Student By Day, Phone Sex Operator By Night; The Tale Of A M’sian Student Abroad

In 2001, an 18-year-old Malaysian boy was away from home to study abroad and wanted to do a part-time job to gain some work experience. This is a tradition with many college students. He then saw a sign hanging from a lamppost, written that it was planning to hire “Voice actor & Phone operators” for a part-time job. During that afternoon, the boy called them.

When he arrived at the location, he waited for about 10 minutes before he went for his interview. It was a short and straightforward one. A piece of paper was provided with 20 sentences and phrases written on it. The Malaysian student was told to speak them out loud. He was confused as he had to say the word “banana” in all those sentences. One line wrote, “I wanna eat your big banana”. At that moment, he thought he would be selling fruit, but we all know where this is going.

The boy managed to recite all those lines without any problem. He got a call a few days later. The voice over the phone said, “We like how you spoke those lines. Congrats! You got the job“. The Malaysian college student felt ecstatic.

When Mr. Denham explained that the student will become a phone sex operator, it specifically for gay men. His job scope was to chat with those who wanted to vocalise their sexual fantasies with the 18-year-old Malaysian. Of course, everyone’s immediate reaction was to say they weren’t gay. Although, people who had the same job as his were mostly straight.

He discovered that he took the job as he was the only one who successfully read all the lines without failing. He was lucky because people would instantly fail if they let out a single chuckle. Keeping a straight voice was all he needed to pass.

The Malaysian young adult was divisive over this job though. This is because he was getting money but also faking his sexuality. Being straight means he might not be able to pull this off. He could’ve been slightly homophobic too. The boy also expressed how he thought this would make him an “audio prostitute”. Feeling unsatisfied, he dragged Mr. Denham out for a smoking session to ask, “How do you do this sex talk with men? Doesn’t it make you… uncomfortable?”.

Mr. Denham then said, “You get used to it, or you quit”. He wasn’t wrong. Phone operators would usually find a way to cope with it or just search for another job. For the 18-year-old, he was getting paid very well with around RM4 a minute during a call. He would spend an average of 25 minutes each hour on shift talking. That’s around RM100-200 per hour (plus-minus the short breaks) compared to other jobs like Starbucks.

Doing phone sex means your selling an audio fantasy. You’ll learn quickly what your caller wants based on clues during some first few interactions. The Malaysian would build a cast of characters while acting out some of the best and worst character clichés. Watching many American programmes helped him put on a very accurate American accent.

Some of his most requested characters to imitate were Khan from “Star Trek” and Gandalf from “Lord of the Rings”. There were many characters that were experimented on, like Drag Queen Priscilla and a submissive and sensitive boy, Leslie.

Doing these calls was all for work and money. Sadly, some calls involved people walking out during a shift and never coming back. These calls came from men who wanted a shoulder to lean on. He could be someone lonely, someone pretending to be gay, or someone who refused to reveal their homosexuality. They were men who didn’t have anyone to talk to or be within reality.

These were clearly shy people. They were lonely and just wanted someone to lend an ear. One time, the Malaysian talked to someone who was an 18-year-old gay, depressed, and suicidal person. He couldn’t talk to anyone about himself and would get beaten up by other kids and his parents. His life basically sucks. Going through sessions like this must’ve been very depressing.

Thankfully, phone operators would have an international list consisting of suicide prevention and support hotlines right by their phones. The 19-year-old Malaysian would do everything he could to cheer them up. Callers would talk about their stories of abuse, fear, and isolation. Listening to these victims voice out their struggles was usually enough to make them feel better.

He said these calls were easy as you only need to listen to their stories. Strangely enough, operators would end their call by saying, “You’re not alone. Good luck. Goodbye”. The Malaysian student would reflect on his work as an “audio-whore”. He even considered trying to find something less illegal than his current line of work.

For him, it was both haunting and a little bit scary. As time progressed, he noticed the hardships LGBTQ+ individuals have to go through. The Malaysian student also stated that being straight had its hardships, but was less severe. He realised how sexual minorities could get murdered even when they are coping with their ordinary lives.

The Malaysian did mention one of the strangest things he’s heard during calls. He would hear the voices of people orgasming. These people were demonstrating post-nut clarity. After finishing sexual pleasure, they would feel shameful and guilty.

On rare occasions, the Malaysian student would get into a three-way call. He was basically third-wheeling and hearing two lovers having sex. Some callers would feel instant regret and wonder why they paid for this call session.

But the Malaysian stated he didn’t regret the experience. He’s learned a lot of valuable things during his part-time job. Society is a joke. Women were always judged based on how they look and dress. They are forced to be desirable and attractive and to promote and sell. Of course, women being objectified is harmful. Men, on the other hand, always objectify them. They are rarely victims.

The 18-year-old said pretending to be gay was weird to him. But he felt somewhat satisfied with being objectified by gay callers. It could be due to how new the experience felt for him. But then again, every new experience has its value.

The Malaysian student held this job for a year. He would work nights and weekends to avoid clashing with classes. However, he has never detailed his job experience with anyone else. This was probably due to how he was brought up as a child.

Even though he was never a religious person, he would grow up hearing homophobic slurs such as “pondan”. He was thought that homosexuality was something disgraceful and sinful. He realised that there was never an explanation as to why homosexuality is harmful.

At first, he was hesitant to take the job but still chose to do so. He’s gained some new insights into how society treats marginalised individuals such as the LGBTQ+ community.

Source: In Real Life.