I’m a model. In 2016 (16 years old) I moved to China on my own for work. I’ve been working as a model since I was 13, but it was in China where I discovered that the model-to-escort pipeline is very real & sex is used as currency. Modelling doesn’t really pay that well - the real money is made by escorting & modelling work is just a fancy ad: you being the product.
A modelling agency gets the visa for you. You get assigned a manager who gets granted legal guardianship over you by your parents since you’re under 18. At least that’s how it was for me. This is the legit way. There are girls and boys who come over and do seasonal work (freelance gigs) on tourist visas, which is illegal. Moving to China at that age for work isn’t unusual, if anything quite popular, for the models from my side of the world (Romania - Moldova - Belarus - Ukraine - Russia). The market is easier to get into and less over saturated / competitive as a white person than in the West; plus white people, especially Eastern Europeans, tend to be quite fetishised there which means more work opportunities.
Does that model-escort pipeline also applies to male models, or do they have to contend with other problems?
It applies but on a way smaller percentage. For male models their main problem is the lack of work and opportunities - they get paid peanuts compared to their female counterparts. Just not that super in demand. Male modelling is the equivalent of women’s sports. The model-escort pipeline can definitely be exploitative but it’s still a huge boost to income; men’s limited entry into it further restricts their earning potential.
That whole paragraph sets alarm bells blaring in my head