Girlfriend experience

The Girlfriend Experience is a commercial experience that blurs the boundaries between a financial transaction and a romantic relationship. Within the sex industry, “GFE” is a common term for a sexual encounter in which both the escort and the john are willing to engage in reciprocal sexual pleasure and some degree of emotional intimacy. The "girlfriend experience" generally involves more personal interaction than a traditional call girl or escort offers; it varies widely from person to person, however. There is a focus on not just having sex, but also having more of a comprehensive experience. If the sex worker is male, the service is called the boyfriend experience.

Girlfriend Experience and Prostitution

In some instances a person that provides a Girlfriend Experience is also recognized and titled an “indoor prostitute”. As the definition of what that type of service entitles, unlike a “street prostitute” an “indoor prostitute” provides a type of interaction that involves conversation, affection and mutual sexual pleasure. "Indoor prostitution" also includes: massage parlors and saunas, brothels, strip clubs, and escort prostitution. No matter the differences, this type of interaction still lasts between the limits of the transaction. Contrary to “street prostitution” indoor prostitution is less likely to receive complaints from bystanders because from the outside this experience seems to be a traditional relationship. Because this level of prostitution is considered to be high class, most relationships are made online as opposed to the traditional idea of prostitution where the john would meet the prostitute on the streets. The cost of these services depends on the prostitute as well as the acts that are performed. The GFE typically starts with dinner at a nice restaurant followed by making out on the sofa back at the prostitute’s home and ends with cuddling and consensual sex which gives the feeling of a relationship.

Johns or Hobbyists

The term “john” is defined as being a prostitute's customer. Because most of the beginning interaction between the john and the prostitute is done online, johns call themselves “hobbyists” who are looking for “a nice girl”, in order to not seem suspicious over the internet. In a GFE situation the john would pay for time spent with the call girl meaning: social interaction, dating, or sexual acts. Johns could come from all different backgrounds (white-collar, blue collar, different races, different ages) therefore there is not a “typical” type of john using the GFE service. Many johns emerge through the need for a feeling of closeness without the commitment of a relationship. To a certain extent it eliminates the feeling of guilt or fear of “addiction” to a relationship.

Legal Aspect

Regardless of the type of service, including GFE, paying for any sexual act is still considered to be a form of prostitution and because of this the legal aspect of it varies from place to place. In certain places, such as Mexico, where a “red-light district” exists, any form of prostitution is legal as long as the individual provides proper identification. The Department of Health Control is interested only in controlling sexually transmitted diseases and protecting the health of sex workers and the general population, in places such as Mexico. In the United States, any form of prostitution is illegal under federal law, however; in certain counties in Nevada, within the county borders, prostitution is legal.