This way to be whipped, ladies

"If you hear the muffled crack of a whip coming from your neighbour’s basement this weekend, could it be that they are one of an increasing number of women who are paying male escorts for the full Fifty Shades of Grey bondage experience?"  The question is the opening line in an article by Martin Daubney in the  Sunday Times Review, inspired by EL's new money spinner which is apparently getting uncomplimentary reviews but why would EL care as long as she's raking in the money.
 

The article finds, and I summarise, that the male 'escort' industry is expecting an upsurge in business thanks to EL's literary efforts. One 'escort', Mark Harris, who confesses he has spent £500 on whips, handcuffs, masks, several strong grey ties and “various insertive toys” — all of which have been demanded by his female clients, claims to be making a regular £1,000-a-week from his unorthodox career move.

Mark claims his customers are successful, attractive, middle-class businesswomen aged 35-50 who are either single or divorced and are too busy for dating or are married and feel their husbands couldn’t cope — emotionally or physically — with their newly darkened desires. “I have five or six regular clients who specifically book the Fifty Shades treatment over and over,” he says.

Many of the women are self made, independent financially and used to exercising responsibility and authority in their day jobs. When they visit services like Mark's, they want the opposite and with some kink thrown in for good measure. And they're prepared to pay for it; according to a recent study by Lancaster University and Manchester Metropolitan University, a record number of women in the UK are now paying for sex and the number of male escorts has trebled from 5,246 to 15,732 since 2010. Apparently BDSM Club memberships are running at a high too.

I told my husband, he showed complete disinterest, he doesn't do the EL stuff or even share my curiosity to learn what others are saying about her. The only time I got a spark of interest from him were the £500 outlay on whips vs a weekly return of £1,000 which he thought was good business, and the bit about the ladies' own husbands not being able to cope with their wives' demands, to which he said their husbands should be admonished for allowing the waste of money. I asked him why, after all...... women got to hairdressers, manicurists, spas, why not the local spankist? (I was joking of course). P was quick off the mark, it was uncomplicated to him.

"I doubt if many husbands could provide a hairdo, paint nails or carry out beauty therapies but they could surely wield a whip if that's what their women need. In fact I'd say it was their duty to do so. And in fact I'd say that any husband who discovered his wife using such services would be entirely justified in taking a whip or cane or whatever to her and putting her straight."

I didn't bother telling him the women didn't need anyone's permission to spend. My husband has a very uncomplicated way of looking at things, I don't think he'd do very well at book writing:)

Have a good week

Ronnie
xx