LOS ANGELES — Adult directory site Slixa has elevated the voice of entertainers by offering a novel platform geared toward humanizing escorts via high-end aesthetics and hands-on advocacy.
Launched last Oct. as a then entirely women-owned operation and bootstrapped without any venture funding, Slixa has blossomed into a network of more than 3,000 entertainers who are communally bound by their branding as Slixa Girls.
But while the site promotes connections, including (but extending beyond) the physical realm, it doesn’t throw its primary advertorial focus under the bus. Instead, it strives for ethically conscious promotion of its entertainers.
Kathy, director of marketing and business relations development and CEO Lee Ann told XBIZ in a joint statement: “We’re not so much creating community as joining a pre-existing one and supporting the community that supports us. The adult entertainer community is vast, strong, and very active, and we’re excited to be a part of it.
"What is lacking in this community is an advertising platform that works to normalize the experience and does what they can to support entertainer voices. We are aiming to be a service to entertainers that is not exploitative, and values who they are and what they do.”
In accordance with Slixa’s mission statement, the site promotes models using profiles that resemble magazine centerfolds in style and topography. Within that profile, an entertainer can display all of her marketing tools, such as professional photography, personal websites or blogs, outside reviews or verification sites, social networks, personal interests and even status updates that lets her “talk out loud” in sound bites, Lee Ann and Kathy said.
Adding another element of depth is the site’s two blog sections, Slixa Under Cover and Slixa Late Night, which gives its hosted entertainers a forum for sex worker-specific communication.
“Whether it is giving space for providers to educate potential clients, addressing and analyzing recent industry news, calling out ‘whorephobia,’ or rallying attention for provider projects, the blogs serve as a space for providers to communicate regarding subjects they care about. We see it as a space that fosters community growth and encourages education regarding provider issues.”
Despite the site’s relative infancy, the blog section isn’t sparse and features articles that really do target sex worker-specific issues that would be hard to come by even in the vast sex sea of the Internet, including how to “come out” as an adult professional to would-be beaus and tips on how to increase profits.
The Slixa team says it is actively present in the escort and entertainment community by sponsoring at relevant events, lending support to select organizations through donations and using its blogs as a plugging platform. In 2013, Slixa has, among its outreach activites, sponsored the Woodhull Sexual freedom Summit and Catalyst Con, Desiree Alliance Conference and the HIPS 20th Anniversary event.
For information about Slixa, check its profile on Business Insider.
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