With legacy brands crumbling on the world's trading floors and pink slips raining on Main Street, times are tough all around. So it might be heartening to know that help is on the way. The Brazilian ministry of labor has dedicated a link on its official Web page to assist aspiring sex workers. That's right, prostitutes.
Buying and selling sex in Brazil is perfectly legal, as long as the transaction takes place between consenting adults, involves no intermediaries (pimps, agencies), and puts no one physically or psychologically in harm's way. The minders of South America's largest nation apparently felt the need to go a step further and extend a helping hand to this unsung class of workers. Think of it as the official employee's manual for the oldest profession.
The site is chock full of helpful vocational itips, including a complete job description, an accessories checklist, and a guide to better client relations guide. According to the Labor Ministry, the conscientious sex professional:
- always carries a well stocked "work kit", including perfume, makeup, condoms, moisturized towelettes, mobile phone and business cards;
- demonstrates personal abilities (giving seductive looks, being playful, inventing erotic fantasies) and a knack for persuasion;
- can effectively negotiate client services (stripease, story telling) and manage a budget;
- knows how to administer first aid.
Practicing professionals are encouraged to regularly attend "trade association" workshops and to help organize other sex workers. By law, anyone 18 years or older is eligible for sex work, the Web site says. But rookies beware. "The best results generally come with at least two years of experience," the government advises.
