If the sex trades are a societal menace undermining all that we consider wholesome and good, then how to explain Club Madellyn Jae, the thriving members-only establishment where the hostesses speak in feminist tongues, the clients are friendly and respectful, and everybody goes home satisfied?
Story by Tony Martins / Photography by Jonathan Lorange
The place is invisible, located on a semi-industrial stretch of road next to a Tim Hortons and a carpeting retailer. There’s no signage and certainly no flashing lights. There’s only an outdoor intercom button you can use to gain entry to a nondescript office building.
Inside, the space is dimly lit but clean and orderly. The vibe is somewhat like that of a spa except that here the patrons and the staff are in various states of undress. There’s an office, a laundry room, a water cooler, massage and shower rooms, and a larger space for gatherings with a portable stripper’s pole and a miniature bar. This is Club Madelyn Jae (CMJ), and if you’re looking for a feel-good story to contradict the stigmas associated with sex work, this just might be the place.
To be clear, CMJ is not a full-service house of prostitution. It has succeeded with an unusual business model that sees male clients and females hostesses engage privately, beginning with a massage or a shower, and perhaps ending with a manual release for the client: a hand job. As a private club that is not open to the public, CMJ is free from municipal regulation and has never been investigated by the police. Business is brisk enough that a second location may soon open.
On this evening, Elizabeth Kennedy, a long-time sex worker herself who opened the club in 2007, strolls into the party room while breastfeeding her infant son. There’s a Halloween gathering going on; costumed hostesses and members are mixing and chatting and several of them take pause to greet Elizabeth and her newborn. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. Interactions are what you might find among staff and regulars at any place of business—except here there is more physical contact.
“We live in a touch-deprived culture,” explains “Simone,” a 25-year-old club hostess who got into sex work a few years ago after the end of a long-term relationship left her wanting to explore her sexuality and a bad economy left her cash-strapped.
“I think that it's the connective power of human touch that really draws [clients] to the service,” Simone continues. “This is about something far deeper than sexual release. We are starving to be free, to touch and to be touched.”
Highly educated and articulate, Simone breaks just about every stereotypical image you might associate with a sex worker. She exhibits the self-assured nature of most hostesses at CMJ.
“I believe there are two types of people in this business,” says proprietor Kennedy. “Sound, level-headed, strong women who are focused individuals. They are using their sexuality to get ahead in life.”
“The second type, unfortunately, is in the industry for the wrong reasons and is self-destructive,” Kennedy continues. “They are sometimes addicted to drugs, in abusive relationships, spend the money as quickly as they make it. Often, it’s all about the money and they always want more and more—they chase the dollar and end up starting as a dancer or masseuse and end up as an escort.”
“That to me is very sad about these women,” Kennedy adds. “If they make it past my training, they usually don’t last long at CMJ because I don’t want to be a part of their self-destruction.”
“At the time I started I was mature and experienced enough to make the choice for myself and it felt very empowering,” offers Simone. “I was not a girl, but a woman. I knew my boundaries from day one. I wasn’t comfortable stripping or doing full-service. Hostessing at CMJ was a perfect fit for me.”
“Samantha” is another hostess who got into sex work in her mid-twenties and has taken a professional approach from the outset. Now aged 40, Samantha began working as a dominatrix at CMJ about a year ago and was soon added to the club’s management team.
“I think it’s a much-needed service in the community,” says Samantha “I’ve had many clients who suffer from being disabled and have no choice but to turn to sex workers for one reason or another.”
Samantha initially explored the prospect of sex work in part because she was frustrated with being treated poorly by minimum wage employers. In places like CMJ, the work is safe and the money is good.
“I needed to pay rent and student loans,” explains Simone. “I was eager to maximize my earnings. I prefer to have time and energy to live the life that I want to the fullest—for me this involves travel and saving money for the future.”
Unfortunately, the supportive and sex-positive atmosphere at CMJ is often the exception, not the rule.
“Terry” is a long-standing patron at the club—in large part because he appreciates the unique and honest atmosphere.
“There is no coyness, no pretensions, no dumbing-down or other games to camouflage the real purpose of the place,” Terry explains. “I find this refreshing. I like to be treated like an intelligent consenting adult. It is a place of pure sensual pleasure, for the eyes and for the body."
Aged 58, Terry works in the media industry and maintains a 25-year relationship with a life partner. He visits the club once every few months.
“It is still a difficult thing to explain to my significant other, so she does not know,” Terry says of his CMJ membership. “However, most of my male friends and some of my female friends are certainly aware.”
Despite keeping it from his life partner, Terry feels no guilt about patronizing CMJ.
“The pleasure for money approach is in fact less guilt-ridden than the classic affair or even friends with benefits,” he explains.
Terry says he returns to the club for the combination of sexual release, intimate connection, and friendly atmosphere.
“I find it difficult to separate these,” Terry says. “I think the concept of an intimate connection is overblown, at least for me. There is physical intimacy of course, but I don’t think of the session as emotional intimacy. But I know some people do and that it is part of their fantasy.”
While it is said that many men who frequently visit sex workers secretly hope to one day form an authentic bond with the women, Simone’s approach to the business seems to make that outcome very unlikely.
“They are not buying me,” Simone says, “they are paying for a service which I provide on my own terms. I do not feel objectified, which is essential. In terms of the girlfriend/wife factor, I do feel a sense of guilt, however, my services are safe and there is very little true emotional intimacy.”
Although their experiences at the club have been largely positive, Simone and Samantha agree that the sex worker stigma can remain a considerable challenge in everyday life.
“It is very easy to internalize the stigma, to feel guilty and confused about what you do,” said Simone. “Society teaches you that this is wrong. Sex workers are demonized by the media. It's very stressful to have a secret life on the fringes of society.”
Yet despite the stigma, Simone feels that “There's a strong sense of humanity in what I do and I'm proud of that … There exists a very commonplace human desire within our society which has been suppressed by social convention and cheapened by the media,” Simone adds.
For Terry, the appeal is simple: “That’s what brings you back, sixty minutes of pure adult sensual pleasure. Bodies searching, caressing, touching. No pressure for anyone to perform or for any need for any serious role playing other than mutual respect and pleasure, period. Money well spent I would say.”
“The sex industry is the oldest profession in the world for a reason,” Kennedy argues. “It’s never going to disappear.”
“People and governments can pretend it doesn’t exist, or try to eradicate it through regulations or laws, but all that’s going to do is push it further underground and make it dangerous.” Kennedy continues.
Kennedy views her club as one means of making sex work less dangerous.
“I see it as my responsibility to protect and guide these women and help them stay on a positive path … To help them get the most out of the business without having to experience some of the negative aspects that I experienced before I had my own place.”
As for operating a gentleman’s club in a place like Ottawa, Kennedy has learned that the conservative nature of the city is largely a false exterior.
“People see Ottawa as a conservative town because it's the capital and a Mecca for Canadian politics,” Kennedy says, “but the people who live here are just like people all over … People are sexual beings.”
While the CMJ owner is hesitant to give away too many secrets of her success, “I will say that it took months, a few lawyers, a lot of money, staunch determination, and a passionate belief.”
It was a process, but Kennedy is also now completely “out” to family and friends as a sex worker and establishment owner. Hers is literally a sex work story with a happy ending.
“I am not ashamed of my involvement in the business and I am extremely proud of the business I have built,” Kennedy says. “My past has made me who I am today and I am a very happy and blessed woman.”
