Kayla Jade, a prominent sex worker and social media personality, has gained significant attention in Australia, amassing over three million followers across her TikTok and Instagram accounts. Originally from New Zealand, she is now based on the Gold Coast. In the sex work industry, she has become a household name, adored especially among women. Jade gets real about her life, work, and the unique perspectives she brings to the table. On her site, she illustrates the emotional toll of her work and the murky ethical waters that accompany it.
Just over a year ago, Jade took her first steps to becoming a social media star. She just knew she needed a space to talk about her experiences and bitch about the industry. Her videos consistently get more than a million views each. They present the human side of sex work, from working with clients to the daily interactions and challenges that sex workers face. Even as Jade became more and more famous, she never expected to be famous in this way.
I was like: ‘I’m just going to throw this out there for anyone who wants to listen’, and then it just blew up, How was I to know,” she remembered, looking back on her viral success story.
As an artists/activist, Jade makes content to demystify the life of a sex worker. She has stayed very conscious of the way her platform can reach younger audiences. She’s worried that viewers will think her life is immer in a glamorized, easy way. “I was worried that, say, a young person would see those videos and be like: ‘Oh my God, she makes so much money doing sex work’. But they don’t actually comprehensively grasp what I went through to earn that cash,” she laughed.
The emotional toll of balancing being an influencer and a sex worker is something that weighs heavily on her. Jade is frequently subjected to brutal and discriminatory trolling across social media platforms, an issue that can force personal lines to be crossed by everyday users. “We put so much out there online. At the end of the day, we’re human,” she stated. Outside of her work on a personal level, she is passionate about shattering the stereotypes that surround sex work. “A lot of people would have in their heads what a sex worker is like or how they act,” she said, urging society to reconsider preconceived notions.
Although she loves sharing her life with so many people, Jade has learned the importance of keeping things private. “We shouldn’t have to constantly expose everything,” she asserted. She knows the moral ramifications of talking about her work publicly. This acknowledgement of boundaries is all the more crucial when the audience is made up of impressionable young people.
Jade’s increased visibility makes opportunities behind the camera that were previously difficult to attain, if not totally inaccessible, for sex workers in the industry more within reach. I’m lucky enough to be able to secure brand deals now, which is totally impossible in the sex industry. Brands don’t usually work with sex workers because it’s a risky thing for them,” she explained. This success comes with its own set of challenges as she navigates the delicate balance between her work and public perception.
As she plans for the future, Jade has no plans to stay in the sex work industry forever. She understands the challenges that come with the profession and wants to show her audience what it really is. It comes from the fact that I always say I would not recommend sex work because it’s still such a dangerous industry. I try to talk about the downsides of the industry so people know it’s not just this amazing, glamorous thing that’s going to be all fairies and rainbows,” Jade emphasized.
She’s as good on social media as she is in real life and she’s starting her own podcast. This new platform will help her share those experiences more broadly and dive deeper into the complexities of sex work.
Jade’s impact on the conversation opens up deeper conversations about under-representation and lack of access within the sex work industry. As fellow sex worker Mish Pony noted, “Generally, it is more privileged workers, so there’s still a lot of work that we need to do to ensure that all sex workers have the same opportunities.” These kinds of pronouncements underscore the importance of sustained conversation around equity, both inside and outside of the profession.
Jade is a dynamic force in sculpting her future career. She is relentless in her desire to shatter stigmas and societal judgment surrounding the sex work industry. “I’m glad that I’m sort of breaking down those walls a little bit — very slowly but surely,” she remarked.
