Valentina, 18

Central London

A little bit about me

I was seventeen when I first ventured inside a sex shop. “I want to be a stripper,” I told my parents, and within a week I had my hands on the highest heels I could find – six inch platforms, patent, black.

I absolutely worshipped those shoes; they were my first taste of freedom and the forbidden. But when the time came to audition, I was too timid to undress myself on stage and made excuses for why it wasn’t meant to be. Countless moments of curiosity, adrenalin and deep arousal – wasted.

Years later, I spent a summer in Amsterdam and every afternoon, without fail, I’d saunter through the Red Light District; infatuated by the women flaunting their flesh in the back-lit windows. I wondered, what greater luxury than to be devoured? To experience delirium, warmth, and ecstasy in abundance - if only for a moment?

Temptation got the better of me and I resigned from my desk job before returning home to Australia. I just couldn’t wait any longer.