob; blowjob with protection
• COB – Cum on Body
• COF – Cum on Face
• Cougar – Mature woman typically seeking a younger man
• DATY – “Dining at the Y”; oral sex performed on a vagina
• DATO – “Dining at the Orifice”; oral sex performed on a person’s anus
• Decrim or Decriminalization – The act of removing criminal classification from sex worker, something sex workers globally have been advocating for for decades in order to reduce harm, violence, and exploitation
• DFK – Deep French kissing
• Dirty talk – Creative language used during sex
• DP – Double penetration
• DDP – Double-digit penetration; one finger in the vagina and one in the anus
• DT – Deep throat
• Doggy style – Sexual position where one person penetrates the other from behind
• Dominas – Latin word meaning ”mistress”
• Dominatrix/Domme – A femme person who takes on a dominating role during BDSM play
• Dom – A masculine person who takes on a dominating role during BDSM play
• Erotic Laborer – Umbrella term for different types of sex workers, including those engaging in sugaring, stripping, camming, escorting, and/or pro-BDSM
• Escort – A person who provides companionship and/or sexual services for a fee
• Facial – The act of ejaculating on a person’s face
• Facesitting – Receiving sexual stimulation by sitting on a person’s face
• FBSM – Full Body Sensual Massage
• FE – Female Ejaculation
• Feminine Presenting/Masculine Presenting – Terms used to describe a person’s outward gender expression—how they appear to others—in ways culturally associated with femininity or masculinity. 
• Femme – Typically describes a feminine-presenting queer person
• Fire and ice – Giving oral sex while switching between something hot and something cold
• Fisting – Penetration of the anus or the vagina with a fist
• FK – French Kissing; see also DFK and LFK
• FOSTA/SESTA – U.S. legislation that stands for the “Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act/ Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act”. A recent amendment ultimately making sex work more dangerous for sex workers globally and the internet less safe for everyone. 
• French – Oral sex
• FS – Full service; A complete sexual experience, usually including penetrative sex
• FtM (F2M) – Female to Male, a term for transgender men that’s often used in porn. Outside the sex industry, it’s largely considered outdated due to its focus on assigned sex.
• GFE aka Girlfriend Experience – a style of escort service that’s intended to resemble an idealised romantic date. 
• Genderfluid – The gender identity of people whose relationship to gender changes from time to time
• Genderqueer – A gender identity outside of the male/female binary
• Greek – Anal Sex
• Happy ending – Typically a massage that ends with a hand job
• HH – Half hour 
• HJ – Handjob
• Hustling – Working hard
• Italian – Rubbing the penis between the buttocks
• Intersex – A term used for variations in sex characteristics; a person born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't fit typical, binary definitions of male or female bodies.
• John – A client
• Legalization - Often confused with decriminalization, legalization makes something lawful provided it meets the required legal obligations
• LFK – Light French kissing
• LK – Light kissing
• LGBTIQA+ – Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Intersex Queer Asexual +
• MtF (M2F) – Male to Female, a term for transgender women that’s often used in porn. Outside the sex industry, it’s largely considered outdated due to its focus on assigned sex.
• MILF – Mother I’d Like to Fuck
• Mistress – A femme person who takes on a dominating role during BDSM play
• MFF – Male Female Female; usually in the context of threesomes
• MMF – Male Male Female; usually in the context of threesomes
• Monogamy – The practice of having only one romantic or sexual partner
• MPOS – Multiple Positions Oral Sex; oral sex performed in more than one position during a session
• Mutual masturbation – Two people masturbating together
• Mutual French – Two people giving and receiving oral sex
• Mutual natural French – Two people giving and receiving oral sex without protection
• MSOG – Multiple Shots on Goal; meaning a sex worker is able to give a client multiple orgasms
• Mx – A title that a non-binary person might use (as opposed to Mr or Ms)
• Natural bush – Unshaven or substantial pubic hair
• Non-monogamy – An intimate sexual and/or emotional relationship involving more than two people.
• Non-binary – A spectrum of gender identities outside the male/female binary
• Open relationship – Also known as a “non-exclusive relationship”; a form of non-monogamy
• OWO – Oral With Out; a blowjob without protection
• OF – OnlyFans platform
• Online Only – The provider only provides services via online mediums such as OnlyFans and cam sites.
• Pansexual – A person attracted to all gender identities
• Party – A “party” booking may include illicit drugs
• PNDP – Please No Dick Pics
• Porn Performer/Porn Star – A person who performs sexually on film
• Porn Star Experience or PSE – Typically a sexual experience inspired by common pornography
• Punter – A client
• Queer – A person who is not strictly heterosexual
• QV – Quick Visit
• Role play – Individuals engaging in sex while acting out specified roles
• Rimming – Orally gratifying a person’s anus
• Russian – Rubbing the penis between breasts, sometimes until ejaculation (also known as Spanish)
• SAAB – Sex Assigned At Birth
• Snowballing – The act of passing semen from one person’s mouth to another
• Spanish – Rubbing the penis between breasts, sometimes until ejaculation (also known as Russian)
• Spit roasting – Giving oral sex to one individual while being penetrated from behind by another
• Squirting – Female ejaculation during orgasm
• Strap on – A dildo designed to strap on to a person
• Stripper – A person whose occupation is to perform striptease in an entertainment venue such as a club
• Striptease – An erotic dance that involves taking clothes off
• Sub – Someone who fulfils the submissive role during BDSM play
• Sugaring – A relationship (often sugar baby/sugar daddy) in which one party financially supports the other party in exchange for companionship and often sexual intimacy. 
• SW – Sex Worker(s)
• SWERF – A Sex Worker Exclusionary Radical Feminist or a SWERF is person who is fundamentally opposed to sex work despite ascribing to feminism. SWERFs are often abolitionists (see Abolitionist) who do not believe that sex workers can be autonomous.
• Tea bagging – Placing the scrotum into the mouth
• TERF – A Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist or a TERF is a person who, despite ascribing to feminism, is opposed to the rights of transgender individuals.
• Top – Someone who fulfils the dominant role during sex or BDSM play
• Toy show – A masturbation toy show often involving dildos and/or vibrators
• Transgender – A gender description of a person who is going through or has completed a gender transition
• Trans – An umbrella term covering identities that transgress binary gender norms
• Tromboning – A sexual act that involves giving a person’s anus oral sex while masturbating their penis
• TTM – Testicular Tongue Massage; using the tongue to stimulate a person’s testicles.
• Whorearchy – A hierarchy that ranks sex workers on social acceptability, type of work and/or status, perpetuating lateral violence and undermining solidarity.
• Whorephobia – A term that refers to the stereotypes, stigma, and marginalization sex workers face, stemming from a fear and hatred of sex workers
• YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary; experiences may differ from worker to worker

Terms you should not use unless you are a sex worker

Below is a list of terms which should not be used by non sex working individuals. As sex workers are an extremely diverse group of individuals, and much of the current discourse has been presented by mainly white sex workers, some sex workers may prefer to use terms outside of "sex worker" to describe their work. Depending on your positionality within the industry, some terms for sex work are inappropriate—even for some sex workers—to use. 

If you hear non sex workers using these terms, call them out! Derogatory language contributes to the violence against us. Most importantly, listen to other sex workers if you are called out for saying something offensive.

• Prostitute — from the Latin prostitut, loosely defined as “exposed publicly, offered for sale”. This is a term used to criminalise our work and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Those who oppose the consensual selling and buying of sexual services between adults often use this term because of its negative connotations and proximity to law enforcement.
• Hooker/Whore/Harlot – these are misogynistic slurs to describe a person who is promiscuous and are intended to degrade women's sexuality.
• Hoe/Heaux/Thot – these terms should only be used by Black sex workers as they originated in the African-American vernacular, and have significant cultural and historical contexts
• Girls/Working girls/Call girls – while these are not slurs, using the term ‘girls’ when describing sex workers should be avoided as this fails to acknowledge the gender diversity of the sex industry, while also infantilising the experiences of adult women. 

For more reading on terminology used in and around the sex industry, please check out:

• Heauxthots: Defined/Definers: My thoughts on common terminology around erotic labor & trafficking
• Understanding Sex Work in an Open Society
• Language Matters : Talking about sex work

Are you a sex worker with a story, opinion, news, or tips to share? We'd love to hear from you!

We started the tryst.link sex worker blog to help amplify those who aren't handed the mic and bring attention to the issues ya'll care about the most. Got a tale to tell? 👇☂️✨