in San Francisco and Los Angeles.  The rate was about 300/hr in SF and 500/hr in Century City/Beverly Hills.  Kissing was a no-no and CBJ was the norm.  I went on a long hiatus and had only recently started visiting the ladies again.

May be ads by independents on the internet and reviews on sites like TER tear down the inhibitions ladies had about this business.  Pop cultures and TV shows like Melrose Place, Ally McBeal and Sex and the City advocated the idea of multiple partners and frank sex talks for women.  Female sexual needs became open topics.  I guess all these precipitate the lowering of the barrier erected by ladies in the 80s.

Can’t wait to read comments from the ladies.

The first time a professional girl kissed me, I was stunned. Here in SF, GFE is still a rare commodity, but I figure with the cost inflation, the service offering should expand as well.

To me GFE is not much more than an indication that a girl likes her work. I'm always looking for special ladies who truly enjoys the time they spend with people. Now if you're having a good time, why not kiss? Why not express the kind of passion and affection you might experience with a girlfriend?

If you don't enjoy your work, what the hell are you doing it for? Money? That's pathetic. It seems to me that all companions should be GFE, or not at all.

I started "hobbying" 30 years ago.  And back then, before HIV, there were no holds barred, although I can only recall one provider that allowed kissing, and only for regulars.  But BBBJTC was standard operating procedure at that time, as was DATY and Greek.  Things changed about 10 years later, when HIV and AIDS became known as an STD.  Girls (and most guys) opted to protect themselves, and rightfully so.  For many years we didn't really know much about these diseases other than it was an STD that killed you.  I was married and faithful for a period of time, and about 4 years ago took up this hobby again.  The whole "GFE" experience is new, and a marketing necessity. Since the Internet and boards like these allow the client to more selectivey choose their next date, and they have the ability to find providers that offer what they want, the provider must market as much of herself as she feels comfortable with to stay in business.  Also, and more importantly, today's provider has grown up in a less sexually repressed society (except for certain Republicans and the Moral Right), and want to enjoy what they do as well as earn a good living.  That's why the consistently GFE-rated providers thrive, have large numbers of great reviews up on TER and the like, and are tough to book.  But we still have the Cash-and-Dash, Bait-and-Switch, etc. non-providers that figure they can fool anyone at least one time.

I am a relative newcomer to the hobby - 2.5 years - It has only been in the past year I have found the "true GFE" experiences. IMHO, DFK is in indication that the woman truly likes what she does and DFK is just a part of that and helps her to "get into the enjoyment mode". It certainly makes for a much more enjoyable experience.
As to BBBJ's I have expounded on this before - that is fine for those that want it,(I prefer not) but I do not believe it is a mandatory part of a true GFE in the profession. Let's face it she is not your own personal lover! If she goes out of her way to make you feel special, shows that she truly enjoys being with you (read real orgasms) IMHO she deserves high ratings and classification as a GFE. To me this is someone who you look forward to visiting again soon.

When I first started in this hobby about 2 yrs ago, I didn't have a clue what GFE meant. My first experiences were in Bangkok and over there kissing is taboo (the places I went to anyway) and everything is covered.

Then I start getting into the scene here (LA) and found that almost anything goes (even some uncovered vaginal sex as discussed here ocassionally - very scary). My initial notions were to play it very safe and have the kind of experiences that I had in Bangkok. But then almost the first escort I saw here kissed me better than any GF I ever had and I was hooked.

I now tend to seek only those ladies that are willing to put  passion into what they do. For me it is not really about sex. It is about passionate sex and having the kind of experience that you would get from a lover (maybe not even GF).

I think I'll try to coin a new acronym--- LE (Lover Experience). Come to think of it, something about that just doesn't work!

I've been in the hobby since 1983.  Until Y2K, I had exactly one BBBJ from a provider.  Since then, it seems more than half of the providers out there will do it.  I think the boards have driven a lot of this - the girls just know what they have to do to get the phone to ring.

I also think it has a lot to do with the sexual attitudes of the girls coming into this business.  About 20 years ago, it seems that if a girl (non-pro) had 15 partners in college, she was a slut.  I suspect having 15 partners now would be pretty common.  Since people seem to be having more (and better) sex these days, it's natural that some of the benefit would flow up to the hobby.