[walletpop.com]- Freelance work as a dominatrix is picking up as the economy gets spanked, offering a job in the sex industry without having to have sex, according to Tracy Quan in The Daily Beast.

Quan reports that the money makes it a worthwhile part-time job. Jessica, a pro-domme, as those in the industry call it, worked in Manhattan dungeons and took a typical 40% cut from a $200 session, with 60% going to the dungeon. It may look like a bad deal to others in the sex industry, but for a freelancer, it’s worthwhile pay.

“If you’re making $8 an hour at your day job, $80 is awesome,” Jessica said. “There’s no shortage of women willing to work at those rates.”

Another woman in the industry, Linda, said the dominatrix market picked up during the tech bust in 2002 when women lost their jobs, and it’s happening again now.

Legitimate dungeons operate legally and openly, so workers don’t have to worry about getting arrested. Spanking men for a living is less risky and more law-abiding than being a traditional call girl.

Quan’s story reports that Lyla has worked the fetish party circuit as a popular foot model and pro-domme, always “staying within the bounds of what was legal” and earning $1,000 on a good night.

She has “a very particular foot with a high arch,” which may sound glamorous, but at the end of a night shift her feet hurt just as much as anyone else standing on their feet at work.