Originally Posted By palmer
For me in NY the other big difference is the decline of the houses following the raids of 2008. The steady rhythm of dommes beginning in houses, gaining experience and then going independent was broken. Now, so many dommes start as independents with, as I comment on on another thread, stringent screening requirements, which are just too much for me, especially with someone new.


Palmer, to your point, I had a discussion with someone today about the 2008 raids. I completely agree about the demise of NYC dungeons which meant a loss of learning the trade by many Mistresses.

I'm of a certain age and not being nostalgic in what I'm about to say. The difference between 2008 and today, forget about the cost of sessions and that I don't feel right sessioning with Mistresses under 40. In my opinion it is that dehumanization of social media, the difficulty of making it financially no matter your job, and the "sport" of judging/harrassing etc. people based on age, race, sex, and other criteria makes having a first time session - as a dominatrix or a sub - far more problematic than 20 years ago. I'm lucky I have a Mistress who is under-the-radar and known for years. Okay... off the soap box.