How would telling him benefit either of you? As a random stranger in the internet, you don’t need to be the reason he lost his innocent view of the world.

If he starts asking direct questions, give age appropriate answers but I don’t see a reason to tell him unprompted

Judge the risk of him finding out from someone else. I think only you can decide that, based on your situation and peers.

When he finds out, it should be from you. And you don’t have to go into specifics when you tell him.

Picture it from his perspective. If one of his friends (who found out from their parent or something) tells your son, do you want him to be surprised you were keeping a secret based on how some teenage boy describes it? Or would you want him to already know the basics from you?

Well, in 5 years he will have either heard it from you or heard it from his friends.

Also, holy shit, this is tough one. Sex work is legitimate work, but his friends, primarily young men, are not going to be cool about this; especially if there are lap dances involved. On the other hand, it keeps food in the pantry and heat in house.

If it were me, then I would rather here it from my mom than from my friends. In addition to maintaining an honest relationship with your son, this also protects you. Men are pretty fucked up and it is not a stretch to imagine that your sons’ friends or their fathers could use the threat of telling your son about your night work as the basis for sexual exploitation. At the very least, it would draw some dads’ attention your way that would cause nothing but problems. Consider explaining how much of your income is derived from stripping and then explain what it pays for. Be ready for him to suggest alternative occupations with knowledge about what your finances would look like if you switched. This will help him understand the why behind your work and allow him to arm up on return-fire jokes.

These types of jokes would, of course, be crass, and aimed at either the unfuckability of other kids’ moms or at their dads’ priorities; for example, their dad is willing to pay for his college but not their own sons’?

Additionally, this whole conversation may be a net positive for his personal views on porn, having a humanizing effect on the woman that he would otherwise see as objects. Life is hard and people do what they can. It’s a weird facet of our culture that sex work is so readily consumed AND so readily looked down on.

Finally, and this is speculative at best, with the GOP pushing a federal anti-porn bill through the house and senate, strip clubs may see an increase in foot traffic, thereby increasing both your income and your likelihood of your son finding out. It may, also, make this line of work illegal and therefore more dangerous.

All of this is for consideration and, unfortunately, none of this answers your question directly. Truly, this is an ethical question for the ages.

You prolly should have that talk after you re able to stop.

He should know that he lives in a depraved country where one job is not enough and people are forced into sex work to make life work.

This is not a moral failing, this is a systemic issue.

But normies would rather dunk on less fortunate because in US hate the poor and go out of our way to make their lives shitter

Almost every single post from you mentions that you’re a single mom to a 13 year old and you ask about things like co-sleeping, wether it’s okay to wear bikinis in front of your son and his friends, how to teach them about bodily changes during puberty and now you’re a stripper as well.

I’ve been seeing you around here for a while now and there’s seems to be a theme here.

It is wild what 13 year olds grasp and even more wild what they retain.

I would just tell him you are a waitress.