“I followed 290 women, 170 of whom made enough (at least $30,000) to separate them from streetwalkers. I spent at least 12 months earning their trust, trying not to ask a lot of prying questions. Once they realized I wasn’t a cop or social worker, they usually told me their stories. I focused on financial questions first, because it made them feel validated as workers. How much did you earn this week? What expenses did you have? Do you save any money? The figures on [this] page highlight some of the contrasts between old-world prostitutes and new-age sex workers. Yet they also suggest that some things haven’t changed: Even women who don’t work on the street report hiding their activities from their families and being abused.” w/ photos
I followed 290 women, 170 of whom made enough (at least $30,000) to separate them from streetwalkers. I spent at least 12 months earning their trust, trying not to ask a lot of prying questions. Once they realized I wasn’t a cop or social worker, they usually told me their stories. I focused on financial questions first, because it made them feel validated as workers. How much did you earn this week? What expenses did you have? Do you save any money?
The figures on the next page highlight some of the contrasts between old-world prostitutes and new-age sex workers. Yet they also suggest that some things haven’t changed: Even women who don’t work on the street report hiding their activities from their families and being abused.
LOCATION
Indoor vs. Outdoor Sex Work
Streetwalkers…
Escorts…
FREAKONOMICS
What sex workers charge (and keep) for traditional intercourse
The Cost of a Particular Act Depends on the Part of Town
| Wall Street/ Tribeca |
Chinatown/ SoHo |
North of 14th St. |
The Bronx | |
| hand job |
$225 | $175 | $125 | $75* |
| ménage a trois (each woman) |
$750 | $500 | $300 | $200 |
| mommy role-play sex |
$400 | $400 | $250 | $75* |
* Plus a shot at the bar
The Agency Trap
More than 60 percent of women in the high-end trade have worked with escort agencies. Men like going through the agencies because it feels less dirty and because they can often write off the expense. (For example, the agency might give them an “entertainment” receipt that includes dinner, hotel, and other seemingly legitimate costs.) But many sex workers hate agencies because they take a cut without providing much security or support. So a lot of women self-incorporate and create a fake agency web page with swiped photos that make it appear as though they are part of a bigger operation.
Education and Day Jobs
Of the escorts I talked to, 63 percent had moved to New York City from another state after high school. But people rarely come to the big city to become prostitutes: Nearly all have held a legitimate job, but not necessarily the glamorous one they came to New York to get. Three worked as street vendors. Two appeared on daytime soap operas.
Their Education
High school diploma
Some college
College degree
Their Day Jobs
Food services (catering and restaurants)
Arts (dancing, acting, or musical performance)
Retail sales
Publishing (copywriting, proofreading, administrative work)
Numbers exceed 100% because of overlaps in work experience.
Top Upgrades
“You’ll make about 50 percent more with a good boob job,” one woman said. Other things that can increase a sex worker’s earning power:
disintermediation
What About the Pimps?
It’s hard out there for a pimp—especially now. Changes in the sex industry have rendered them superfluous. I met 11 pimps working out of midtown Manhattan in 1999, and all were out of work within four years. One enlisted in the military; two have been homeless. Only one now has a full-time job, working as a janitor in a charter school. I asked one of them how pimping experience helps him in the legit economy: “You learn one thing,” he said. “For a good blow job, a man will do just about anything. What can I do with that knowledge? I have no idea.”
High-End Escorts
They might maintain four to six clients—each of whom pays at least $20,000 a year. They often rent an apartment just for sessions.
Sex Worker Mobile Device Usage
Tools of the Trade
A sex worker always carries:
-
Two cell phones. Guys sometimes grab a woman’s mobile to gain a sense of power and control. -
Extra panties. “Always bring them—men pay for souvenirs.” -
Band-Aids and cortisone cream for rashes, rawness, and bruises. -
Gum (Orbit and Trident are favorites). Some swear by those dissolving Listerine strips. -
Condoms and lubricant. If the client wants to skip the condom, there’s usually a 25 percent surcharge.
A sex worker never carries:
-
A cell phone with any form of contact information. -
Any form of ID. They sometimes have fake state IDs with an alternate address. -
Bank cards or credit cards (or anything a client could use to find out where they live). -
Large bills. “Men dumb enough to pay in hundreds don’t deserve change.” -
Small bills. A john who wants change for a $20 bill will want to rob you.
Business Development
Where The Action Is
Of the women I talked to, 61 percent said they’ve used craigslist, mostly for advertising. But even before the crackdown on the site’s adult-services section, sex workers were turning to Facebook: 83 percent have a Facebook page, and I estimate that by the end of 2011, Facebook will be the leading on-line recruitment space.
Source of regular clients
Sudhir Venkatesh (sudhirvenkatesh.org) is a professor of sociology at Columbia University and author of the book Gang Leader for a Day.
Illustrations: Kate Francis
