A California public school teacher has recently revealed her double life as a sex dominatrix in her new book.
Darlene has been a school teacher at a southern California school for nearly 20 years, but she also spent 18 of those also playing the role of a professional dominatrix at night. For her, the two roles didn't have any major contradiction.
"Whether I'm helping a student learn to speak English or playing a part in someone's fantasy, I'm the facilitator who is making it possible for a fellow human being to reach his or her goal," Darlene said in a statement.
Now, Darlene is revealing her two worlds in her book, "Playing Darlene: The True Double Life of a Public School Teacher & Professional Dominatrix."
"I hope my book will encourage ladies be more assertive in that respect," she told the Examiner. "I believe too many women are made to feel that their own sexual desires are relatively unimportant."
In her book, Darlene talks about her roles as both a teacher and a dominatrix, showcasing some she was asked to play based on notes she kept about her sessions. By day, she taught English as a second language and teenage remedial courses in what FishbowlLA speculates to be a school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Darlene isn't the first educator to reveal another persona. Two years ago Lisa Chavez, a tenured professor of English at the University of New Mexico, became a controversial figure after she revealed her part-time job as a phone sex dominatrix who went by the name "Mistress Jade."
These women and others have said they choose also to work in the sex industry because the pay is good. For Chavez, after going through a divorce and seeing the bills pile up, $40 an hour as a phone sex worker seemed like a good way to add income until the reality of how this would affect her career hit home.
"If you Google me, this whole issue is the first thing that comes up," Chavez told The Chronicle of Higher Education.
While Chavez opted for sex work to earn more, Darlene also sought to challenge the proscribed.
"What's considered taboo varies from culture to culture," Darlene said in a statement. "Let's face it, this country is not the most open-minded when it comes to erotica, but we're evolving…hopefully for the better."