People often ask: If you’re confident in what you do, why don’t you show your face online?
I’d rather not obscure it, honestly. I think my face is one of my best features! I am not embarrassed or ashamed of the work. I have been “Andra” for 13 years, by choice. The real answer is simple: privacy is protection, boundaries, and freedom.
Different Roles, Different Risks
I began hearing this question—“why don’t you show your face?”—more and more as I shifted from full-service sex work to operating primarily in the digital sphere, where most performers (influencers, “models,” whatever) operate “face out.”
I realized that many of the people (mostly men) I was interacting with outside the professional companionship niche didn’t fully understand the range of adult workers—cam performers, phone operators, content creators, dancers, and full-service providers—each carrying a different level of visibility, stigma, and risk.
Those who are familiar only with digital creators often don’t grasp the stakes of in-person work, and they don’t understand why anonymity matters so much to so many of us who operate(d) in both online and offline spaces.
Those of us who have been around for a while have seen it happen: workers put on no-fly lists; bank accounts closed; people doxxed to their employers and families. All because one photo—one face—was tied to their real identity. And once it’s on the internet, it’s there forever. One identifying photo is enough to set off a domino effect that can’t be stopped.
Reasons for Anonymity
Here’s why I—and many others—keep our faces private:
- Privacy – Separating personal life from work life.
Some forms of erotic work are more visible, some more discreet. Unlike digital-only models, those who meet clients in person have additional risks for safety. For erotic entrepreneurs who work in ways that overlap with embodied intimacy, marketing online through a personal website like this one, or through social media accounts like X or IG, are necessary to build visibility and legitimacy, but the line between our work life and our personal life must stay firm, and keeping our real-life identities private helps to keep us safe. - Client discretion – Protecting the clients from unwanted exposure.
Discretion goes both ways. Just as clients value their own confidentiality, so do escorts. Keeping my face off the internet honors that trust. Many companions entertain or accompany clients in public spaces—not just behind closed doors. Nobody wants to be “seen with an escort” in a restaurant or hotel lobby, and keeping our images private lowers that risk for everybody. - Safety – Reducing the risk of stalking, harassment, or violence.
Not everyone has good intentions. I’ve seen women deal with clients who became obsessed—digging into their digital footprint, finding real names, showing up in real life. Keeping my face offline makes it much harder for anyone to cross that line. - Legal concerns – Avoiding unwanted legal attention.
Laws around adult work vary by state, country, and even city. What’s normal in one place can be criminalized in another. Showing your face makes you instantly identifiable to authorities, immigration systems, and financial institutions. It’s easy for them to work together, beginning simply by identifying someone’s identity from a single reverse-image search of any social media or website photo. Keeping our faces anonymous is one of the few protections we have against legal systems that often punish workers instead of protecting them. - Social stigma – Preventing judgment from family, friends, or employers.
Sadly, society still treats adult work as taboo, and stigma and battles over “appropriate values” continue to paint erotic workers in a negative light. Stigma shows up as custody battles where parents lose their children, as employers firing someone for “reputation reasons,” as families turning their backs, and as banks or landlords denying services. It’s not just “awkward looks” or gossip, but real harm that can alter someone’s entire life. - Employment protection – Safeguarding future career opportunities.
Many of us have other jobs, professions, or careers outside of sex work (or did before entering this world and/or plan to transition into them). Being identified as an escort can cause irreparable damage to a career. One face picture online can lead to being discredited, barred, or losing the ability to work (i.e., losing credentials) in fields where reputation matters. - Protecting close others – Shielding loved ones and associates from gossip or fallout.
I’m not just “Andra.” I’m also a parent, a daughter, a friend, a volunteer, a community member… If my identity was public, those closest to me could be targeted by gossip, discrimination, or harassment simply by association. My family knows about this part of my life, but they don’t deserve to–and shouldn’t have to–carry the stigma and judgment they’d face if they were associated with it publicly. - Boundary control – Keeping professional and personal relationships separate.
Anonymity allows me to decide what part of myself I bring into different spaces. It keeps work interactions in their lane and personal relationships in theirs. Boundaries are what make both sustainable, and showing my face would erase a line I can never redraw. - Freedom of movement – Traveling or working without public recognition.
I value the ability to walk into a grocery store, a school event, or an airport without being recognized. Keeping my face private means I can move through the world freely, without being labeled, questioned, or watched by strangers who think they know me.
Conclusion
I’m in my early 40’s. I’ve built and achieved great things outside of adult work. I served over 20 years in the Marine Corps. I have a professional career outside of sex work, where reputation matters. Protecting my anonymity gives me a greater likelihood of protecting the people I love and everything I’ve built.
I don’t shame or shun anyone who chooses to show their face, I just know that choice is not right for me. So next time you see a faceless photo, don’t assume insecurity. Assume wisdom, boundaries, and someone who values the things above.
Xo,
Andra
