The girlfriend experience is a sexual service in which a female sex worker plays as the client's girlfriend. This type of service is similar to an escort service.
The girlfriend experience might include activities such as kissing, cuddling, holding hands, attending an event together, eating dinner together, talking, having sex, or simply spending time together. Generally, any activity that one might engage in with a significant other is a possibility with the girlfriend experience.
Often sex workers offering this service pretend they have long romantic histories with their clients or may pretend they are new girlfriends. While sex workers offering the girlfriend experience may charge by the hour, these sessions tend to run much longer than regular sex work.
While sex is often a component of the girlfriend experience, it is not the main focus. Instead, people who order the girlfriend experience are usually interested in having an intimate interpersonal experience with their sex worker, similar to a real-life relationship. Clients who choose this service usually want company more than sexual gratification. When sex does occur as part of the girlfriend experience, it's can feel more intimate and personal than standard sex with a sex worker.
As with most sex industry terms, the girlfriend experience was once unknown by the general public. The concept of the girlfriend experience entered the mainstream with the release of the 2009 Steven Soderbergh film, "The Girlfriend Experience," and the later TV series of the same name.
The girlfriend experience is often shortened to the acronym GFE on service menus and sex industry websites. The male equivalent of the girlfriend experience is the boyfriend experience. BFE is the acronym for this sex service. While the clients who order the girlfriend experience are usually straight males, sex workers offering the boyfriend experience may see straight females, gay males, or bisexual males.
More About Girlfriend Experience
The people who ask for the girlfriend experience have various motivations. Some clients wish they had a girlfriend and use the services of a sex worker to fill that space in their lives and curb their longing. Others are very happy being single. They appreciate the girlfriend experience as it brings them all the perks of having a girlfriend without the downsides.
A sex worker offering the girlfriend experience always shows her best side, as it is her job to please her clients. Unlike real girlfriends, sex workers don’t need emotional support or express "negative" emotions, such as anger or jealousy. In these respects, sex workers can be much easier for clients to deal with.
Some clients have barriers that impact their ability to form relationships. Some clients choose the girlfriend experience as they feel they are too busy to meet someone or form and maintain a strong relationship. Others have physical or mental disabilities that make finding suitable girlfriends challenging.
Not all clients who request the girlfriend experience are single. Some clients feel their relationships lack the elements that the girlfriend experience provides. They may miss affection or intimate sex in their relationships, so turn to sex workers to fill this void.
Providing the girlfriend experience also benefits sex workers too. As girlfriend experience sessions are usually longer than traditional sex work, this sex work can be very lucrative. As sessions don’t always involve sex, there can be less physical work. Providing the girlfriend experience can be emotionally taxing though as sex workers must make sure their clients feel special.
While the girlfriend experience simulates real relationships, most sex workers avoid forming emotional connections with their clients. They treat their encounters as the business it is, even when they see clients on a regular basis.
Clients should remember to maintain professional boundaries and to respect that this is work that the GFE provider has spent time, money, and energy investing in, in order to offer this service safely and effectively. Clients should not get caught up in the "Pretty Woman" fantasy but to always honor them as the experts that they are.
