The girlfriend experience is a sexual service in which a female sex worker plays as the client's girlfriend. This type of service is similar to an escort service.
The girlfriend experience might include activities such as kissing, cuddling, holding hands, attending an event together, eating dinner together, talking, having sex, or simply spending time together. Generally, any activity that one might engage in with a significant other is a possibility with the girlfriend experience.
Often sex workers offering this service pretend they have long romantic histories with their clients or may pretend they are new girlfriends. While sex workers offering the girlfriend experience may charge by the hour, these sessions tend to run much longer than regular sex work.
While sex is often a component of the girlfriend experience, it is not the main focus. Instead, people who order the girlfriend experience are usually interested in having an intimate interpersonal experience with their sex worker, similar to a real-life relationship. Clients who choose this service usually want company more than sexual gratification. When sex does occur as part of the girlfriend experience, it's can feel more intimate and personal than standard sex with a sex worker.
As with most sex industry terms, the girlfriend experience was once unknown by the general public. The concept of the girlfriend experience entered the mainstream with the release of the 2009 Steven Soderbergh film, "The Girlfriend Experience," and the later TV series of the same name.
The girlfriend experience is often shortened to the acronym GFE on service menus and sex industry websites. The male equivalent of the girlfriend experience is the boyfriend experience. BFE is the acronym for this sex service. While the clients who order the girlfriend experience are usually straight males, sex workers offering the boyfriend experience may see straight females, gay males, or bisexual males.