Beyond gender Jenkins PhD 2009

Transcription

Beyond gender:
an examination of
exploitation in sex work
Suzanne Jenkins
PhD
Keele University
April 2009
Abstract
Abstract
Although there are conflicting perspectives on prostitution in the feminist literature, female
prostitutes are usually regarded as victims of gender-specific exploitation, either in the form of
sexual-domination or socio-economic-inequality. Male prostitution has usually been excluded
from feminist analyses on the basis that it is thought to be less exploitative than female
prostitution. In this thesis, I expand upon feminist theories of gendered exploitation by
comparing the experiences of male, female and transgendered escort sex-workers. Using a
qualitative approach, my research explores whether prostitution is inherently exploitative and
what conditions create and exacerbate sex-workers‟ vulnerability to victimisation, including
the influence of current legal approaches to prostitution.
My findings indicate that although neither male nor female sex-workers experience high levels
of exploitation, female escorts are more vulnerable to particular types of victimisation;
however, rather than reflecting existing feminist theories of prostitution, this is not, typically,
the result of either sexual-or economic-oppression. Instead, I argue that exploitation largely
results from the social stigma attached to prostitution, and that this is exacerbated by an overemphasis on discourses of victimhood in feminist perspectives on, and legal approaches to,
commercial-sex. By arguing that women only choose sex-work in the face of sexual or
economic disadvantage, the notion that women are intrinsically susceptible to exploitation is
reinforced. This denies women agency, and puts them in a disadvantaged position from which
to negotiate their working lives. In particular, because female sex-workers are more likely to
be dependent upon third-parties to facilitate their work, women are at greater risk of
exploitation. I argue that exploitation could be effectively reduced by decriminalising and
regulating sex industry organisers so that sex-workers can enter into communal working
relationships. Given feminism‟s aim of empowering women, I argues that a more constructive
feminist approach would be to move away from a gender-specific notion of exploitation to one
which recognises the reality that women can, and sometimes do choose to sell sexual services,
and that their right to do so should not be dependent upon notions of victimhood.
Page i
Contents
Contents
ABSTRACT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I
CONTENTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II
TABLE OF FIGURES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------III
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV
1.
INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
PROSTITUTION AS SEXUAL EXPLOITATION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
PROSTITUTION AS SEX WORK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
FEMINIST LITERATURE AND MALE PROSTITUTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
HOW MALE AND FEMALE PROSTITUTION COMPARE------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25
OTHER PROSTITUTION RELATIONSHIPS---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 36
CONCLUDING COMMENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40
RESEARCH QUESTIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41
CHAPTER SUMMARY------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 43
THESIS OVERVIEW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43
2.
EXPLOITATION AND THE ROLE OF LAW ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45
EXPLOITATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 45
HOW I USE THE CONCEPT OF EXPLOITATION---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54
SECTION SUMMARY------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56
LEGAL LANDSCAPE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56
CONCLUDING COMMENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 71
CHAPTER SUMMARY------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 71
3.
METHODOLOGY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 72
RESEARCHING SEX WORKERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 72
FEMINIST RESEARCH METHODS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 76
FEMINIST RESEARCH AND QUANTIFICATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 79
FEMINIST RESEARCH METHODS AND CMC ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 82
GENDER-INCLUSIVE FEMINIST RESEARCH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 86
PROJECT DESIGN---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88
SAMPLING, SURVEY DESIGN AND RESEARCH ETHICS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88
THE QUESTIONNAIRE AND ITS ADMINISTRATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 90
SURVEY RESULTS---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 92
SURVEY STATISTICS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 93
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF RESPONDENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 93
GENDER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
SEXUAL IDENTITY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 96
AGE AND LENGTH OF TIME IN SEX WORK------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 97
INTERVIEWS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 99
CHAPTER SUMMARY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 103
4.
VULNERABILITY I: MOTIVATION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 104
TIES TO SEX WORK ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 106
RELATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 108
ECONOMIC MOTIVATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 110
SEXUAL MOTIVATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 124
SOCIAL MOTIVATION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 134
CHAPTER SUMMARY---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 142
5.
VULNERABILITY II: POWER, RESPECT, SELF-ESTEEM AND SOCIAL STIGMA ------------------------- 146
POWER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 146
Payment Procedures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 150
Page ii
Contents
Negotiating Sex ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 156
Power as Choice ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 159
RESPECT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 163
SELF-ESTEEM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 167
SOCIAL STIGMA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 172
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 177
EXPERIENCES OF EXPLOITATION--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 181
6.
EXPLOITATION BY CLIENTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 182
EXPLOITED BY AGENCIES AND PARLOURS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 188
DISCRIMINATION AS EXPLOITATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 195
ESCORTS AS EXPLOITATIVE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 202
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 207
LAW AND VULNERABILITY TO EXPLOITATION --------------------------------------------------------------- 210
7.
LAW AS AMBIGUOUS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 211
LAW AS ISOLATING------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 225
LAW AS A DETERRENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 237
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 245
CONCLUSIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 248
8.
RESEARCH QUESTION ONE: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 248
RESEARCH QUESTION TWO: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 258
RESEARCH QUESTION THREE:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 261
RESEARCH QUESTION FOUR:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 271
Prostitution as Sexual Exploitation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 272
Prostitution as Sex Work -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 274
CONCLUDING COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------- 277
9.
APPENDIX A: CONSENT FORM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 281
10.
APPENDIX B: SUMMARY OF ALL SURVEY RESPONSES ---------------------------------------------------- 283
11.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 294
Table of Figures
FIGURE 1: Respondents by country of residence. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 94
FIGURE 2: Respondents by gender ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
FIGURE 3: Respondents’sexual orientation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 96
FIGURE 4: Respondents’age ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 98
FIGURE 5: Table of interviews --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 100
FIGURE 6: Financial meaning of escort work -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 111
FIGURE 7: What Respondents liked about escort work ------------------------------------------------------------ 115
FIGURE 8: Liked “The money” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 117
FIGURE 9: Liked “The Sex” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 124
FIGURE 10: Respondents who have paid for sex --------------------------------------------------------------------- 140
FIGURE 11: Respondents who would pay for sex -------------------------------------------------------------------- 140
FIGURE 12: How power plays out in the escort interactions ------------------------------------------------------ 147
FIGURE 13: Location of control in escort interactions -------------------------------------------------------------- 148
FIGURE 14: Respondents who felt respected by clients ------------------------------------------------------------ 164
FIGURE 15: Respondents respect for their clients ------------------------------------------------------------------- 164
FIGURE 16: Impact on respondents’ self-confidence --------------------------------------------------------------- 167
FIGURE 17: Respondents who felt exploited by clients------------------------------------------------------------- 182
FIGURE 18: Respondents who felt exploited by other people ---------------------------------------------------- 189
Page iii
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
I owe my thanks, first and foremost, to the escorts who contributed to this research. I am
grateful to those who completed the survey, often adding valuable comments. Particular thanks
go to the men and women who took the time to meet with me, whether in person or online; I
was encouraged by your enthusiasm and honesty.
Several other people who have been invaluable to me over the period it has taken to complete
this project. Thanks to Ruth Fletcher, without whose early encouragement I would not have had
the confidence to embark on a doctoral programme. I would like to thank Matthew Weait for
his guidance in planning the project and Rosie Harding for her helpful advice on the survey
design and for reading and commenting on written work. My chief academic guidance and
support came from Marie Fox, to whom I am very grateful; thank you Marie for having faith in
me, and for your patience, especially in reading and insightfully commenting on overly-long
chapters.
Special acknowledgements go to my family. My children, Matthew and Georgina, must be
thanked for not complaining too much and for walking Buster; thanks to Buster for providing
me with an excuse to get out in the fresh air every day. Thanks also to Steven Jenkins, for his
helpful comments on earlier drafts, as well as practical help at the eleventh hour. My biggest
debt is to my husband, Warren, who has helped me tremendously. Not only has he given me
technical support (without which I would never have attempted using online research methods),
but he has given me support in many other ways; this has included encouragement and
reassurance, as well as practical and financial support, without which I would not – and perhaps
could not - have attempted the project at all. He has also read everything that I have written
over the last four years, and has managed to add something of value to virtually every page. I
can‟t thank him enough.
Page iv
Chapter 1. Introduction
1. Introduction
Prostitution has been subject to academic analysis by writers of many disciplines, and there is
a wealth of literature relating to the topic of prostitution and the problems it presents.
However, it is within the feminist literature that prostitution appears to provoke the most
controversy and is, consequently, where the most emotive arguments continue to be put forth.
Prostitution has always been a difficult issue for feminists, and conflicting perspectives on
female prostitution have been extensively documented in feminist literature for many years
now. Despite such relentless debate, the subject still sparks fierce controversy; prostitution
seems to present some of the most difficult issues within feminism, and there is still little
consensus on its acceptability.
There are many grounds upon which feminists oppose the selling of sexual services and many
different feminist theoretical perspectives have been presented in the academic literature.
However, the most divisive distinction in feminist thinking is between those who aim for the
abolition of prostitution in any form and those who seek to improve prostitution as it is
currently practiced; that is, between an abolitionist approach and a sex-work approach. The
abolitionist approach is argued most forcefully by radical feminists, many of whom oppose all
sex-work, insisting that it exploits women and reinforces their status as sexual objects. Here,
prostitution and the wider sex industry serve to underpin and reinforce prostitution as a
patriarchal institution that affects all women and gendered relations. The sex-work approach in
contrast, which is adopted by many liberal feminists and often includes the views of sexworkers and their advocates, maintains that whilst it results from social and economic
inequalities, prostitution can be freely chosen and is not necessarily a bad institution. Here, sex
work differs little from any other form of labour.
1
Whilst I position myself as a liberal feminist, and I support the view that prostitution should be
recognised as legitimate work, I do have reservations about one fundamental aspect of the sexwork approach as it is most often articulated; that is, rather than arguing that sex-work results
specifically from the economic inequality suffered by women, I contend that defending the
right to work in prostitution should not necessitate it being justified by economic „need‟,
gendered or otherwise. Instead, the right to work in prostitution should not rely on economic
victimhood any more than it does on sexual victimhood as argued by abolitionists. I seek in
this research to highlight what I see as a weakness, and indeed a danger, in relying on any
approach which is contingent on positioning women as victims. In this respect, I agree with
Sullivan (1995:.8) insofar as she argues:
Feminist arguments against prostitution do have the capacity to reinforce the
stigmatisation of sex-workers, thus increasing prostitute‟s vulnerability to
violence and decreasing their ability to negotiate, on favourable terms, with
clients, the owners of sex businesses, and public authorities.
I would add, however, that not only are women stigmatised by feminist arguments against
prostitution, but that by relying on a portrayal of women as victims of economic oppression,
liberal approaches to sex work also reinforce women‟s stigmatisation, and thus increase her
vulnerability to victimisation. Therefore, despite doing so in very different ways, both
abolitionist and sex work approaches to prostitution tend to make a victim of women to some
extent, and the issue of prostitution remains an area of contention and dissent. As Rubin
(1984:.301-2) declared a quarter of a century ago, “The sex industry is hardly a feminist
utopia”. Despite much analysis and discussion, this remains a fair summation today.
Within the context of such debates and in recognition of its significance as a feminist issue,
there has been a tendency for feminist academics to restrict their analysis of prostitution to
female sex-workers. In doing so, they have tended to pay little heed to how male prostitution
might impact on their analyses. The consequence of this has been the production of an
2
abundance of both theoretical and empirical research which focuses exclusively on the female
prostitute.
While this may, in part, be justified on the basis that proportionally, more prostitutes are
women, male sex-workers are often also excluded on the basis that male prostitution is said to
be inherently less exploitative than female prostitution. The assumption is that not only is male
prostitution statistically of less significance, but that the more benign character of male sexwork means that it also raises fewer social or legal issues. However, the contention upon
which my thesis is based is the conviction that, as feminists, we should meet the theoretical
challenge that male prostitution poses; whether in the context of the sexual oppression of
women, or in the context of persistent social and economic disadvantages from which women
suffer, the existence of male prostitution presents us with an opportunity to examine and
expose some of the ways in which gender complicates power relationships and how these may
compromise or reinforce existing feminist theories of prostitution. In particular, the inclusion
of male and transgendered sex-workers allows us to more adequately assess whether
prostitution is inherently exploitative.
In order to contextualise my thesis, chapter one will be used to provide a summary and
discussion of the relevant prostitution literature. However, before discussing the existing
feminist literature in more detail, there are certain limitations to the applicability of my thesis
that need stipulating. First, in this thesis, my focus is the direct sale of sexual services, usually
defined as prostitution1. While prostitution is not the only form of commercialised sex, and
other forms of sex-work such as pornography and exotic performances do pose similar
While I prefer the term „sex-worker,‟ because it avoids some of the moralistic connotations of the term
„prostitute‟, its vagueness does present some definitional problems. For example, because sex-work can
include the exchange of money for a wide range of sexual acts and performances, it is inadequate when
referring specifically to the direct, physical, exchange of sexual activity for money. Therefore,
throughout this thesis, where I need to be more specific, I will use the term prostitute or prostitution.
However, it is used in a purely neutral sense to differentiate from other types of sex-work.
1
3
difficulties for feminists, I am not including other forms of sex-work for two reasons. First,
non-direct services such as exotic dancing or pornographic modelling are regulated by
different laws, and second, they are also subject to a wider interpretation of what truly
constitutes sex-work as opposed to what constitutes a sexual performance. Second, my thesis
is limited specifically to a focus on voluntary prostitution as it takes place between adults and
in the context of economically developed, western settings. Prostitution outside of those
parameters can, and often does, present a number of distinct and sometimes difficult issues
that coexist with, but should not be conflated with, prostitution per se. That is, prostitution
occurs in many different contexts and cannot be examined and understood if isolated from the
particular economic, political and social factors in which it exists. No attempt is therefore
made to generalise my thesis either to child prostitution, victims of human trafficking for
sexual exploitation, or prostitution as it take place in third-world or other non-western
contexts. The scholarly literature drawn upon for discussion therefore, will, for the most part,
be limited to that which I consider to be the most directly pertinent to the type of prostitution
that my thesis is intended to address, i.e. prostitution as it exists between consenting adults in
the modern western setting, and in particular the UK.
It is not my aim in this chapter to provide an exhaustive account of the extensively
documented feminist theorisation of prostitution (for such accounts see e.g., Bromberg, 1998;
O‟Neill, 2001; Kesler, 2002). Instead, because my thesis centres on the theoretical concept of
exploitation, I focus in particular on the literature which most clearly demonstrates the
tendency to rely on exploitation as a criticism of the institution of prostitution. While most
analyses of prostitution depend to some extent on the notion of exploitation, I focus my
discussion on feminist perspectives which argue that prostitution can be explained by
gendered inequalities, whether in the form of sexual oppression or economic disadvantage.
Following my discussion of the two main feminist perspectives on female prostitution, in the
second part of this chapter, I discuss how feminist analyses have overlooked male prostitution
4
and suggest some reasons why this might be. I establish my argument for the incorporation of
prostitute relationships that exist outside of the heterosexual relationship between a female
sex-worker and her client. I then discuss what has been gleaned about the nature and extent of
male and transgendered prostitution, and in particular, how this compares with what is known
about female sex-work. I end this chapter by outlining my four key research questions.
Prostitution as Sexual Exploitation
The most consistently-represented argument advocated by radical feminists is that which sees
prostitution as the epitome of men‟s exploitative power and dominance over women.
Proponents of this argument tend to define prostitution in a specific way: as overt sexual
domination and the very essence of women‟s oppression (see e.g., Barry, 1979; Dworkin,
1981; MacKinnon, 1993; Jeffreys, 1997; 2009; Hoigard and Finstad, 1996; 2003). More
specifically, as victims of sexual domination, women are necessarily being exploited by men,
both by clients and by those who manage and organise the sex industry. From this perspective,
therefore, prostitution is seen as “the absolute embodiment of patriarchal male privilege,
clearly disallowing feminist support or participation” (Kesler, 2002:.219). That is, unlike
liberal feminists who recognise that prostitution can be a response or resistance to patriarchal
oppression (O‟Neill, 2001), radical feminists, by denying women‟s agency, see prostitution
only as an institution that serves to underpin and reinforce women‟s subordination under a
system of male supremacy.
If prostitution is an act of male oppression and female submission, however, then the existence
of male prostitution must surely signify a defect, or at least limitation, to the relevance of
patriarchy to prostitution. Although male prostitution is not recognised by radical feminists as
inconsistent with a patriarchal theory, as Marlowe (1997:44) suggests, “the juxtaposition of
male-female and male-male prostitution helps to highlight a fundamental flaw in the
arguments of anti-prostitution feminists”. Marlowe argues that feminist arguments against
prostitution contradict the very essence of feminism by stigmatising women for being
5
„anything other than the traditional passive partner‟. Although not all feminist perspectives on
prostitution present women as a passive partner, from a radical feminist viewpoint women‟s
part in commercial sexual exchange is necessarily passive and submissive in nature, regardless
of the context in which it takes place. Furthermore, as McNay (1992:.64) contends:
An insistence on women as passive victims of male oppression oversimplifies
the complexities of women‟s subordination by placing too great a stress both
on the universal nature of oppression and the common, undifferentiated enemy
of patriarchy.
While male prostitution is not explained by theories of patriarchy, there is nevertheless a clear
requirement from this view point that prostitution be totally abolished in all its forms. Jeffreys
for example, challenges the distinction between both child and adult prostitution (Jeffreys,
2000) and also between voluntary prostitution and trafficked women (Jeffreys, 2002).
Furthermore, describing prostitution as tantamount to rape, Jeffreys argues:
When prostituted women use the language of „choice‟, they can be seen to be
engaging in what deviancy sociologists call „neutralizing techniques‟….such
techniques may be employed because the only alternative available may the
painful one of self-contempt.
(Jeffreys, 1997:.137)
Thus, the voices of women arguing that they choose to work in prostitution are effectively
silenced.
Similarly, MacKinnon (1987:.5) rejects any notion of choice. She too likens prostitution to
rape, including it as just another form of sexual violence, which, together with battery and
child sex abuse, “form a distinctive pattern: the power of men over women in society”. In
other words, men are, in every sense, blamed for exploiting women‟s sexuality and in the view
of this particular group of feminists, sex-work is essentially or inherently exploitative.
Pateman (1983:.564) contends that “prostitution is the public recognition of men as sexual
masters; it puts submission on sale as a commodity”. Therefore, as the “quintessential form of
male domination over women” (Weitzer, 2005:.211), prostitution represents the epitome of
what radical feminists see as total male supremacy and female subordination. However, as
Marlowe (2006:.352) points out:
6
Underlying this hypothesis is the assumption that the act of paying another
person for sex is dominant, and the act of receiving money for sex is
submissive….(whereas) on some level, the very act of paying another man for
sex could be viewed as submissive, because the client is effectively conceding
that his own attractiveness is insufficient to entice the hustler without a cash
incentive.
Similarly, Sharpe and Earle (2003:.47) observe that “Paying for sex also undermines male
sexuality, since it implies, (whether true or otherwise) that the man cannot acquire consensual
non-commercial sex”. Furthermore, for many women, having to pay for sex, rather than
indicating domination and power, would more likely be shameful and demeaning.
Another assumption that underlies this argument is the insistence that prostitution is always
and only about client gratification, without regard for the prostitute. For example:
But there is, and can be no mutuality of consideration, pleasure or treatment in
the prostitution contract, the whole purpose of which is to ensure that one party
is object to the other‟s subject, that one party does not use their personal desire
as a criterion for determining the sexual acts which do and do not take place,
while the other party acts on the basis of personal desire.
(O‟Connell Davidson, 1998:.208)
Likewise, Jeffreys (2009) argues, prostitution is the use of the bodies of women who wish to
be elsewhere with no concern for their feelings or personhood. However, in practice, many
sex-workers restrict their sexual services to acts with which they are comfortable providing
(Perkins and Lovejoy, 2007) and furthermore, research with male clients of female sexworkers have identified that, for some men at least, providing mutual pleasure is a priority for
them (Lever and Dolnick, 2000; Sanders 2008).
Another feature of the abolitionist perspective, is the way in which, while some lines of
argument focus upon the harm to the individual female prostitute, others are concerned with
the impact prostitution has upon the social and cultural position of all women (e.g., Shrage,
1989; 1994; Satz, 1995; Jeffreys, 1997; Anderson, 2002). Satz (1995:.64) argues
“contemporary prostitution contributes to, and also instantiates, the perception of women as
7
socially inferior to men.…..it shapes and influences the way women as a whole are seen”. I
would argue though, that this is an example of how, in an attempt to discourage prostitution,
women are held to be responsible for the wider implications of their own victimhood. It is
notable, moreover, that this notion of a wider harm is peculiar to female prostitution and that
in contrast, in male prostitution, any stigma and damage associated with sex-work is not
extended to all men. As Marlowe (1997:.143) observes, “few would argue that the presence of
street hustlers in any way influences how society perceives men in general.”
Behind radical feminist perspectives is the assertion that prostitution is not a victimless crime.
Rather, it is something that happens to women; as a situation where men have reduced women
to an image of mere sexual objects (Bromberg, 1998:.296). On this discursive point, Weitzer
(2005) accuses radical feminists of using emotive language in order to garner support. For
example, instead of the term „prostitute‟, these particular writers, asserts Weitzer, insist on
„prostituted women,‟ „sex slaves‟ or „survivors‟. For Weitzer, these terms are extremely
problematic, and are used deliberately to change the discourse from one of deviance to one of
victimhood. For example, he argues, “„prostituted‟ clearly indicates that prostitution is
something done to women, not something that can be chosen, and „survivor‟ implies someone
who has escaped a harrowing ordeal” (Weitzer, 2005:.213, my emphasis). This is a clear
example of how women are depicted as a vulnerable group. Radical feminists have been
criticised for denying agency to women in prostitution in this way, and as representing them as
unwitting casualties or “deluded victims who fail to recognise their own oppression” (Childs,
2000:.221). Prostitutes can pose a specific problem for radical feminists, who perhaps find it
frustrating when sex-workers do not appear to want feminist sympathy, instead claiming to
have made positive decisions to make their living through the sale of sexual services. But
again, when sex-workers themselves have challenged this notion of victimhood, they are often
charged by feminists with acting with a „false consciousness‟ (Overs, 1998:.205).
8
Nagle (1997:.4) explains how difficult it is for radical feminists to include and accept
prostitutes as feminists: “Female sex-workers who service male clients offer a service
arguably central to the very set of power relations traditional feminists seek to challenge and
overturn”. But again, power relations are being read as one-dimensional: the male client holds
the power over the female prostitute by virtue of his inclination and ability to pay for the
woman‟s services. As O‟Connell-Davidson (1998:.16) points out, “power relations involved in
prostitution are far more complicated than those argued by abolitionist feminists, wherein the
view of power is unidimensional”. She stresses that the question of power is central to an
understanding of prostitutes in relation to both their clients and to third-party/controllers in
prostitution, and she differentiates between the type, extent and degree of power third-parties
have over prostitutes, arguing that it varies (O‟Connell-Davidson, 1998:.18). Yet in much of
the literature on female prostitution, identifying the source, location and ownership of power
in the prostitution exchange is fairly predictable and for many feminists, prostitution is
undoubtedly about men‟s power over women (Millett, 1975; Overall, 1992; Pateman, 1988).
As Ericsson (1980:.348) puts it: “The customer-man pays to use the whore-woman and
consequently has the upper hand. He is the dominating figure, the master”. That upper hand,
according to Jeffreys (1997) is one that manifests itself in a specific way in prostitution:
prostitution is commercial sexual violence and she argues that the high rates of violence that
women suffer in connection with their work – from rape to murder – are examples of the many
ways in which, violence is said to result both from and in prostitution.
However, as Kinnell (2008) contends, the source of violence inflicted on sex-workers is not
typically from paying customers, but rather, is more often men who do recognise and resist the
submissive aspect of having to pay for sex:
If the radical feminist orthodoxy – that paying for sex is the ultimate expression
of men‟s power to command the sexual subservience of women – were true,
the frequency of violence from men who refuse to pay would be
incomprehensible. But it is not incomprehensible: the explosions of anger that
erupt when the sex-worker insists on payment indicate that the problem is not
that these men believe that paying for sex gives them the right to command
9
women to obey their sexual demands or to inflict violence on them, but that
they are insulted by the suggestion that they can only get sexual compliance if
they pay…
Kinnell (2008:.150)
Nevertheless, the assumption that paying for sex is necessarily experienced as a demonstration
of power remains dominant and there is little room for any alternative or modified perceptions
of power in radical abolitionist perspectives. This assumption is not only misleading, but as
McNay (1992:.63-64) argues, “The tendency to regard women as powerless and innocent
victims of patriarchal social structures hampers many types of feminist analysis”.
In contrast, it has been recognised by other feminists that power can be more complex and
multidimensional. Kuo (2002) for example, acknowledges that although perhaps in the
majority of instances the purchaser has an undue degree of power over the prostitute, in many
instances this power differential is reversed. She argues, “Who has what degree of power in
the prostitute-client relationship is a complex formulation that derives from a variety of
organizational and individual factors” (Kuo, 2002:.46). One example of sex-work that is often
neglected by radical feminists is that of the professional dominatrix. Highleyman maintains
that this is because abolitionists find it difficult to make the case that professional dominatrices
have no control over their situations. However, she argues:
I believe that pro doms are not inherently different from other women in the
sex industry, and that an examination of the dominatrix‟s sexual power and
agency can carry over to all types of sex-workers.
(Highleyman, 1997:.145)
Her argument is that while it is widely recognised that professional dominants are in fact
selling their skills and experience, that in reality, all types of sex-workers also have this power.
Similarly, Alexander (1998:.191) sums up the power dynamics involved in prostitution by
outlining how, for both sex-worker and client, there exists what she calls an „equation of sex
with power‟:
For the man/customer, the power consists of his ability to „buy‟ sexual access
to any number of women; for the woman/prostitute, the power consists of her
ability to set the terms of her sexuality, and to demand substantial payment for
10
the time and skills involved. Thus, prostitution is one area in which women
have traditionally and openly viewed sex as power.
Other writers have taken a more extreme view, arguing that in fact for women, prostitution can
represent the epitome of female power and a challenge to patriarchy. This feminist position on
sex-work, sex radicalism, draws on postmodernist feminism and queer theory to emphasis the
identity politics of sex-work and the role of discursive power. For example, Chapkis
(1997:.29-30) makes an argument for commercial sex to be defined as „erotic labour‟. She
argues that sex-work should be seen as a symbol of women‟s sexual autonomy and, as such, as
a potential threat to patriarchal control over women‟s sexuality. However, as O‟Neill
(2001:.22) points out, all of Chapkis‟s contributors were involved in „prostitution politics‟ and
so may not be representative of more mainstream female sex-workers.
Furthermore, it has been noted that: “Critics often rightly accuse sex radicals of being overly
„celebratory‟ in their focus on the empowered „outlaw whore‟, whilst neglecting the structures
that can make sex-work a daily grind rather than a liberating experience (Jeffrey and
MacDonald, 2006:11). Instead, for many sex-workers, the daily reality of commercial sex is
probably far more mundane. As Scoular (2004:.347) argues, while these sex-worker narratives
offer important counter-hegemonic insights, “there is a tendency amongst the most rhetorical
writers to cast the deviant category itself as normative, especially when striving for legal
recognition”. Regardless of their work environment, it is unlikely that the majority of sexworkers are empowered by their work and I suggest that substituting notions of victimhood
with notions of empowerment risks being equally misleading.
The argument that I would make, however, is that women are not always the victims of male
oppression and exploitation, and that the idea that they can also be exploitative should not be
dismissed out of hand. The notion that the client is the weak, exploited victim in the prostitute
relationship is rarely discussed seriously. Yet, as Bromberg (1998) argues, while many
11
feminists tend to emphasise the misuse of power at the hands of men, common sense and
ordinary experience suggest women can also be exploitative. Furthermore, as Gall (2006)
highlights, some sex-workers have argued that they are the ones with the power to exploit:
This is more than just believing that the pay is better than can be gained
elsewhere for low paid, routine jobs. It is a view that sex-workers, primarily
women, are taking advantage of the sexual, emotional and personal
inadequacies, and inexperience or unfulfilled desires (and associated guilt) of
customers, predominantly men.
(Gall 2006:.194)
Client vulnerability to exploitation is also referred to in research with male clients of sexworkers. Sanders (2008:.106), reports that having formed emotional attachments, male clients
can be susceptible to manipulation by sex-workers that they have grown fond of.
Furthermore, as Morrison (2007:.301) argues:
For those interested in the topic of exploitation and sex-work, it is important to
devote at least some attention to the consumers and the ways in which their
(potential) vulnerabilities may be manipulated by the sex-worker.
It may therefore be that power relations and perceptions of exploitation are more complex and
multi-dimensional than is generally believed. Although sex-workers solicit and advertise their
services, it is men who most often actively seek out the services of sex-workers. Also, for the
most part, the clients of sex-workers are not seen in a positive sense at all. Rather, as Sharpe
and Earle (2003:.43) comment, “Public images of men who pay for sex portray lonely,
physically unattractive men who are sexually and emotionally inadequate”. They describe how
the risks of being discredited as a man who pays for sex are considerable and multi-faceted.
That the prostitute is always, as some abolitionist feminists claim, the victim of men, and that
women are by default in an inferior position in terms of power, is just too simplistic; it also
denies women agency, and disguises what can be the more assertive, and sometimes even
manipulative, natures of women. Likewise, the notion of women using their sexuality
instrumentally, i.e. from a position of power, is something that has been represented only to a
very limited degree in the literature on female prostitution. Instead, radical feminists continue
12
to paint their picture of prostitutes as the ultimate female victims, and those who do not fit this
portrayal, remain invisible.
Narrow though this standpoint may be, the notion that prostitutes are symbolic of patriarchal
oppression has had, until recently at least, the greatest currency and is still, arguably, the
perspective of mainstream feminism (Brock, 2000:.79). Not only does it remain a perspective
which rallies a vast degree of support, but this support is often articulated with a great deal of
passion and earnestness. Such commitment to what is obviously heartfelt conviction is
persuasive, but it could also be damaging if misguided. Weitzer (2005) argues for example,
that whilst it remains popular, radical feminism is the perspective that has done the most to
distort our understanding of prostitution. What exacerbates any distortion that does occur is a
persistent focus on, and reference to, those women who most convincingly fit the stereotype of
women as victims, especially when the source of that victimisation can be cited as male in its
origin. For example, in trafficking discourse, as Agustin (2007) highlights, while women who
work in the sex industry are consistently described in a victimising discourse, the experiences
of men and transgenders who sell sex are ignored. She insists that this focus on women is
because although there are many transgenders and men in the same situation, it is women that
provoke the scandal (Agustin 2007). The negative aspects of prostitution within trafficking
discourse remain widely influential both in the academic literature and the media, with
constant reference to notions of exploitation. However, the relationship between exploiter and
exploited in the prostitution exchange is one that requires closer scrutiny; gender alone does
not always provide the answer to the distribution of power.
Prostitution as Sex Work
The main alternative view of prostitution that has emerged from within feminism is that of
prostitution as a form of work. A more liberal-inspired position, this perspective surfaced
following the rise of prostitute‟s collectives from the end of the 1970s. Here, the discourse
changes to one in which men have taken advantage of women‟s weaker socio-economic
13
position in society. Sullivan, (1994:.256-7) describes how the notion of sex as a form of labour
first found its way into the discourse on prostitution: “providing a platform for this
perspective, feminists in Australia, Britain and the US had began to draw out the connections
between marriage, prostitution and other forms of „women‟s work‟‟ By the mid-1980s, it was
being argued that prostitution is indeed a form of „work‟ and that “the difference between
prostitution and marriage, at least in its traditional form is one of degree, not of essence”
(Davies and Feldman, 1997:.34).
Advocates of this perspective maintain that like marriage, prostitution can be freely-chosen
and they argue that women working in the sex industry deserve the same rights and liberties as
other workers (e.g., Bell, 1987; Delacoste and Alexander, 1988; Chapkis, 1997; O‟Neill, 2001;
Phoenix, 1999; West and Austrin, 2002). This argument tends to be put forward by feminists
who take the position that prostitution is a legitimate choice in view of the limited options
available to women socially and economically, but that what does need addressing is the way
in which women still maintain a position of economic disadvantage in society. The term „sexwork‟ was adopted by advocates of this position, in place of the more pejorative term
prostitute, in order to emphasise the view of prostitution as a legitimate form of labour. It is
argued that sex-work is a means by which disadvantaged women break traditional gender
stereotypes and can re-appropriate their bodies; they are liberated by prostitution (Epele,
2001). Alexander‟s (1998:.198) argument straddles sexual domination and economic
inequality views insofar as she argues, “except for a small minority of people, prostitution is a
condition either forced upon individuals by third-parties or selected as the best of a bad bunch
of economic options.” More generally, the sex-work viewpoint shifts the emphasis away from
the issue of sexual domination and patriarchal oppression, to a more general debate about
women‟s unequal social and economic position in society.
14
There are of course many reasons why both men and women enter prostitution, but economic
factors are the most commonly cited reasons for women (see O‟Neill, 1997; Phoenix, 1999;
Scambler and Scambler, 1997; Matthews, 2008). It has been noted further, that “the proportion
of women who engage in commercial sex-work is often directly related to the economy and to
levels of unemployment” (Hankins, 1996:.2). Although women are no longer tied to the home,
and, ostensibly at least, enjoy equal access to education and employment, the result has not
been a universal capacity for women to avoid poverty or dependence upon others. In Britain,
the feminisation of poverty (Glendenning and Miller, 1992), with more single female-headed
households managing childcare and part-time work, means that the choice to engage in sexwork can „makes sense‟ for some women (Phoenix, 1999; Sanders, 2005). Phoenix (2006:.78)
argues further, that “women‟s lives are still circumscribed by the same dynamics of inequality
that have existed for centuries and that these dynamics continue to structure women‟s poverty
and their economic dependency on men”.
In the UK, the most well-known advocates of this view are the English Collective of
Prostitutes (hereafter ECP). Arguing their case from a socialist feminist perspective, for them,
poverty and debt are the major factors in driving women into prostitution. Supporting the
notion that prostitution is the result of economic and social inequalities, they suggest that
prostitution results from cuts in state benefits and unequal pay, citing statistics which illustrate
the disadvantages faced by many women. In particular, they draw attention to the dependence
on prostitution as a strategy for survival for mothers. For example, they point out that 62% of
single mothers live in poverty, and that 70% of female sex-workers are mothers, mostly lone
mothers (ECP, 1997; 2004:.n4). As Hunter, (1992:.110) describes, the ECP argued that if
women had better economic circumstances, “then there would be no need for women to
engage in prostitution; and they further exhorted that no-one would”. In support of this view
as an explanation for entry to prostitution, Satz (1995) compares various sex-working
situations and maintains that the most plausible account of prostitution‟s wrongness is the
15
pervasive social inequality between men and women Yet although she acknowledges that
“like their female counterparts, male prostitutes cover the economic spectrum”, she
nevertheless contends that, “labor market inequalities will be part of any plausible explanation
of why many women „choose‟ to enter prostitution (Satz 1995:.76). Similarly, according to
Overall (1992:.709): “However, a woman feels when she finally gets into the life, it always
begins as survival”. In other words, for women, prostitution in this view, is always, first and
foremost, an economic decision.
In criticism of this approach however, while historical evidence overwhelmingly suggests that
women do engage in prostitution for economic gain, Ericsson (1980) asserts that it is a mistake
to think that prostitution can be eradicated, simply by eradicating such things as poverty and
inequalities.
He argues that “economics explain neither the supply nor the demand in
prostitution, which is „highly insensitive to economic organisation‟” (Ericsson, 1980:.346).
Similarly, Kuo (2002) departs from the ECP perspective in rejecting the view that prostitution
is purely the out-growth of poverty. Instead, she asserts: “While I agree with their claim that,
given the current situation, prostitution is a legitimate choice, I do not believe that it will
disappear when women are economically solvent” (Kuo 2002:.151). For Kuo, women,
including middle-class women, will still enter prostitution even when other equally highpaying opportunities exist. What she identifies is that whilst prostitution can be, and often is,
the direct result of financial need, prostitution is not explained by economics alone. Economics
do not explain why for some people, no matter how desperate they might be, prostitution
would never be resorted to; nor do they explain why it is that for others, even in the absence of
economic need, prostitution is entered into quite freely. Furthermore, just as prostitution can
mean many things, so can economic „need‟ and assuming a connection between the two is
over-simplistic and misleading. Bromberg (1998:.299) points out that conflating poverty and
prostitution can prevent an objective analysis: “Observing poverty is almost always a situation
16
that evokes emotions. Mixing poverty and prostitution together as one thing may give
prostitution a different emotional appeal than if it were analyzed on its own.”
Besides, not all research points to a simplistic economic explanation. As a result of her
research with British street sex-workers, Sharpe (1998) concludes:
This study has shown that poverty was not the sole motivating cause for
embarking on a life of prostitution, although financial gain was a significant
factor encouraging women to remain in the business. Moreover, if the
economic marginalisation argument was completely valid then we could surely
rest on the assumption that once the prostitute women have alleviated their
immediate dire financial straits they would quickly abandon their association
with prostitution. There is no direct evidence that this is the case, as several of
the prostitutes in this study suggested money was their „most serious addiction‟
and something they found impossible to give up.
(Sharpe, 1998:.168 original emphasis)
As various studies have shown, instead of being used to overcome financial hurdles, the
money made through prostitution is often frittered away by sex-workers (e.g., Thukral, 2006;
Day, 2007; Wilcox and Christmann, 2008:.128-129). In this way, as described by Thukral
(2006) in her study of New York sex-workers, “the money made through sex-work is often
quickly made and quickly spent”. There may be many reasons for this, particularly given the
cash economy in which most sex-workers operate. Day (2007) talks about the addictive nature
on money earned through prostitution, and how in some ways, the compulsion to spend on
trivial and luxury goods “seems to be almost „anti-economic‟ insofar as it repudiates common
ideas of planning for the future” (Day, 2007:.142).
The notion that sex work is addictive is not new; LeBlanc, founder of Prostitutes anonymous2
explains: “Telling me to give up my prostitution is telling me to give up my power”. For
LeBlanc, it is this connection with empowerment, together with the way that, unlike most
addictions, with prostitution, the more addicted you are the more money you acquire, that
explained addiction for her (Cited in an interview with Bell, 1994: 133). The suggestion is,
2
Prostitutes Anonymous has been renamed Sex-workers Anonymous and is based in Los Angeles
www.sexworkersanonymous.org
17
that the meaning of money made though prostitution is far more complex than simply
overcoming financial pressures. Therefore, the fact that men and women often stay in
prostitution for many years would further suggest that the economic inequality suffered by
women is incomplete as an explanation.
Not only is prostitution not entirely explained by gender inequalities and the feminisation of
poverty, but such arguments fail to account for male prostitution. Former prostitute McMullen
(1988:.37) draws attention to the deficiencies of feminist socialist arguments, where
prostitution is seen purely in economic terms:
As a feminist supporter I can accept in part the perspective of the ECP that
female prostitution is a male dominated society. Nevertheless, however
persuasive that argument is, it fails to recognise that males too become
involved in the life of prostitution.
Even in female prostitution however, it is far from clear that economic inequalities alone
explain prostitution. As Ericsson (1980:.358) contends, exclusive reference to economic
factors is „bound to fail‟ and is grossly inadequate as an explanation for prostitution. Instead,
contends Ericsson,
what empirical data seem to show is that prostitution reflects class society; that
is, that whereas working class men are more likely to patronise low-class street
walkers, middle–and upper-class men tend to visit „high-class‟ call girls, who,
argues Ericsson, have, more often than not, come from a background that is not
working class.
(Ericsson, 1980:.347)
As little research has included middle-income or „high-class‟ sex-work though, economic and
class issues tend to persist as blanket explanations for prostitution.
Incorporating knowledge of other areas of sex-work can complicate the dynamics of
prostitution, and this issue has recently been tackled by Bernstein (2007). In her article
reporting on ethnographic field work carried out in five US and European post-industrial
cities, Bernstein examines why middle-class women are now doing more sex-work. She poses
the question:
18
Most crucially, if sexual labour is regarded as, at best, an unfortunate but
understandable choice for women with few real alternatives, how are we to
explain its apparently increasing appeal to individuals with combined racial,
class, and educational advantages?
(Bernstein, 2007:.474)
Rather than reflecting the notion of feminised poverty, Bernstein, points out that many of the
sex-workers that she interviewed were “unpartnered and without children, and the majority
described themselves as non-monogamous, bisexual, and experimental” and furthermore, that
“sexual labour cannot be easily reduced to matters of socio-economic deprivation – at least not
in the conventional sense of the term” (Bernstein 2007:.485).
What Bernstein highlights is that prostitution is not always a response to poverty and sexworkers may display far more agency than might be assumed. This is crucial to understanding
changes occurring in who sells sex and what motivates them to do so. Economics and class
assumptions perpetuate the notion that prostitution is only ever undertaken by those with little
or no choice and who would, in the absence of such conditions, not be doing so. Therefore,
although in a sex-work approach women‟s agency is recognised; it is only recognised
specifically as a resistance to economic oppression, not as agency per se.
Hunter (1992) argues against perpetuating the notion that all women would leave sex-work if
they had any other possible way of earning a living. One of the results of this „economic
approach‟ he argues, is the maintenance of a public perception that prostitution is a „problem‟
to be solved (Hunter, 1992:.112). If we perpetuate the notion that it is purely a response to
poverty or at least dire economic need, then the answer to prostitution will always be in the
form of addressing that imbalance. However, as Paglia (1994:.132) argues, power is not just
about money; power is about having that which another desires or needs. Much as economic
need may compel someone to sell whatever they can, including sexual services, money is not
the only incentive that motivates people.
19
Additionally, not only can economic „need‟ mean different things to different people, but they
can include anything from the most basic needs for survival to somewhat privileged lifestyle
choices. Day (2007:.125) for example describes how “a good many participants said that they
began to work through greed”. And it is not only within working class populations that
prostitution is apparent; women and men from more middle-class backgrounds tend to present
themselves more in the indoor trade (Ericsson, 1980; Bernstein, 2007). Furthermore, as
Ericsson (1980:.346) questions, “how interesting is it, generally speaking, to say of a
commercial phenomenon that it has economic causes?” Economic power will probably always
play some part in justifying the decision to sell sexual services. However, whilst we cannot
ignore the social and economic contexts within which prostitution takes place, citing economic
and class factors alone as explanations for prostitution are nevertheless insufficient as an
explanation. Men‟s superior economic power has never prevented male prostitution and even
as an explanation for all female sex-workers, economic powerlessness is simply inadequate.
Feminist Literature and Male Prostitution
In defining prostitution as an institution of male domination, radical feminist theory assumes
that prostitutes‟ clients are male. Similarly, liberal feminism, by maintaining that prostitution
persists due to social and economic disadvantages suffered by women, also makes gender
assumptions; men use their economic advantage to purchase the services that women are
compelled to sell to support themselves financially. However, without notable exception,
feminist critiques of prostitution have tended to overlook issues relating to male experiences of
prostitution, and this has not gone unnoticed (Childs, 2000; Marlowe, 1997; Dennis, 2008). As
Childs (2000:.206) writes, “the law treats prostitution as a problem of, and about, women
prostitutes”. Typically, men are little thought about in the context of prostitution, other than as
clients or pimps. In feminist literature, male prostitution, if mentioned, is usually dismissed as
a footnote stating that the subject requires its own distinct focus.
20
In justifying the exclusion of male sex-workers from their studies, it is often rightly stated that
female prostitution is a far more common phenomenon than male prostitution. The extent to
which this is true, however, is not as overwhelming as is often supposed and the prevalence of
male prostitution may, according to the Working Men‟s Project3, (WMP 2002), be far higher
than is assumed. Given the hidden nature of the industry, like female prostitution, accurate
assessment of the prevalence of male sex-work is difficult to ascertain. It has been estimated
that there are around 80,000 sex-workers in Britain (Scambler, 2007:.1080; Kinnell,
2008:.47;.67) Of these, 85-90% are assumed to be female, although there is thought to be a
much higher proportion of male sex-workers in metropolitan areas (Scambler, 2007).
Some indication of the extent of male prostitution is also provided by authors commenting on
its prevalence in other jurisdictions.
For example, Alexander (1996:.226) noted that in
America “as many as a third of street-based sex-workers are male or transgender”, whereas a
Canadian study reported an almost equal proportion of male and female respondents to
advertisements requesting interviews (Allman, 19992). More surprisingly, the results of a
Norwegian survey of adolescents showed that almost three times as many boys as girls had
sold sex (Pedersen and Hegna, 2003). Another way of looking at the prevalence of male
prostitution is how the distribution of prostitution is reflected in the population. Analysing
prostitution in Australia, Prestage (1994:.176) calculates that, “very few women – between
0.03% and 0.16% – enter prostitution. On the other hand, around 20-25% of gay men enter
prostitution and a similar proportion use prostitute‟s services during their lives”. Of course this
relates to gay men specifically, rather than males generally, however the indications are, that
within gay populations at least, being paid for providing sexual services is not uncommon.
There is no doubt, according to Kuo (2002:.14) that male prostitution is a large and significant
3 A sexual-health service for men who work in the male sex industry www.wmp.london.org
21
practice both nationally and internationally. Recent UK indications are that the phenomenon of
young men selling sex is also increasing (ENMP, 2002:.8). In the absence of more accurate
data, however, in the UK, “a generally accepted ratio of four females to one male involved in
prostitution is widely held” (Barrett, 1998:.476). Whilst even this modest estimation still
represents a significant number of sex-workers, proportionally, far less than a fifth of the
literature on prostitution has focused on male sex-work.
Perhaps, as others have noted, the neglect of male prostitution may just be that male sexworkers simply do not fit into the model of “vulnerable sex-worker who needs to be saved”
(ENMP, 2003:.20). Either way, as Jolin (1994:.69) acknowledges, prostitution is still as
controversial as it was 4,000 years ago, and “it remains a debate between women about ending
male dominance – about ending inequality”. This is true whether the feminist view being
argued is one of sexual inequality or material inequality, including those who support the
argument that sex-work should be recognised as a legitimate form of labour: male sex-workers
are still excluded from the analyses. In a recent study highlighting this gendered disparity in
the literature, Dennis (2008) highlights the invisibility of men and boys in scholarly
discussions of prostitution. He analyzed a sample of 166 recent articles published in social
science journals between 2002 and 2007, and found that most failed to acknowledge the
existence of male sex-workers. Dennis suggests that the justification for this oversight seems
to be: “When men purchase the services of male prostitutes, they do not contribute to the
regulation and oppression of women; thus they can be safely excluded from further
consideration” (Dennis, 2008:.17).
Not only are gendered assumptions made about prostitution, but according to Browne and
Minichiello (1996a), the neglect of male sex-work may also be blamed on heterosexual
assumptions. That is, the most notable difference that stands out between female prostitution
and male prostitution is that the latter is largely homosexual prostitution, and as Prestage
22
(1994:.174) notes, “given the overwhelming heterosexual presumption: whenever issues of a
sexual nature are considered, they are usually thought of in heterosexual terms”. However,
Califia (1994:.131) notes that, “unlike many other gay and lesbian equality issues, gay
activists have not shown much interest in the politics of sex-work.”
Of course feminists have been responsible for much of the literature on prostitution, and the
„problem‟ of prostitution has come to be perceived as a women‟s issue. The downside of this
association, as Marlowe (2006:.348) argues, is the perception that men aren‟t entitled to have
an opinion, because they aren‟t adversely affected. Yet, he contends: “When men count for the
vast majority of consumers as well as up to twenty percent of sex-workers, it is somewhat
short-sighted to deliberately exclude men from the debate altogether” (Marlowe, 2006:.349).
Others have identified this weakness in feminist analysis. For example, Prestage (1994) also
criticises feminists for generally ignoring male prostitution and how it might impact on
feminist analyses of prostitution. Dorais (2005:.v) argues further, “The majority of male
prostitution takes place between men within a world and a context that resists feminist analysis
of patriarchal domination”. It has also been noted that most men remain silent in order to
avoid being labelled chauvinists or misogynists (Marlowe, 2006:.349), and similarly, because
the stigma associated with prostitution extends beyond sex-workers themselves, it encourages
hypocrisy on behalf of those who might otherwise be supportive of sex-worker‟s needs to be
recognised, such as policy-makers (Della Giusta, 2008:.131).
The neglect of male sex-work in academic literature may be for a combination of reasons,
including a lack of political interest or incentive, rather than simply that there are fewer men
than women working in the sex industry. Archard (1998:.104) cautions against assuming it is
purely a reflection of the statistical significance of gender in prostitution:
Many write as if only women are prostitutes. This may reflect an important fact
about the actual proportions of each gender involved in prostitution. But such
23
an assumption can also disguise (or openly express) a view that whatever is
morally suspect about prostitution is due in large, or sole, part to the sale by
women, not men, of sex. It is as well to be clear when and why such an
assumption is made.
Davies and Simpson (1990:.104) go further, in that they suggest a deliberate, strategic
motivation behind the lack of feminist attention to male prostitution:
More than that, it is the potential for male homosexual prostitution to
contradict current orthodoxies that guarantees its academic invisibility. These
contradictions are fundamental. Because it involves a contract between two
men, male homosexual prostitution confounds those who regard (female)
prostitution as a simple rehearsal of gender inequality.
Whether this has been part of the rationale behind the neglect of male sex-work as an
academic topic is unclear. However, given that feminist researchers, in striving to provide a
platform for women‟s voices have been responsible for much of the theoretical work on
prostitution, the inclusion of men may simply be an oversight or blind spot on the part of
feminists. The outcome however has been that research has remained predominantly feminist
in origin, and more specifically, female-oriented, with male sex-workers not subject to the
same level of academic curiosity as women.
Morrison observes an unwillingness to conduct research on the topic of male sex-work,
including the absence of any compelling theoretical frameworks, and says that of the research
that has been conducted, most contemporary studies focus on sexual health concerns (e.g.,
Allman and Myers, 1999; Bloor and McKeganey 1990; Brown and Minichiello, 1995; and
Weinberg et al,.2001). Davies and Feldman (1997:30) observed how it took the recognition of
AIDS as a global epidemic to inspire much of the research that has since been aimed at male
sex-workers. Little has changed, and research that inquires into health risks and how best to
disseminate „safer sex‟ messages remains the primary focus of research into male prostitution.
Of those that do focus on male sex-work, it is usually at the exclusion of female sex-work;
most studies focus either exclusively on women or on men and those including both are rare.
24
Pettersson and Tiby (2003:.166) argue that analytical comparison of male and female
prostitution would involve “substantial problems at both the practical and theoretical levels”.
However, a small number of researchers have overcome such difficulties, and in the next
section, I consider what knowledge has been gleaned from the literature about the nature of
male prostitution, particularly as it contrasts with female sex-work.
How Male and Female Prostitution Compares
One of the first and most valuable comparisons of male and female sex-workers is an
Australian study, (Perkins and Bennett, 1985). This study included data collected through
survey methods, plus interviewing and observation of sex-workers in Sydney. The data
gathered led Perkins and Bennett to conclude that there were a number of distinct differences
which they attributed to economic and social inequality. Lack of opportunities for women to
make a living resulted in them entering sex-work for different reasons than did men. More
specifically, women reported seeing prostitution as „work‟, whereas for men it was often
considered more recreational. Nevertheless, they insist, regardless of gender, reasons for
working in prostitution vary:
It seems then that prostitution is like any other work in that some do it because
it is the only job available to them, while others do it because it is a good job or
because it provides them with money when they need it, or because they enjoy
it.
(Perkins and Bennett, 1985:.213)
This research, which is now somewhat dated, focused specifically on street-prostitution. Much
as it offered some helpful insights, no directly comparable data has been collected since, nor
have off-street workers been compared in the same way.
In Glasgow, McKeganey et al. (1990) also compared female and male street-working
prostitutes. Interested primarily in HIV- risk-related behaviour, McKeganey et al. report
higher drug use amongst the women in this study but also a higher rate of condom use. This,
they argue, appears to be related to what they described as men‟s less directive attitude in their
relationships with clients, including men being more likely to accept retrospective payment for
25
sexual services, and being less likely to insist upon safer sex practices than were the female
sex-workers. They conclude “whereas the female street workers seem able to adopt a
managerial role with clients, this is much less evident among the rent boys” (McKeganey et
al,. 1990:.289).
However, the most widely informative research which compares sex-work through a gendered
lens is a study which took place in San Francisco in the 1990s. Here, Weinberg et al., (1999)
compare the experiences of 140 male, female and transsexual sex-workers. In particular,
sociologist Weinberg and his colleagues considered the advantages and disadvantages for each
group to see whether they were related to gendered inequalities and they tried to determine
whether the groups faced different degrees and forms of vulnerability. Their findings indicated
that there were certain advantages and disadvantages for each group. For example, as the
result of a higher demand for their services, women earned more money than their male
counterparts; however, they were also more likely to be supporting dependents and for
women, sex-work was usually their only source of income. Women were also much more
likely than men and transgendered participants to be heavily involved in hard drug use; were
less likely to enjoy sex with clients; and it was noted that the men had far more noncommercial sex partners than the women. However, although women did not see paid sex as
recreational in the way that men often did, Weinberg et al. (1999) report that rather than
having to resort to „disengagement strategies‟4 to protect themselves from emotional damage,
such damage if it occurred, was reportedly more likely to result from negative social attitudes
rather than from the sex itself.
Overall, although Weinberg et al. also found sex-work to be extremely gendered, their data
contrasted with that of Perkins and Bennett (1985), in that it indicated that the differences are
not entirely due to economic and social inequalities. Furthermore, they report:
4 Dissociative techniques e.g. adopting a character or role.
26
The gender comparisons indicate that societal inequalities often presumed to be
reflected in women‟s ties to sex-work are not evident, at least from the point of
view of the participants….women, men, and transgenders are similar in
showing some dissatisfaction with their sex-work, believing it is easy to get a
job outside of sex-work.
(Weinberg et al., 1999:.512)
This study concludes that other factors need to be recognised, such as sexuality, noncommercial sexual activity and enjoyment, occupational hazards and societal discrimination.
This research is useful in terms of the comparative data between male and female sex-workers,
and it draws attention to some of the subtle differences between them. However, again, the
data was drawn almost exclusively from street-worker samples, and cannot necessarily be
generalised to the majority of sex-workers, who work off-street.
Notwithstanding limitations in terms of comparable data relating to male sex-workers, some
research with male sex-workers does identify a number of important qualitative peculiarities
associated with male prostitutes that differ from those characteristics presented in the literature
on female prostitutes. For example, a tendency for male sex-workers to hail from a wider
range of class and educational backgrounds has been noted (e.g., Perkins et al., 1994; Koken
et al., 2004; West, 1992; Kearins, 2000). Also, in contrast to female prostitutes, as noted above
by McKeganey et al. (1990), drug use appears to be less prevalent among male prostitutes, a
point reinforced by Davies and Feldman (1997) and Koken et al. (2004).
In terms of motivation to undertake sex-work, it has been suggested that for male sex-workers,
reasons for entering prostitution may be more complex and that economic factors play a lesser
motivational role for some. For example, Prestage (1994), as a result of his work in Sydney,
explains that the motives for entering prostitution and the meaning of the experience are quite
different for men than they are for women. The women were more economically motivated,
whereas “most men engage in prostitution only casually and gain a very small part of their
income from it” (Prestage, 1994:.175). Instead, men are thought to be motivated more by the
opportunity prostitution provides in terms of sexual interactions, with material benefits
27
representing more of an incidental benefit (Prestage, 1994; Weinberg, 1999). Goodley
(1994:.129) observes “The monetary rewards for coping with being a male sex-worker are not
always that good compared to what working girls can make” and prostitution is usually
reported to be one of the only professions in which women do, typically, earn more than men
(MacKinnon, 1987; Marlowe, 1997; Cameron et al., 1999).
Men are also reportedly less likely to have been coerced into prostitution or to be under the
control of a pimp (Weisberg, 1985; West, 1992; Aggleton, 1999). However, men tend to start
sex-work at a younger age than women and have shorter sex-work careers (Lazarus, 1994;
Drinkwater et al., 2004).
Some researchers have reported that male sex-workers can
experience multiple problems, such as running away from home and early school leaving
(Browne and Minichiello, 1996a), however, as Kearins (2000:.164) describes, “others have
come from stable environments, and are well-educated, well-spoken and apparently happy”.
It has also been noted that typically, women have adopted a more professional attitude towards
their working role than have men (Prestage, 1994; Weinberg et al. 1999). This may be because
they are less likely than men to report other sources of income and therefore tend to make
prostitution a full-time occupation from which they derive all or most of their income for a
period of several years, sometimes decades (Prestage, 1994; Weinberg et al., 1999: Koken et
al., 2004).
Another aspect of women‟s professionalism, highlighted by McKeganey et al. (1990), is that
women have also been shown to be more confident than young men in negotiating with
clients. This has manifested itself in at least two aspects of negotiation in the commercial
sexual transaction - those relating to safe sex practices and the associated question of whether
payment was secured prior to, or following, service provision. Contrasting the dynamics of the
relationships between rent boys and their clients with the relationships between female sex
28
industry workers and their clients, McKeganey et al. (1990:.274) found that safer sexual
practices were more prevalent among the females. The women were much more directive with
clients, stating flatly exactly what kind of service they would provide at which locations, and
at what price. McKeganey explains how one facet of this greater directiveness on the part of
women is “the invariable practice among the women, of getting paid prior to the provision of
sexual services whereas the majority of the boys interviewed tended to get payment after the
sexual act” ( McKeganey et al., 1990). Women‟s insistence on prior payment is reiterated by
Kinnell (2008:.57), who explains how “the universal expectation among female sex-workers is
that payment should be made in advance of any sexual contact”.
In contrast, working with male and transgender sex-workers in London, SW55 recognise that
male sex workers don‟t always insist on upfront payment. This, they argue, is partly because
retrospective payment increases the likelihood of receiving a tip. Browne and Minichiello
(1995:.613) argue further, that the male commercial transaction is “composed of limited
communication, mostly nonverbal and replete with ambiguity – which includes whether or not
the sex will be paid for”. This may be because, commonly between gay men, the difference
between paid and unpaid sex appears to be of lesser significance than it is in a sexual
encounter between a woman and a man. Marlowe (1997:.142) explains that “prostitution is
merely a variation on a well-established theme within gay circles, namely the anonymous, nostrings-attached fling”. For men, little, if any, judgement is made about the morality of
promiscuous behaviour. Kaye (2003:.48) describes how “the youth enjoyed remuneration for
something they would have done for nothing”, and in his study of male sex-work in Bristol,
Darch (2004) reports that the boundaries between sex-workers, punters, and cruisers were very
blurred. Nowhere within the existing literature is such a lack of distinction reported to take
place for female sex-workers. Rather, women have often taken the line that they are morally
5
Formerly Streetwise Youth, part of the Terrence Higgins Trust. ( http://www.sw5.info/)
29
superior to women who offer casual sex without payment, referring disparagingly to „sluts‟ or
„slappers‟ (e.g., Phoenix, 1999; O‟Neill, 1999; Sanders, 2005).
Another difference is how for female prostitutes, negative societal attitudes and prejudices
associated with their profession have been consistently reported as an unjustifiable but
inevitable part of the stigma that emanates from a persistent disapproval of prostitution. In
contrast, there is reported to be far less stigma and shame attached to prostitution for gay men.
That is, if anything, any stigma is typically more associated with being gay in the first
instance. Weeks (1991:.67) explains that in the homosexual world, “the „deviance‟ of
prostitution was supplementary to the „deviance‟ of homosexuality”. It has been observed that
most male sex-workers identify themselves as homosexuals or bisexuals and often end up in
the industry, in part at least, because of their sexual orientation (Kearins, 2000; West, 1992;
Aggleton, 1999; Zuilhof, 1999; Pedersen and Hegna, 2003), and most seem comfortable with
their identities (Kearins 2000).
One implication this may have for male prostitutes, is that paid sexual encounters are more
balanced and reciprocal. Such reciprocity may reduce the potential for exploitation. The lack
of stigma and the tendency for some men to drift between paid and unpaid sex may be one
reason that issues of exploitation are less clear-cut than those between a female prostitute and
a male client. The issue of exploitation is argued to be much less relevant within the “fairly
„civilized‟ and mutually accepting interactions found in male prostitution” (Prestage,
1994:.186). Bell and Couture (2000:.50) support the view that male prostitution is arguably
less exploitative and more „sociable‟ than female prostitution. Persky (1997:.166) asserts that
“sexual acts between males – this is true of homosexuality generally, but also applies to
hustling – tend to be more reciprocal or equal than those between men and women”. Notions
of equality and reciprocity between two men in a commercial sexual exchange compromise
notions of exploitation in male sex-work, and Altman (1999:.xiv), refers instead to “a belief
30
that the interactions between two men makes for a certain mutual equality which is missing in
most transactions between a male client and a female seller”.
Certainly, women are more prone to violent occupational hazards, including a higher risk of
being raped by a client (Weinberg et al., 1999). Men, in contrast, appear to have little to fear
from their clients (Prestage, 1994), and the European Network Male Prostitution (ENMP,
2002:.27) report that “acts of violence and/or abuse against male sex-workers are very rare
across most European countries”. This lower level of reported violence may in part reflect a
reluctance to report violence because of potential homophobic attitudes within criminal justice
agencies. Nevertheless, Prestage (1994:.178) asserts, “male clients of men, fearful of exposure
regarding their homosexual behaviour tend to be more wary of the male prostitute than the
reverse”.
Issues of exploitation and coercion are understood in a way that portrays a female prostitute as
a victim of male violence and aggression, and so she is more deserving of intervention and
protection. In contrast, male sex-workers raise less concern, provoke less sympathy, and are
mostly left to their own devices, in the case of consenting adults at least. The far greater
concern for female sex-workers in contrast may result, in part, from a tendency to both
pathologise and infantilise female prostitutes.
For example, the tendency to pathologise
manifests itself in an attitude that questions, „what is wrong with these women?‟ That is,
logical, pragmatic justifications are dismissed in favour of more individual maladies and a
tendency to challenge the soundness of mind of such otherwise „inexplicable‟ women.
Furthermore, women are more likely to have their motivations challenged, because:
Whereas qualities such as strategic agency and activity are granted to both
male sex-workers and their clients, they are not imagined to be qualities that
are possessed by female sex-workers or their clients, all of whom are seen as
suffering from some form of psychosexual deviancy.
(ENMP, 2003:.38)
31
To further reinforce their victimhood, in addition to this tendency to treat female prostitutes as
mentally „ill‟, women also tend to be infantilised. Marlowe elaborates thus:
In contrast to young men, women of any age are treated as childlike victims; no
matter what their age …..it would appear that age confers maturity and
autonomy upon male, but not female, prostitutes, who are rarely represented as
anything but exploited.
(Marlowe, 1997:.141, original emphasis)
An example of to what degree this infantilisation can affect how we present and understand
prostitution is highlighted by Brooks-Gordon (2003). Referring to the Sex Offender‟s Bill
(2003), she highlights how connections between adult prostitution and child sex offences are
taken for granted:
Clauses in the bill dealing with adult prostitution are problematic as they are
placed in a section entitled „Prostitution and Child Pornography‟ and inserted
between child offences. This lumps the adult sex-working woman and the child
together.
Brooks-Gordon (2003:.28)
It is within trafficking discourse that the conflation of women with children is most evident.
For example, Agustin (2003) describes how women are infantilised in the name of protecting
and „saving‟ them, which denies their power and agency. Doezema (2000:.35) argues that the
distinctions between child and adult are blurred in order to encourage the view of 'trafficking'
victim as young and helpless. Similarly, Weitzer (2007:.463) argues, “Official discourse
repeatedly invokes „women and children‟ victims, arguably to equate women with children‟s
vulnerability and lack of agency and to stoke popular revulsion and support for draconian
measures”. In the US context, this is the result of what Weitzer calls the “moral crusades of
anti-trafficking discourse.” However, in both the US and UK contexts, adult women are
treated as though they need state intervention „for their own good‟. The result, as BrooksGordon (2003:.28) articulates, is that “In the rush towards child protectionism, adult prostitute
women may be infantilised by the law, have their right to choose removed, and be criminalised
as a result”. This tendency to pathologise and infantilise female prostitutes serves not only to
encourage notions of victimhood but also serves to further reinforce the stigmatisation and
alienation of female sex-workers. The combination of being pathologised and infantilised
32
serves to compromise women‟s autonomous access to the sexual, financial and social
independence that is usually conferred with the status of adulthood.
Another aspect of how women are pathologised is evident in discussions about female
prostitutes‟ mental health, and in particular, their self-esteem. The way in which stigma is
experienced by female sex-workers is well-documented, and most female prostitutes report
being affected, directly or indirectly, by society‟s negative views of prostitution (e.g.,
Pheterson, 1996; Phoenix, 1999; O‟Neill, 2001; Sanders, 2005). It is usually considered that
working as a female prostitute involves shame and that women would want to avoid disclosing
their prostitute identity. However, low self-esteem is by no means universal among female
prostitutes (e.g., respondents in O‟Neill, 1997; Nagle, 1997) and it has been argued that
assuming low self-esteem to be the result of being offered payment for sexual services denies
women agency and is often contested by female sex-workers (Nagle, 1997; O‟Connell
Davidson, 1998).
Nevertheless, discussion of female prostitution inevitably includes references to poor selfesteem resulting from involvement in prostitution. According to Marlowe (1997) and
Bullough and Bullough (1998), this argument is based on the culturally supported assumption
that men enjoy, need, and desire sex more than women. Expectations of sexual behaviour of
men and women do differ hugely, with women restricted to behaviours associated with
traditional notions of femininity. For instance, Smart (1976:.77-78) explains how double
moral standards restrict women‟s sexuality while encouraging men to be sexually active:
Women are expected, within our culture, to remain pure until marriage if
possible and to remain faithful to one man thereafter…..for men however, there
is a different standard; indeed to prove oneself as a man at all it is seen as
necessary to engage in pre-and extra-marital sexual intercourse.
Marlowe (1997:.142) argues that the stigmatisation of female sex-workers results from such
double standards. He contends:
33
Adolescents learn that „good girls‟ abstain from sex while „bad girls‟ don‟t,
but that good boys and bad boys alike strive to have sex as often as possible as
part of a normal and healthy sex drive.
Vanwesenbeeck (2001:.268) elaborates further on how this plays out in the relationship
between sexuality and sex work:
The contrast with female sex-workers may be in the possible association with
biological models of masculinity, viewing sexual activity for men as normal in
ways that female sex-work can never be associated with biological models of
femininity and female sexuality.
Of relevance here, is the way that male prostitution can be understood and rationalised within
traditional perspectives of male sexuality, yet very different pictures of female sexuality and
sexual agency are presented. Marlowe (1997:.142) questions the logic of making assumptions
about low self-esteem, maintaining that the very opposite effect is experienced by male sexworkers: “Why would a man have low self-esteem if he‟s being sought out and given money
for his body? Among gay men, hustlers are not stigmatised in this way – more likely, they are
envied”. Similarly, Parsons et al. (2004:.1021) report “Having clients request their services,
they are made to feel empowered, desired, attractive, and important, and this elevates the
escort's self-esteem”. In other words, unlike women who are stigmatised, men, in contrast, can
be viewed by their peers as having gained in status. This is one of the most glaring differences
between male and female prostitution, and this contrast appears to be the direct result of the
„double standards‟ present in traditional notions of femininity and masculinity. Furthermore,
the effects of stigmatisation are not only experienced in terms of self-esteem; they can also
result in a loss of reputation, reducing access to other earning opportunities (Della Giusta
2008:.124).
Not only is overt sexual desire viewed as a characteristic of masculinity, but the notion that
sex can be utilised as a commercial resource is similarly considered to be a specifically
masculine trait. Browne and Minichiello (1996) report how it is men‟s ability to draw upon
notions of masculinity and masculine work ethics that enables male prostitutes to adopt an
34
occupational perspective towards their work in order to legitimise what they do. They explain
how, for male prostitutes, “Being able to capitalise on personal resources in order to make
money is an acceptable and legitimate way in which to prove one‟s masculinity and worth to
society”. In contrast, the same expectations cannot be applied to female prostitutes because
femininity is not associated with business aptitude and so “the female sex-worker breaks,
rather than reinforces, the rules of „proper womanhood‟” (Browne and Minichiello 1996:.90).
Therefore, men can justify and defend their decisions to use personal resources, including
selling their sexual services. In contrast, women must be seen to conform to predominant
hegemonic notions of femininity, which clearly, it seems, do not include using their sexuality
instrumentally. Consequently, unlike in female prostitution, only when the transaction is
between two adult males is there is a question over who is the exploitative party:
The exploitation argument seems to rest on the spurious claim that women find
sex inherently unpleasant…..looking at a commercial sex transaction between
two men thus highlights the ambiguity of traditional feminist notions of
exploiter and exploited. The question as to who is the „victim‟ in male
prostitution, at least as it exists for adults who work off the street, is far from
determined: perhaps the client is the „authentic‟ victim, his status lowered by
the fact that he has to pay for it.
(Marlowe, 1997:.142)
Likewise, Itiel (1998:.19) maintains, „it is far from clear who is exploiting whom. Clients who
sense that the hustler is having as good a time as they are and is being paid for it sometimes
feel exploited by the arrangement” (original emphasis).
In summary, the limited literature that does exist on male sex-work highlights a number of
ways in which it differs from female sex-work. This includes how male sex-workers are less
likely, economically, to be dependent exclusively upon sex-work, and less likely to be drug
dependent. Men are also typically younger, experience shorter careers than women, and unlike
female sex-workers are neither pathologised nor infantilised, minimising the perception that
they need to be „rescued‟ or „healed‟. Similarly, male prostitutes, by relying on notions of
masculinity, benefit from more liberal attitudes towards what constitutes appropriate sexual
behaviour. Historically, male prostitution has been obscured by social and legal responses to
35
homosexuality. Perhaps as a result of both this and of persistent beliefs about what constitutes
appropriate masculine and feminine behaviour, the stigma experienced by female sex-workers
can be very different from what male sex-workers experience.
Other Prostitution Relationships
In defining prostitution as an issue about women, not only are male sex-workers overlooked,
but another dynamic of commercial sex that is often neglected is that of women as consumers
of sexual services. It is often taken for granted in the sex industry, that men pay for sex. On the
face of it, it does appear that women‟s requirement for sexual services is minimal, yet it does
exist in many countries, including the UK. There is a range of agency and independent male
escort services advertised on the Internet, and although the subject has received little academic
attention, there are male escorts, some of whom have contributed to this research, who provide
escort services exclusively for female clients.
One context in which the existence of female clients of male sex-workers has been welldocumented is in the context of women as sex tourists, particularly in the Caribbean and other
luxury holiday destinations (O‟Connell Davidson, 1998; Phillips, 1999; Sanchez Taylor,
2006). Sanchez Taylor (2006:.53) argues that “the „double standard‟ applied to male and
female tourists‟ sexual behaviour reflects and reproduces weaknesses in existing theoretical
and commonsense understandings of gendered power, sexual exploitation, prostitution and sex
tourism”. This, in turn, she argues, results from a highly gendered concept of victimisation
(e.g., Gavey, 1999; Lamb, 1999; Renzetti, 1999). Gavey (1997) expresses her concerns about
the overuse of the language of victimisation and survival in the context of sexual violence,
arguing for a need to question whether it is always appropriate or wise to use the concept too
readily; there is a risk in using, and depending upon the notion of victimhood. Likewise, Lamb
(1999:.116) illustrates how media representations of women as „helpless‟ reinforce “a
traditional view of women as the weaker sex, in need of protection and special services”.
Gavey and Lamb‟s discussions were written in the context of sexual violence, however, the
36
overuse of a discourse of victimhood has other implications, including in the labelling of sexworkers as victims in need of protecting or rescuing.
The notion of women as the weaker sex reinforces stereotypical expectations about what is
plausible in terms of gendered behaviour. O‟Connell Davidson (1998:.183) describes how the
journalists and campaigners she had spoken to “either dismiss female sex tourism as a
laughable phenomenon or else insist that the women are actually being exploited by the local
men they pay for sexual services”. It is revealing that this is one of the very few times that the
client is viewed as being exploited – simply because the client is, in this case, a woman. Only
when the roles are reversed can the exploitative party be envisaged as the one charging for
sex; women do not fit the image of exploiter.
Some of these ideas are, instinctively, difficult to accept. They directly thwart the notion that
prostitution is the blatant sexual abuse of women by men, and even in the discourse of sex as
work they run counter to explanations that rest on female economic inequality. Although the
existence of female clients of male prostitutes remains numerically insignificant, such
instances do provide an interesting example of the diversity in prostitution. As Weitzer
(2005:.225) argues, they are, theoretically, an important fraction of the market, one which has
been almost totally neglected.
Another neglected area of discussion in the literature on prostitution and gender is that of
women‟s reported sexual identity or orientation, both as clients and as sex-workers. Of course,
not all female sex-workers are heterosexual. Nevertheless, as Dennis (2008) observes,
discussions of sex-work are usually informed by heteronormativity, and so the sexual
orientation of female research participants is rarely asked. Dennis reports that in contrast to
research on male sex-workers, where, without exception, participants are asked about their
sexual orientation, “the others either failed to report on the sexual orientations of the women
37
or failed to inquire in the first place, as if the question was unnecessary” (Dennis 2008:.25). I
would argue that this is because, unlike for men, sex-work is assumed for women, to have
little to do with sexuality. However, whilst it has been subject to very little academic interest,
not only do lesbian women service male clients, but, as any Internet search will illustrate, there
is a small market for women as providers of sexual services either partly, or exclusively, for
other women. Again, a small number of these women have contributed to this research.
One other group of individuals whose presence justifies inclusion in discussions of prostitution
and gender, are transgendered sex-workers. Bockting et al. (1998:.505) define „transgender‟ as
“an umbrella term used to refer to a diverse group of individuals who cross or transcend
culturally defined categories of gender”, and is usually taken to include transsexuals,
transvestites, cross-dressers and other forms of gender variance. However, within this group,
male-to-female transsexuals are heavily over-represented proportionally in prostitution, and it
has been suggested that “as many as half of all transsexuals may have moved in and out of
prostitution at some stage of their lives” (Perkins and Bennett, 1985:.12). Like male sexworkers, transsexual women feature little in feminist analysis of prostitution and the few
studies that have focused on transsexuals in prostitution have tended to be health-related (e.g.,
Bockting et al., 1998; Nemoto et al., 2004). The existing literature offers very little to explain
transsexual prostitution, and they remain an understudied population, despite the fact that they
comprise a significant segment of the sex trade in many cities (Weitzer, 2005).
Within the sparse literature that does exist however, a number of observations have been made
as a result of research with transsexual sex-workers, and these make a valuable contribution to
the existing knowledge of prostitution. For instance, in terms of motivation to engage in sexwork, a number of factors arise that differ from those raised by either female or male
prostitutes. Research has consistently pointed to the particular economic concerns raised by
transsexualism (Bockting et al., 1998; Kulick, 1998; Leichtentritt and Davidson Arad, 2004;
38
Nemoto et al., 2004). The main issues are the cost of sex reassignment surgery and the lack of
legitimate employment opportunities for transgendered people. For example, Bockting et al.
(1998:.514) describe how some of their transgendered respondents had raised money to pay
for surgery through prostitution: “As sex-workers, prostitution provides a means to
supplement income and help pay for the considerable costs of sex reassignment, or
compensate for lack of employment due to discrimination”.
It must be acknowledged though, that even given the distinctive demands placed upon
transgendered people, financial need is not the only motivation cited by this particular group;
for some transsexual sex-workers, sex-work is also reported to be a source of pleasure and
emotional support. In particular, prostitution is said to provide transsexuals with “an arena in
which to receive compliments and accolades; it makes them feel sexy and attractive” (Kulick,
1998; Prieur, 1998). Both Prieur and Kulick report how it is one of the only contexts
transsexuals have in which they can experience themselves as objects of desire and develop a
sense of personal worth, self-confidence and self-esteem. Kulick (1998:.136) also describes
how transsexuals sold sex not only for the money, but also for emotional and sexual
fulfilment.
Research that has compared transsexual sex workers to their male and genetic female
counterparts concludes that although in some ways they are like male sex-workers, in others
they are more like the other women (Prestage 1994; Weinberg et al., 1999). However, it would
seem that in terms of their motivation to undertake sex-work, transwomen are likened more to
male sex-workers, because it is accepted that a number of reasons might explain why they
choose to make their living that way, not all of which have an economic basis. Given the
limitations of research on transgender prostitutes, all conclusions drawn are somewhat
tentative in nature; however, it does appear that, as Weitzer (2005:.221) concludes,
“transgenders generally face greater difficulties than female or male prostitutes”. They are also
39
the most under-researched, even though the specific complexity of gender in the transaction
may offer valuable insights into the effect of gender on the prostitution relationship.
Concluding Comments
In this section, I have argued that feminist theory has yet to account for anything other than
female heterosexual prostitution, and in so doing, has avoided the need to explain the more
complex and variable power relationships that exist between sex-workers and their clients. To
fully understand exploitation as it exists in prostitution it is necessary to move away from a
gender essentialist understanding of sexuality and focus instead on exploitation in its multiple
configurations and dimensions. Inevitably, the reciprocity and mutual respect that appears to
exist between men in commercial sexual encounters undoubtedly has a significant effect on
notions of power between a sex-worker and their client. As feminist researchers, we can use
the existence of male prostitution to more accurately assess whether notions of equality and
reciprocity between two men in a commercial sexual exchange either compromises, or even
completely discredits notions of prostitution as inherently exploitative. It may be that
examining the power relationship dynamics of the commercial sex exchange through a wider
lens may challenge or even invalidate the notion that power lies anywhere but with the
individual paying for sexual services. As Marlowe (1997:.142) maintains, looking at a
commercial sex transaction between two men serves to “highlight the ambiguity of traditional
feminist notions of exploiter and exploited”. However, if power is the answer to understanding
the phenomenon of prostitution, it needs to be reconceptualised, with more attention paid to
the less obvious power differentials within the prostitute relationship. This should not be
hindered by assumptions about sexual or economic power, and it should be receptive to
alternative notions of exploitation and how these might play out in the prostitution exchange.
Perhaps the relationship between male sex-workers and their clients is not so different from
that which exists between a female sex-worker and her clients; however as Weitzer
(2005:.229) argues, “The literature is lopsided in its concentration of female street prostitutes
40
which results in an unbalanced and distorted picture of the world of prostitution”. He argues
further that to address this imbalance we need more research that includes indoor sex-workers,
including male and transgendered sex-workers. Empirically, this is what my research aims to
do. Theoretically, my aim is to extend feminist analyses of prostitution beyond women
because unless we can account for prostitution as it exists for all sex-workers, it will be
inadequate as an explanation of prostitution.
Research Questions
In the final part of this chapter, I draw upon my discussion of the relevant literature on
prostitution above, to state, and elaborate upon, the key research questions that my thesis
addresses. My thesis is concerned with three interrelated contentions. First, whether in the
context of abolitionist or pro-sex-work feminist perspectives, women are regarded as victims
of gender-specific exploitation, either in the form of sexual domination or as the result of
economic inequality. It is not clear that women are always, necessarily, victims in either of
these senses. Second, feminist literature has not explained prostitution as it exists outside of
the paradigm of a heterosexual woman selling sex to her male clients. I am concerned with
researching prostitution beyond these parameters by including male and transsexual sexworkers in order to better understand prostitution in its many configurations. Third, although
male prostitution is assumed to be less exploitative than female prostitution, I test this
hypothesis by considering the concept of exploitation as it is experienced by both male and
female sex-workers in a way that assumes that exploitation can be both contextual and
multidimensional. The underlying enquiry that runs through these three themes is: Is
prostitution inherently exploitative? More specifically, I address the following questions:
One: To what degree is vulnerability to exploitation a gendered phenomenon?
In this thesis, I aim to compare male, female and transgendered experiences of prostitution in
order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between sex-work and exploitation, in
terms of both its prevalence and its character. In doing so I address the argument, as raised
41
within the previous literature, that for male sex-workers, prostitution is about sex and
exploring their sexuality, whereas for women, prostitution is about work, and more
specifically, about money.
Two: What behaviours do sex-workers experience as exploitative?
In posing this second question, my aim is not to ignore, or downplay, gendered assumptions
about what constitutes exploitation, but to move beyond these to gain a more nuanced
understanding of how exploitation can manifest itself. In particular, I seek participants‟ views
about various sources of exploitation within the sex industry and I analyse the ways that
participants describe their experiences of exploitation, including their own exploitative
behaviours.
Three: What impact does law have in terms on sex-workers’ vulnerability to
exploitation?
The third question my research seeks to address, is to ascertain to what degree, and in what
way law, either directly or indirectly, impacts upon escort sex-workers‟ vulnerability to
exploitation. More specifically, I question whether the law protects sex-workers from
exploitation by either clients or third-party sex-work organisers. Of particular interest, is the
relationship between law and social-stigma and whether, and in what way, male and female
sex-workers are differentially affected by law and legal discourse.
Four: What implications does a gender-inclusive examination of sex-work have
for feminist theories of prostitution?
My aim is to identify what implications a gender-inclusive examination of prostitution has for
either abolitionist or sex-work approaches to prostitution. In particular, I am concerned with
whether the juxtaposition of male with female escorts compromises any theory of prostitution
that is based on an assumption of gendered inequalities.
42
The overall aim of these questions is, empirically, to gain a fuller understanding of
experiences of exploitation in sex-work and theoretically to extend current feminist analyses
of prostitution. Together, the information gleaned in response to these questions are intended
to inform the wider question of what role, if any, law has to play in the regulation of sex-work.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, I have introduced and contextualised my thesis, providing a review of the
feminist literature to which my research is intended to theoretically inform. I have outlined the
two main feminist perspectives on prostitution and have highlighted the way that they both
rely on the representation of women as victims, whether that victimisation is sexual or
economic in nature. I have also outlined other prostitution relationships, which, I argue, need
to be accounted for and understood in any comprehensive theory of prostitution. I discussed
what is known about male and transgendered prostitution and how these characteristics and
tendencies compare with female prostitution. I have completed this first chapter by outlining
the four key research questions that my thesis addresses. Before moving on to chapter two, I
provide a brief outline of the remainder of my thesis.
Thesis Overview
The remainder of my thesis will be set out as follows: In chapter two, to provide further
foundation for my thesis, I discuss the moral concept of exploitation and outline the way that I
use the concept in this thesis. I also outline the current legal landscape that applies to the
practice of prostitution in the UK, including recent proposals to criminalise sex-workers‟
clients and to disrupt the indoor sex markets. I use chapter three to explain how I designed and
implemented my research. Here, I discuses what methodological concerns are important for
feminists and how I have addressed them. I complete this chapter by discussing my data
collection methods, including methodological and ethical issues, and I present some
preliminary survey and interview data.
43
In chapter four, I analyse vulnerability to exploitation in terms of participants‟ motivations for
entering and remaining in escort work. In particular I use my data to assess the contention that
for men, sex-work is about sex and recreation, whereas for women, sex-work is about money.
In chapter five, I consider vulnerability to exploitation in terms of being vulnerable to
exploitation as a consequence of, working in prostitution. Here my focus is on how, and in
what ways, participants feel vulnerable within the sex-work context. Specifically, I use the
themes of power, respect, self-esteem and social-stigma to develop an understanding of
vulnerability within the dynamics of relationships between escorts and their clients.
In chapter six, I present an analysis of the data which relates to what participants describe as
actual experiences of exploitation. I examine the prevalence and the character of exploitation
in terms of the main sources of that exploitation: clients, third-parties, and participants
themselves. In particular I consider the relationship between experiences of victimisation and
gender, and in particular the relevance of sex-work organisers.
Chapter seven is my final data analysis chapter, and here I specifically address the question of
what role law plays in reinforcing gendered assumptions as well as what role it plays in
protecting sex-workers from exploitation. I use my research data to argue three themes: law as
ambiguous; law as isolating; and law as a deterrent. My discussion highlights not only
gendered differences in terms of the impact of law on escort sex-workers, but also the
relationship between law and social-stigma which also results in gendered anomalies.
In my final chapter, chapter eight, I pull together the points raised within my four analysis
chapters to directly address my key research questions. I reintegrate my findings into the
literature discussed in chapter one and use my analysis to construct a more coherent picture of
the source and cause, as well as the frequency and nature, of exploitation in sex-work. I also
highlight some of the limitations of my study and make some suggestions for further research.
44
Chapter 2 Exploitation and the role of law
2. Exploitation and the Role of Law
Following on from my discussion of the existing literature and outlining my research
questions, I want to provide further context for my thesis. This chapter is set out in two main
parts. First, I discuss the concept of exploitation. As my discussion of the literature shows, the
concept of exploitation is used in myriad ways, and has been central to much discussion of
prostitution. Yet it is a contested and ambiguous term, and is often difficult to explain. In this
section I look more closely at the moral concept of exploitation, and how philosophical
understandings of exploitation may apply to sex-work. As exploitation was my primary
analytical concept in this thesis, I discuss, in light of competing theories, how I understood and
used the concept. To provide further backdrop to the underpinnings of my thesis, in the second
half of the chapter, I take the concept of exploitation forward into a discussion of the legal
position on prostitution in order to highlight the relevance of exploitation for sex-workers in
the indoor sex markets.
Exploitation
Exploitation is a subjective notion and there are competing scholarly perspectives on what
exactly constitutes exploitation. As Munro (2008:.83) argues, “disputes over what constitutes
exploitation are rife in social, political and moral theory, as are debates over its normative
import once established”. In this research I am not so much concerned with scholarly accounts
of exploitation in prostitution literature per se. Rather, in this thesis I am interested in the
subjective experiences of exploitation and how those experiences are articulated by sexworkers. It is not therefore my intention to provide an exhaustive account of the many
theoretical perspectives on exploitation. However, as I use exploitation as my primary
theoretical concept, it seems appropriate to establish a working understanding of the term as I
define and use it, particularly for the purposes of data analysis. In this section, therefore, I will
build upon general definitions of exploitation by drawing on some of the more relevant
accounts of the concept as argued in the extant philosophical literature. My justification for
relying primarily on philosophical texts for this purpose is that although in its value-neutral
45
sense, „exploit‟ simply means „to use‟, as in „exploiting resources‟ or „exploiting information‟,
neither common understandings of exploitation nor those used in the context of the sex-work
literature, are limited to „use‟ in that sense. Instead, exploitation most often constitutes a moral
assessment, and consequently „exploitation‟ is frequently invoked in moral and political
discourse. As Sample (2003:.56) observes, “Our ordinary and general understanding of
exploitation always proceeds from a moral point of view. Those who make judgements of
exploitation are thereby judging that it is wrong”.
In the moralised sense exploitation is generally understood as taking unfair advantage.
However, clearly not every incidence of taking advantage constitutes exploitation and so it is
argued that further conditions are necessary for exploitation to have occurred. Exploitation can
be defined in economic terms, or „disparity of value‟ and Marxist analyses of exploitation
typically emphasize this particular meaning (Hill, 1994). As Wilkinson (2003) argues, being
underpaid for one‟s work by an unscrupulous boss is a classic example of exploitation as
disparity of value, as can taking advantage of exceptional circumstances, such as war, by
charging exorbitant prices for scarce goods. However, although exploitation as articulated in
economic terms is perhaps the most easily demonstrated, exploitation cannot be explained
entirely if discussion is limited to economic inequality or wrongdoing.
Goodin (1987:.166-7) is critical of philosophical discussions that focus too closely on cases of
economic exploitation, which, he says, are “surely too narrow, given that lovers can exploit
one another just as surely as can economic classes”. As Wolff points out, there does seem to
be more to exploitation than simply unequal exchange:
Even if it is true that unequal exchange is often exploitative, it may be that
there are cases of exploitation which do not involve unequal exchange, or even,
that this is not the worst thing about cases that do.
(Wolff, 1999:.107)
Harris (1985) distinguishes between „disparity of value‟ and what he calls „wrongful‟ use as
exploitation , which, he argues, may still occur in situations without economic dimensions, for
46
example, when someone is treated simply as a sex object. Wilkinson uses the example of street
prostitution to show how both disparity in value and wrongful use can (but do not necessarily)
occur in the same situation:
Most street prostitution is believed to be exploitative in the „disparity of value‟
sense for reasons which include that the women involved don‟t receive, or
don‟t keep, enough money. But many people also argue that, even if there were
no problems with underpayment, etc, prostitution would still be exploitative in
that it involves the wrongful use of women (or others) as sex objects.
(Wilkinson, 2003:.14)
What is wrongful use and who should decide what is wrongful or improper is again very
subjective, but as Wilkinson suggests, “in the case of prostitution, the whole point of wrongful
use is that it‟s meant to apply even if the prostitute consents and even if she gets a „good deal‟”
(Wilkinson, 2003:.25, original emphasis). However, even if a person‟s use is simply as a sex
„object‟ rather than a sexual „being‟, it is still not clear why being seen exclusively as a sex
object is any more exploitative than being used for any other unitary purpose, such as a teacher
being sought out only because of their ability and willingness to provide tuition.
The
inference is that it is only when sexual behaviour is involved that the moral concept of
impropriety is invoked. Furthermore,
as Wolff (1999:.10) points out, improper use is
inadequate in another way; “although „exploits‟ infers „improper use‟, not all cases of
improper use constitute exploitation, because there are some improper uses of people – for
example as a punchbag – which would not normally be thought of as forms of exploitation”.
Exploitation, we have established thus far, can occur whether the nature of the unfair
advantage on the part of the exploiter is economic or has some other value and it can occur
between lovers or acquaintances just as it can between strangers. The common ground that
remains, however, is that exploitation is taken to indicate relationships that are in some way,
whether economically or socially, unjust. But surely some things are unfair or unjust yet are
not deemed exploitive; for example, discrimination usually results in someone being treated
unfairly, yet although discrimination may result in exploitation it does not, in itself, constitute
exploitation.
47
Goodin (1987) builds upon the notion of unfairness, by defining exploitation as an unusually
self-interested or advantageous-seeking behaviour in one‟s interactions with others. He argues
that harm does not necessarily need to result for it to constitute exploitation; it is possible to
take unfair advantage of a situation, even when both parties are better off for having interacted
(Goodin, 1987). What he does maintain however is that it is the seizing of an opportunity
when someone is vulnerable, (without necessarily creating that vulnerability) for one‟s own
benefit or advantage that determines that exploitation has occurred. As Sample puts it, his
argument is that “exploitation seems to involve not merely taking advantage, but kicking a
person when he is down” (Sample, 2003:.31).
Likewise, Sample (2003) highlights vulnerability as a key feature in exploitation. Sample
argues that “Goodin is right to emphasize that exploitation involves making use of another‟s
vulnerability, and we are vulnerable (in part) because of our needs” (Sample 2003:.54). In her
theory of exploitation, Sample introduces the concept of degradation. Here, she describes
exploitation as interactions that could in some sense be considered degrading, even when they
are voluntary. Of course, what seems degrading to one person or culture may not seem so to
another, and subjectively it seems to imply that a particular conduct that would exploit one
person would not exploit another. Like Goodin, she accepts that exploitation does not require
the use of coercion or the infliction of harm.
A pertinent feature of Sample‟s degradation thesis however, is that exploitation involves
taking advantage of injustice: “If a person is in a weaker bargaining position because of past
injustice, we stand to gain disproportionately in virtue of that injustice” (Sample, 2003:.82).
The vulnerability in this case is that the person‟s bargaining position is lower than it would
have been without the injustice. For example, she explains: “Thus historically, whites have
been able to pay blacks less money and men have been able to pay women less money for the
48
same work because of a history of racial and sexual discrimination, respectively” Sample,
2003:.82) Sample‟s argument seems to suggest therefore that injustice in the form of
discrimination renders marginalised populations vulnerable to exploitation. As mentioned
previously, discrimination does not constitute exploitation as such. However, it is when
advantage is taken of power imbalances that, as Sample argues, “fails to respect the inherent
value in that being”, that discrimination renders someone vulnerable to exploitation. One
further area of concurrence between Goodin and Sample is that they agree that vulnerability is
a relative notion. That is, it “should be understood as an extreme dependency with respect to
something that one needs – not merely something that one wants, or something that would be
good to have” (Sample, 2003:.74). Additionally, she observes, “what we consider to be
exploitative is not always genuinely so, while other forms of exploitations go unidentified”
(Sample, 2003:.57).
This relativistic view of exploitation may be useful to an analysis of exploitation in
prostitution wherein it is often suggested that exploitation is harmful even if the sex-worker
does not perceive it that way, whereas other kinds of exploitative behaviour in prostitution
may not be as readily identifiable. This point has implications in terms of motivation to
undertake sex-work, as will be discussed in chapter four. However, if we accept that most
people undertake employment to earn money, recognition of the relative nature of
vulnerability is a useful way of determining whether exploitation has occurred; striving to
overcome poverty would arguably constitutes a genuine „need‟, whereas the desire to enjoy a
more privileged lifestyle suggests something that would simply be „good to have‟.
Similarly, if someone has a requirement for goods or services to enable them to carry out their
work, and they are prevented from purchasing such services by law, then exploitation in terms
of disparity of value becomes more relevant in the form of unscrupulous individuals taking
advantage of the situation by charging exorbitant prices. Although Sample‟s overall thesis is
49
far more complex than I can do justice to here, and although she doesn‟t discuss prostitution at
any length, it is the vulnerability and discriminatory aspects of her theory in particular that
have relevance to my analysis of the way that sex-workers experience exploitation.
Another theory of exploitation useful to my thesis is Hill (1994). Hill argues that exploitation
should be seen as a psychological, rather than a social or an economic concept. In his view,
“for an offer to be exploitative, it must serve to create or to take advantage of the offeree‟s
ability to reason effectively” (Hill, 1994:.637). This psychological vulnerability could include
conditions such as severe depression, grief, guilt, fear or psychological addiction (Hill, 1994).
Again, like Goodin and Sample, for Hill, vulnerability is a necessary feature of exploitation,
but it is a relative notion; “a mere passing desire is not sufficient” and “differences in life
choice, even those resulting from limited alternatives, do not inevitably imply vulnerability”
(Hill, 1994:.686-7).
Like Goodin and Sample, Hill rejects the argument that exploitation necessarily involves
coercion. Instead he argues, unlike coercion or threats, exploitation involves an offer being
presented as an additional alternative to those already open to the offeree (Hill, 1994:.660). As
Sample (2003) puts it, “coercive offers threaten to make a person worse off relative to some
baseline” (Sample, 2003:.11-12). The decision to pursue the proffered choice argues Hill, is
precisely that – a decision made by the actor who can accept or reject it without sanction.
“That is, providing an additional choice is per se liberating, not compelling” (Hill, 1994:.660).
In terms of prostitution, for example, an escort agency might offer their services to a sexworker for a fee; but as it is an additional option from which to choose, it would only be
exploitative if the escort were vulnerable in some psychological sense that would undermine
his or her ability to reason.
50
Wolff (1999) also argues that vulnerability is a salient, if not necessary, condition of
exploitation:
The notion of having exploitable circumstances seems equivalent to that of
being vulnerable ….one‟s vulnerability is exploited if the other person uses this
weakness to obtain agreement to, or at least acquiescent in, a course of action
that one would not have accepted had there not been this asymmetry in
power….typically exploitation of the person only happens because that person
has exploitable circumstances.
(Wolff, 1999:.10)
Wolff (1999:.10) elaborates “typically you are vulnerable, if, (other things being equal), you
are poorer, more ignorant, less intelligent, less cunning, or less ruthless than another, or have
some other bargaining weakness with respect to them.”
In the context of sex-work, even in the absence of any of these aspects of „vulnerability‟ as
identified by Wolff, vulnerability is attributed to prostitutes both as a cause and an effect of the
work that they do; that is, they are believed to have been driven to prostitution as a result of
economic or other vulnerability and prostitution renders them vulnerable to further
exploitation by clients and others who take advantage of their heightened vulnerability. But
like exploitation, vulnerability is also a subjective notion. For example, Fineman (2008:.8)
argues: “vulnerability is typically associated with victimhood, deprivation, dependency, or
pathology”. Because vulnerability is suggestive of weakness and susceptibility in this way,
when that weakness is recognised as vulnerability by would-be exploiters someone‟s
vulnerability becomes potentially exploitable. For example, vulnerability might indicate an
increased likelihood of someone succumbing to persuasion or temptation and therefore public
recognition of their vulnerable state makes someone a more likely target for exploitation. In
this way, it could be argued that it is the imposition of a label of vulnerability that attracts,
rather than protects from, exploitation. If we are to understand exploitation in the context of
sex-work then it is important to be clear whether vulnerability is always a causative feature for
prostitution as well as whether a sex-worker‟s vulnerability is exacerbated by the selling of
51
sexual services. Thinking about it in this way illustrates how vulnerability and exploitation
are interdependent in a practical as well as a conceptual sense.
The relationship between vulnerability and exploitation is central to my thesis, because it is the
way in which women are made to appear vulnerable through a discourse of victimhood that
increases their likelihood of being targets for exploitation. This may work in a particular way
in the context of sex-work; however, the potential power of victimising discourses on
women‟s violent victimisation can be seen in a more general gendered sense too. Madriz
(1997:.162) for example, argues that use of the theme “for their own good,” perpetuates
stereotypical notions about “women as vulnerable and passive and men as strong, forceful and
aggressive”. And as Hollander (2001:.83) contends, “beliefs about vulnerability and
dangerousness are central to constructions of gender”. Hollander questions why women have
an inflated level of fear of crime relative to actual levels of victimisation and she found
vulnerability to be deeply associated with gender. She shows that everyday discourse paints
women as vulnerable and men as potentially dangerous: “femininity is perceived to be a sign
of inherent vulnerability….the fact that these beliefs are maintained in the face of empirical
evidence to the contrary speaks to the powerful role of discourse in constructing and
reproducing gender” (Hollander, 2001:.107) Hollander is arguing that this may lead women to
see themselves as vulnerable, but I would argue further, that it also leads both men and other
women to regard all women as vulnerable and therefore susceptible to victimisation.
Cahill (2001:.160), writing about victimhood and vulnerability to rape, describes how, if a
woman fails to protect herself by being in places she should not be, then she is rendering
herself vulnerable to victimisation and so she is not just a pre-victim but a guilty pre-victim.
However, the danger is, that by conforming to expectations of feminine vulnerability, (e.g., by
restricting oneself to „safe‟ spaces) women project an image of vulnerability and susceptibility
to danger in any situation. For example, Campbell (2005) argues that rape-prevention
52
literature (re)produces gendered bodies as vulnerable and indefensible. Of particular relevance
to my thesis, is Campbell‟s argument that the consequence of a discourse of victimhood is that
it heightens women‟s vulnerability: “rather than disrupt the possibility of rape, it makes rape
seem evermore inevitable and hence unstoppable” (Campbell, 2005:.119).
In this way,
Campbell argues that rape-prevention discourse:
Rearticulates feminine vulnerability, and in so doing generates a suitable
vulnerable target for a potential perpetrator: conditions, which as routine
activities theorists warn, make one ripe for victimisation…it gives the
impression of vulnerability.
(Campbell 2005:.131)
I would contend that in a similar way to Campbell‟s argument about increased susceptibility to
rape attacks, female sex-workers are also subjected, often despite protesting otherwise, to
discourses that situate them as victims either of sexual, social or economic disadvantage.
While there are many factors, including gendered inequalities, that may exacerbate a female
sex-worker‟s vulnerability to exploitation, not all women who work in the sex industry relate
to a notion of victimhood. Instead, some may work from what they would experience as an
equal position to their client, or even a position of advantage. It may be detrimental, even
harmful to them to impose a status of victimhood on them regardless of their particular
situation.
However, terms such as vulnerability and exploitation are often bandied about in the context
of both abolitionist discourse where women are portrayed as victims of the exploitative
behaviours of men, and in sex-work discourse where women are seen as vulnerable to
exploitation as a result of their unequal social and economic position in society.
The word “exploitation” is a subjective and condescending term, which when
combined with “sexual” become a politically explosive concept promoted by
radical feminists, legislators, and religious conservatives to denote what they
consider to be the infantile mental capacity of those whom these groups have
deemed to be the “exploited.”
(Almodovar, 2006:.154)
As Montgomery (1998:.141) observes: “Certain elements of academic feminism in particular
seem unable to come to terms with prostitution of any sort, unless it is set entirely in the
53
context of male exploitation of women”. Similarly, Brooks-Gordon (2006:.2) points out that
“Narratives of sexual violence developed by the tabloid news media have been constantly reused so that women working in prostitution are defined through a specific narrative of slavery
and exploitation”. However, the concept of exploitation is also central to „sex work‟
arguments, albeit they are less blatant; here, exploitation results from unequal economic and
employment opportunities. Consequently, the concept of exploitation comes up time and time
again in most discussion on prostitution, whether it is argued that prostitution constitutes
exploitation or whether prostitution results from economic vulnerability and makes women
more vulnerable to exploitation.
How I use the Concept of Exploitation
In conclusion, exploitation has been subject to several competing theories and the relevance of
certain aspects of exploitation will vary according to the topic under discussion. There are,
however, five distinct features of exploitation that are useful to my analysis of exploitation in
the context of sex-work. First, I include both economic and non-economic assessments of
exploitation. That is, I want to consider both disparity of value, as well as „wrongful‟, or
„improper‟ use as criteria for exploitation. However, this is not to suggest that I support the
notion that selling sex per se is an inappropriate way to make a living, but rather, it is the
recognition that exploitation is not always economic in nature and some features of
prostitution, such as taking advantage of someone‟s incapacity to reason, (such as described by
Hill, 1994), can be exploitative, even if they are not economically exploitative. Second,
although I believe that exploitation does not require the use of coercion or necessitate the
infliction of harm, I would add that where harm does result, this can include physical or
psychological harm as well as economic harm. Third, I consider vulnerability to be a key
feature of exploitation; it is being vulnerable in some way, be that an economic, social or
psychological vulnerability, (actual or perceived), that renders an individual „exploitable‟.
Fourth, and related to my notion of vulnerability, I draw upon Sample‟s (2003) proposal, that
exploitation can involve taking advantage of existing injustices, and therefore the relationship
54
between discrimination and exploitation is pertinent to my analysis of exploitation in
prostitution. Fifth, I use a concept of exploitation in which vulnerability is a relative concept,
within which, vulnerability is only established when it relates to a recognisable (again,
whether actual or perceived) „need‟ rather than in relation to something that is merely
desirable or beneficial. These five points encapsulate what I consider to be the most useful
criteria for an assessment of exploitation in the context of sex work.
Although it was important for me to think theoretically about the concept of exploitation, it
was not something I wanted to be too prescriptive about in my communications with research
participants. My reticence in defining the term explicitly was twofold. First, one of the aims of
my research was to more clearly understand sex-workers‟ own „lived‟ experiences of
exploitation; therefore, I wanted them to define exploitation as they understand it. Second, my
research seeks to investigate the multi-dimensional nature of exploitation, such as that which
exists outside of the conventional sense of prostitutes as the subjects of exploitation. For
example, I raised questions about other relationship dynamics such as how respondents view
themselves as consumers of sexual services as well as their role as service provider. Likewise,
as touched on in the above discussion of the feminist literature (p.11-12) another little
explored aspect of exploitation is the notion that sex-workers themselves can behave
exploitatively, and this is another aspect of exploitation that I sought to develop. It was
important therefore to allow for a wide interpretation of the notion of exploitation. Hence, the
only definition of the term that I provided research participants was on the survey instrument.
Here, exploitation was loosely defined as „making use of a person or situation in an unfair
way‟. The reason I defined it on the questionnaire was because, unlike in interviews, where I
could encourage personal viewpoints, surveys offer no opportunity to question the meaning of
terms used. However, questions explicitly about exploitation were asked in a way that invited
personal reflection. Moreover, not all questions asked explicitly about exploitation; many of
the questions relate to connected issues of power, control, and respect, the answers to which,
55
nevertheless, directly or indirectly provide sex-workers‟ own understandings and experiences
of exploitation.
Section summary
In this section, I have discussed how the concept of exploitation has been theoretically
defined, and I have used this analysis to define my own understanding of exploitation as I use
it throughout the remainder of this thesis.
In doing so, I highlight the link between
vulnerability and exploitation and the relationship between discrimination and exploitation. I
have also discussed the relevance of a discourse of victimhood and its relationship to
vulnerability, arguing that in examining exploitation in prostitution, it is important to explore
how these related concepts impact on sex-workers‟ levels of exploitation. As mentioned at the
start of this chapter, the concept of exploitation has been central to much discussion of
prostitution, and this is evident not only in the feminist literature on prostitution, but also in
much of the discussion of the legality of sex-work. This has been both in terms of academic
perspectives on the implications of law for sex-work and in government-generated papers
relating to proposals for the reform of prostitution laws. Therefore, in order to complete the
backdrop to my thesis, and to situate my discussion about the impact of law on sex-workers‟
levels of vulnerability to exploitation, in the remainder of this chapter, I provide an outline of
the legal context of sex-work.
Legal Landscape
Prostitution has been subject to almost constant review and reform for many years now, with
much discussion about what role, if any, law should play in regulating this aspect of the sex
industry. Although I am not concerned with the technical detail of any particular piece of
legislation, nor do I propose any specific legal remedy to the „problem‟ of prostitution, I am
concerned in this thesis with particular facets of the laws that regulate sex-work. In particular,
my thesis is concerned with the way that law impacts sex-workers in terms of their
vulnerability to exploitation. Therefore, to further contextualise my analysis of the relationship
between prostitution law and vulnerability to exploitation, in this section, I outline the current
legal landscape surrounding prostitution in the UK. As it is neither possible, nor useful here, to
56
provide an exhaustive account of the history and development of the laws surrounding
prostitution, my discussion will focus mainly on the laws governing the indoor sex-work
markets, especially those that affect escorts.
The first point of note on this subject, is that not only does feminist theory focus exclusively
on the female sex-worker, but, (and perhaps, as a result of this), male and transgendered sexworkers rarely contribute to, or influence, debates on prostitution reform. This is problematic,
given that, if approximately 80% of the estimated 80,000 sex-workers in the UK are thought to
be female (see p.21), this means that there are somewhere in the region of 16,000 male and
transsexual sex-workers who are directly affected by policies aimed specifically at women. As
Marlowe (2006:.357) argues, prostitution cannot be regarded only as a women‟s issue:
[S]ince there are thousands of men earning a living in exactly the same manner
as their female counterparts – perhaps not to the same extent, but in large
enough numbers to represent a significant minority.
Ignoring differences that exist outside of gendered presumptions may lead to a
misrepresentation of how sex-workers are affected by policy reform.
The regulation of prostitution has not always been identical for males and females. To some
extent, historically, “male sex-work was informally regulated by taboo – the stigmatising
consequences of being discovered” (Pryce, 2003:.11). Furthermore, according to Weeks
(1991), the late nineteenth century was particularly significant in terms of the regulation of
male prostitution; the fact that all male homosexual activities were illegal between 1885 and
1967 had important consequences for male prostitution because publicising sex for sale was
not an option. In other words, by criminalising homosexuality per se, commercial sexual
activities between men were also, of necessity, concealed. According to Scott (2003) this
enforced secrecy is one of the reasons that male prostitution was not regarded as a significant
social problem throughout the nineteenth century.
57
Conflation of homosexuality and prostitution also occurred on a more formal level in the
1950s, when the Wolfenden Report, published in 1957, made radical recommendations for law
reform affecting both areas. The basic attitude of the Wolfenden committee on both subjects
was that private sexual practices, whether commercialised or not, were not a matter for the
interference of the criminal law, but a matter of private morality. They outlined the purpose of
the criminal law on prostitution as being:
To preserve public order and decency, to protect citizens from what is
offensive or injurious and to provide sufficient safeguards against exploitation
and corruption of others, particularly those who are specially vulnerable
because they are young, weak in body or mind, inexperienced, or in a state of
special physical, official or economic dependence.
(Home Office 1957:.9-10)
The need to protect vulnerable people was clearly central to the Wolfenden committee.
However, by defining prostitution as primarily a problem of public nuisance, and given the
changing nature of prostitution and the declining street markets (Scambler, 2007; Kinnell,
2008), the principles behind Wolfenden‟s approach are becoming less relevant in terms of
regulating an industry which predominantly takes place off-street.
However, Wolfenden‟s principles are still upheld - in that the act of selling sexual services for
commercial reward is not a criminal offence - however, many associated activities are
criminalised, including many of the practices that enable prostitutes to advertise, organise and
provide their sexual services. For example, under the heading of sexual offences, the system
criminalises procuration, pimping and brothel-keeping, whereas soliciting for the purpose of
prostitution and kerb-crawling are public order „street offences‟. Anti-social Behaviour
Orders, created by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 have also been increasingly used against
street prostitutes.
Despite the fact that there were already some 30 statutes to regulate prostitution in 2004
(Brooks-Gordon, 2006:.45), the laws surrounding prostitution continue to be subject to
58
ongoing review, debate and reform, with the proposal for additional pieces of legislation
currently being discussed. In the context of such debates, as well as a proliferation of
legislative changes to prostitution-related legislation, there has also been a succession of
guidance documents, reviews and strategies published by central governmental agencies
(Phoenix, 2008:.35). The most recent of these is a White Paper: A Coordinated Prostitution
Strategy (Home Office 2006 hereafter The Strategy) published in January 20066. The changes
proposed in the Strategy, have attracted heavy criticism from various prostitutes‟ rights groups
and academics (Brooks-Gordon, 2006, Gaffney, 2007; Phoenix, 2007; Sanders; 2007, 2007a,
Sanders and Campbell, 2008, Kinnell, 2008). Commenting on the Strategy, Brooks-Gordon
(2006:.47) contends:
given that this was supposed to be a complete review of the situation, the first
question that should be asked is whether the behaviours involved in the sale
and purchase of sexual services ought to be the province of the criminal law, or
whether it is likely to be a disproportionate response or even counterproductive.
Furthermore, not only is the role of criminal law not even questioned, but as Munro and Della
Giusta (2008:.4) argue, The Strategy is also clearly sympathetic to abolitionism.
There has long been great uncertainty about what, if any role, the law should play in regulating
prostitution. As Childs observes, „There is disagreement not just about the scope and manner
of regulation, but also as to whether criminal law (or any part of law) has any legitimate role to
play in controlling this behaviour‟ (Childs, 2000:.205 original emphasis). For some, the role of
law includes the signalling of what constitutes morally acceptable behaviour by prohibiting
that which is „wrong‟. The Christian Institute, for example, remonstrate, “The law is there to
tell us what is good, helping us to define the right course of action….in the absence of all other
absolutes…we look to the law to remind us what we believe” (Mills 1997). In other words,
law provides guidance in areas where doubt and uncertainty exist, such as where the
6 The Policing and Crime Bill 2009, which forwards proposals made in The Strategy, is currently
before Parliament.
59
acceptability of certain sexual behaviours is concerned. The law does this by prohibiting
particular acts, and also by governing others through formal regulation. This is fortified by
informal consent and adherence to those regulations by the majority of citizens. In this way, as
Anderson (2002:.770) puts it, „the legal and social discouragement of prostitution is seen as a
way for our communities to intentionally regulate or constrain our sexual activities”. But
Sharpe (1998:.160) argues that „the wider question to be addressed is not whether the criminal
law does enforce morality …but whether it should. There are, after all, “many contentious
areas of human behaviour that do not lend themselves to statutory prohibition” (original
emphasis). For example, there are many kinds of behaviour of which we might morally
disapprove such as adultery or desertion, without thinking that they ought to be criminalised.
That is, it may not always be for law to provide the answers where ambiguity exists. Those
who advocate the total decriminalisation of prostitution insist, for example, that
“decriminalisation does not, and would not, signify state approval of prostitution, or make a
judgment as to its moral status” (Sharpe, 1998:.159). In other words, law is not about
signifying or denying moral approval; individual morality is a personal judgement.
Although historically, visible street prostitution has tended to be prioritised in terms of
application of the law, according to Crown Prosecution Service (hereafter CPS) guidelines, the
general objectives of prostitution regulation are fourfold:
to encourage prostitutes to find routes out of prostitution and to deter those
who create the demand for it; keep prostitutes off the street to prevent
annoyance to members of the public; to prevent people leading or forcing
others into prostitution; and to penalise those who organise prostitutes and
make a living from their earnings.
(CPS, 2008)
Therefore, despite the principles set out in Wolfenden, one of the government‟s major aims in
current prostitution policy is to deter people from engaging in prostitution. Furthermore, and
of particular concern to my thesis, not only is the law‟s objective to reduce both the incidence
60
and public visibility of prostitution, but legal intervention also aims to protect the individual
prostitute from being exploited by third-parties profiting from their work.
By suggesting that anyone who profits from the organisation of sex-work should be penalised,
this assumes that relationships between a sex-worker and those who profit from sex-work are
necessarily exploitative. However, not all prostitutes relate to the notion that they are being
exploited by those who profit from the work that they do. Instead, as Sanders and Campbell
(2008) argue, in reality, many indoor sex-work premises reflect practices similar to those
systems, rules and organisational features typical of mainstream business. Furthermore, “the
majority of indoor establishments are not involved in extreme exploitation or organised crime”
(Sanders, 2007:.38). Nevertheless, the assumption that relationships between prostitutes and
those who profit from their work are exploitative is a relentless one, and is, I contend, based
on the gendered supposition that prostitutes are vulnerable women who need protecting from
exploitative men.
Indeed until recently, in legal terminology “a prostitute was, by definition, a woman, and a
client was, by definition, a man” (Brooks-Gordon, 2003:.29). With no male equivalent for the
term „common prostitute‟, the activities of male prostitution were regulated primarily by
section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956. However, since the Sex Offences Act (2003)
came into force, all legislation relating to commercial sexual offences was rephrased to
employ gender-neutral terminology (s56). However, although all new clauses apply equally to
both men and women who sell sex, The Strategy has little to say about male sex-workers.
Their exclusion from the document is justified on the basis that male prostitution does not
raise the same issues as it does for women, i.e. men are less vulnerable to exploitation. For
example, it reads:
Male prostitution takes place mainly off street and does not, in general, have
the same issues regarding drug use or coercion and so rarely comes to the
attention of the police. The UK Network of Sex-Work Projects reports that the
majority of men selling sex in the UK are not coerced or trafficked and do not
61
have pimps or inappropriate relationships with other individuals who „control‟
their movements. For this reason, the Strategy focuses primarily on the needs
of women in prostitution.
(Home Office 2006:.9)
Male sex-workers are simply not deemed vulnerable to, or victims of, exploitation.
Furthermore, as Gaffney (2007:.27) argues, not only are the additional vulnerabilities peculiar
to male sex-workers not even raised in The Strategy, but where mentioned, men are presented
as the abuser of women and children involved in the sex industry. Phoenix (2008:.45) stresses:
To be clear, the problem of prostitution is now defined almost entirely in
relation to gender and victimisation. Where men do appear in the policy
documents, it is only as criminals. Nowhere is the issue of men as sex-workers
addressed.
This, Phoenix argues, has lead to the problem of prostitution being constructed as a problem of
women‟s victimisation – the solution being a paternalistic model of intervention in which
women are „saved‟. This is indicative of a distinct change in priority and focus, given that, as
mentioned above, prostitution laws in the UK have, historically, been more concerned with
public nuisance. To reflect this, The Strategy introduces two additional proposals: tackling
demand and tackling off-street prostitution.
The first of these proposals, to „tackle the demand‟, by criminalising the clients of sexworkers, is argued by advocates of the Swedish system, which since 1999 started to
criminalise the clients of prostitutes. As Eriksson (2004:.20) argues, since this approach is
based on the idea of sexual exploitation of women, by men, “it became almost impossible to
highlight the issue of male prostitution”. Furthermore, although ostensibly rooted in a desire to
achieve gender equality, the impact of the law has had negative consequences for women in
terms of police harassment (Sanders, 2008). The idea of criminalising sex-workers‟ clients has
also come in for much criticism in terms of its potential to make sex-workers‟ lives more
difficult and dangerous (e.g., Kulick, 2004; 2005; Brooks-Gordon, 2006: Day, 2007; Sanders,
2008). Nevertheless, in 2007 the Scottish Executive introduced a gender-neutral criminal
offence that penalises both seller and buyer of sexual services and criminalising the purchase
62
of sexual services is still being considered as a possible way forward for England and Wales.
Like abolitionist strategies which prohibit the sale of sexual services, criminalising sexworker‟s clients is difficult to police, and the impact in Sweden has been changes in the nature
of communication between seller and buyer of sexual services rather than any significant
reduction in levels of prostitution (Pettersson and Tiby, 2003; Kulick, 2005; Sanders, 2008).
Although until recently at least, support for prohibition has garnered little support in the UK,
the abolitionist stance being taken in The Strategy does indicate a move towards prohibitionist
strategies (Munro and Della Giusta, 2008). However, as Munro argues:
The law, as many of us know too well, is a notoriously blunt instrument and
legal interventions sometimes emerge as counter-productive in their effects,
even when they are devised out of the best of motives…it is by no means clear
that, even if sex-work does entail exploitation, the fact of this alone justifies the
law‟s imposition.
(Munro 2008:.93)
Much as it would appear unlikely that the UK will go as far as prohibiting prostitution
outright, support for abolitionist perspectives has grown in strength in recent years. As Kinnell
(2008) observes, the current abolitionist strategy “remains in place, legitimated by a radical
feminist ideology obsessed with the supposedly damaging effects of being paid for sex”
(Kinnell, 2008:.262).
The second proposal being raised in The Strategy: to tackle off-street prostitution, is also
based on assumptions that sex work is inherently damaging, and, as noted above, the
supposition is, that anyone who plays a part in organising or profiting from prostitution should
be penalised (CPS, 2008). The proposal includes a drive to „disrupt‟ sex markets, including
the blocking of a regulated indoor market (Sanders, 2007). Assuming that all sex industry
third-parties are exploitative shows little appreciation of the way that sometimes sex-workers
may choose to actively seek out third-parties, either to provide premises or as a business
resource. Most sex-workers rely, in some way, on the support of third-parties in their work,
and whilst some third-parties may seek to take advantage of sex-workers, many can be crucial
to their protection and safety. It should be recognised that “Just as buying sex can be
63
respectful, safe and based on a formal contract between seller and buyer, the relationship
between sex-worker and owner is not necessarily exploitative” (Sanders and Campbell,
2008:.59). Also, as Sanders (2006:.96) contends, “what the law fails to do is make any
distinctions between coercive procuring as opposed to consensual working partnerships
between organisers and workers.” By failing to make this distinction, the law further
reinforces the image of sex-workers as victims and all men as potentially abusive. Of course
the most loaded word for a third-party is a pimp (Pheterson 1996:.44). However, the term
pimp is not useful if it collapses all third-parties into one „exploitative‟ category. Furthermore,
as Sanders and Campbell (2008) contend, disrupting indoor markets is more likely to be a
disincentive to responsible brothel management: “Why should owners and managers invest in
their premises, creating secure and safer working environments in a climate of uncertainty
regarding whether their business will be raided?” (Sanders and Campbell, 2008:.58)
The 1956 and 2003 Sexual Offences Acts already make those responsible for the premises,
and those involved in the management of sex-work, the focus of criminalisation (Kinnell,
2006). However, by criminalising all third-party organisers in this way, sex-workers have
little way of knowing who is running a responsible, scrupulous business, and who to avoid.
Instead, making scrupulous organisers identifiable through a licensing system would act as a
filtering system and would also encourage long term, non-exploitative business investment.
Brents and Hausbeck (2005) have argued, based on their research on legalised brothels in
Nevada that violence is far less likely when sex work is subject to scrutiny under a system of
regulation. Furthermore, Sanders (2008), arguing for the regulation of a legal industry,
contends that rejection of a regulated system reinforces the cultural message that sex-work is
unacceptable (Sanders, 2007:.41). Therefore, legitimising indoor sex-work establishments
through licensing may also remove some of the stigma associated with sex industry
management. There is scope to set standards and regulate indoor sex venues in order to
64
prioritise the provision of secure and safe working conditions for sex-workers, and to
minimise the involvement of exploitative parties.
Whilst licensing is seen as part of a decriminalised system, with registration as part of a
legalised system (Sanders, 2008), the commonality is in terms of a need to regulate
prostitution is some way. The difference between a decriminalised approach and a legalised
system lies in the role of the state. In a decriminalised system, the state would not act as
overseer of systems of regulation, whereas in a legalised system, brothels for instance, would
be subject to state control. Decriminalisation, which is the classic liberal position (Jagger,
1980),
means “the repeal of all existing criminal codes regarding prostitution between
consenting adults, including mutually voluntary, contractual relationships between prostitutes
and agents or managers, and non-coercive pandering” (Alexander, 1998:.224). It would
therefore involve no new legislation to deal specifically with prostitution, but instead, would
leave the businesses of prostitution subject to such laws that exist to cover all businesses
(Alexander, 1996; Shrage, 1994).
In contrast, although many radical feminists generally support decriminalization of prostitutes‟
own actions, they nonetheless tend to support criminalisation of activities associated with
prostitution, including those of clients and third-parties (Zatz, 1997:.289). It is argued that
decriminalisation would “undoubtedly encourage large financial and business interests
pursuing the vast profits potentially available through the extensive commercialisation of
prostitution”, and also that legislation still serves a valid purpose in protecting prostitute
women, and in minimising exploitation and corruption, while acting as a general deterrent
(Matthews, 2003).
Both Matthews (2003) and Weitzer (2000) raise concerns about how the removal of legal
constraints would give a free hand to entrepreneurs; by increasing prostitution‟s legitimacy,
65
and potential profits, decriminalisation would inevitably increase the likelihood of
exploitation. Yet, assuming that the criminalising of activities associated with prostitution
protects sex-work is refutable. As Archard (1998:.105) argues,
It is the very illegality of prostitution which attracts criminal elements who
seek to control it and who associate its conduct with other criminal activity.
Where prostitution is legal and well regulated such criminal associations are
largely absent.
Although state involvement in the regulation of prostitution has been rejected by some
proponents of both abolitionist and sex-work perspectives, arguments for legalisation do
attract some support, and a number of jurisdictions have adopted a regulationist system: West
Germany, Amsterdam in Holland, some Australian states, New Zealand and Nevada in the US
are some examples. Legalisation can involve the regulation of either the premises or business
organisation instead of licensing the individual worker. However, legalisation is generally
accompanied by some system of registration for women sex-workers, who have to submit to
certain rules and conditions. “This usually means that women are required to have regular
health checks to retain their licences, and are limited to working in specified houses or
localities” (Scambler & Scambler, 1997:.186).
An important aspect of both a decriminalised or legalised system however, would be that in
both systems, there would be provision for third parties to operate lawfully within certain
guidelines aimed at promoting responsible management which prioritised the safety of sex
workers. Meanwhile, although according to The Strategy, one of its key aims is to minimise
the opportunities for exploitation, as Sanders and Campbell (2008:.56) point out:
This is used to justify the rejection of a licensing system (decriminalisation) or
a registration system (legalisation), yet takes no responsibility for allowing a
large and growing industry to persist without any system that checks or
monitors the standard of working conditions.
Not only are third-parties prohibited from profiting from sex-work, but even the opportunity to
work, on an equal basis, with other escorts, is proscribed. That is, if a sex-worker shares
premises with a colleague, they may themselves risk being charged with brothel-keeping or
66
with the related offence of permitting premises to be used for prostitution7. Unless and until
this changes, the only way to avoid potential legal infringement is to work in isolation.
Although proposals to reform the definition of a brothel were proposed in The Strategy, which
would have allowed either two or three sex-workers to share their working premises,
according to Kinnell (2008:.261) the proposal to permit such mini-brothels to legally exist has
now been abandoned. Instead, “across the country there have been more raids and arrests on
women working collectively” (Sanders and Campbell, 2008:.57). This is despite clear
evidence that indoor sex-work is safer if working with other people (McKeganey and Barnard,
1996; Church et al., 2001; Ward et al., 1999; Sanders, 2005; Kinnell 2004; 2008). It is ironic,
as highlighted by Kinnell (2008:.146), that “lone workers are least likely to contravene
prostitution laws but most vulnerable to attack”. In other words, the sex-worker must choose
between prioritising safety and prioritising legality.
Although working alone protects from some legal challenges, it is difficult to do this unless
the premises are privately owned by the sex worker. Not only is it illegal to run a brothel but it
is also an offence for a landlord to knowingly allow premises to be used for prostitution8. This
makes it very difficult to secure rented accommodation and puts both sex-workers and
potential landlords in a precarious legal position. Again, laws designed to restrict third-parties
from profiting from sex-work can have a detrimental effect on sex-workers. In practice, argues
Ericcson (1980:.352), the risk of prosecution:
scares away all but the unscrupulous individuals, who can charge sky-high
rents (after all, they take a certain risk) and who often are associated with the
criminal world. In this way it is the laws, regulations, and attitudes which
create the preconditions for that exploitation.
7
Sexual Offences Act 1956 s.33 and s.33A
8
Sexual Offences Act 1956 s34
67
Another consequence of the precarious legal status of sex-work can be a reticence to pursue
legal remedy against those who commit crimes against sex-workers, especially if it occurs in
the context of their work. As Brooks-Gordon (2006:.208) explains, “the threat of brothelkeeping discourages those who work in groups from reporting crimes committed against them,
and leads others to operate alone, which exposes them to greater violence”. In this way,
fearing their own criminalisation, or that of colleagues, the sex-worker can find themselves
unable to call upon the police for protection in the way that other citizens can. Instead, if they
are subject to criminal victimisation in the course of their work, they “may be inhibited from
seeking legal recourse because they think the crime will be viewed less seriously and their
prostitute status used to discredit them in court” (Childs, 2000:.219).
Also, research on client violence against sex-workers demonstrates that vulnerability to
violence is strongly associated with working environment (Whittaker and Hart, 1996; Kinnell,
2006). Whittaker and Hart compared street-based sex-work with working in flats in London.
They report that, although client violence is still a feature of indoor work, working
collaboratively does provide additional protection (Whittaker and Hart 1996). Similarly
Sanders (2005:.80) argues: “Working together appears to be ubiquitously important as a
deterrent and a protection strategy”. Therefore, the use of legislation to discourage sex workers
from working collectively is an example of how “the treatment of prostitute women in English
criminal law is damaging, ineffective and hypocritical” (Childs, 2000:.228). Kinnell suggests
that despite justifying legislation in terms of protecting women, the rationale behind current
policy may be more sinister:
the legal framework makes all forms of sex-work more dangerous, and
proposals for making sex-work safer are rejected lest they „encourage
prostitution‟, indicating that many view violence against sex-workers as an
important deterrent to discourage the sale of sex, and a punishment for those
who do.
(Kinnell, 2006:.164)
68
Not only is it difficult for sex workers to secure premises, but they also face a challenge in
securing custom: it is illegal to publicly solicit for business and since the Criminal Justice and
Police Act 2001 (s46), the advertising of prostitution services is an offence. As BrooksGordon (2006:.33) points out “it is therefore illegal to place an advertisement for the sale of
something that is not in itself illegal.” Because of these advertising restrictions, sex-workers
tend to advertise in cryptic, but widely-understood terminology and by placing legal
disclaimers on their websites. As Cameron et al. (1993) report, a language of ambiguity has
emerged, which enables effective advertisements to be made, by individual prostitutes, in a
way that skirts around this illegality. For instance, as Sharpe and Earl (2003:.37) describe:
[It] is unusual for escort agency sites to make explicit reference to sexual
services, but these are often implied by the presence of disclaimers which make
clear that any payments made are for the escort‟s time only, and that any sexual
contact between escort and client is purely a matter of consent between them.
In other words, by placing the disclaimer, the suggestion is that sexual services are in fact
being offered. In this way, restrictions on advertising are, for the most part, overcome.
However, as has been shown in other jurisdictions, although the problems of advertising
restrictions are not usually insurmountable, they do leave sex-workers open to discriminatory
practices. For example, Banach and Metzenrath (1999) argue that one of the most significant
areas of discrimination affecting sex-workers throughout Australia is in the advertising of
sexual services, and they argue that a lack of access to legal remedies to address
discriminatory practices was more pronounced where respondents worked illegally. Also, they
highlight how respondents who had been unfairly dismissed or experienced unfair work
practices did not pursue their employer primarily due to fear of public identification as a sexworker (Banach and Metzenrath, 1999). Describing discriminatory practices in terms of the
cost of working in London, Day (2007:.127) reports that “Illegality raised the costs of
overheads in the form of advertising, telephone bills, wages for support staff, rents,
commissions and retainers.” Thus, sex-workers are vulnerable to being exploited both when
they try to secure premises from which to work, and when they try to secure custom.
69
The consequence of current prostitution legislation is that the only legal way to work is in a
property owned rather than rented, while attracting business without advertising sexual
services explicitly. All other forms of prostitution are illegal, and whichever way a sex-worker
chooses to operate their business, there is always some uncertainty about their legal status. It
is all very well to say, therefore, that prostitution is legal; in reality, current laws make the
working and private lives of sex-workers a legal minefield. As Duncan (1996) points out, one
of the effects of this variety of offences is that it impacts on the people with whom the
prostitute has contact with, “such as landlords, tenants, other prostitutes, the people who live
with her, even shop keepers”. Therefore the prostitute, in this way, is constructed as “a pariah
– a legal leper, who may infect all she meets” (Duncan 1996:.177). Similarly, as Day (2008)
points out, the abolitionist strategy and moral panics surrounding government interventions in
relation to both indoor and street sex-work have intensified stigma against all sex-workers as
well as other people in the industry.
The current focus leans towards the criminalisation of men who purchase sex and the push to
block a regulated indoor market will be of little use to those they are designed to protect.
Moreover, further criminalisation, either of clients or of sex industry organisers, would add to
what Williams et al. (2008:.24) describe as “the ambiguity as to what exactly constitutes legal
behaviour within sex-work”. In other words, even if further punitive measures were not
directed at sex-workers themselves, the effect would be to add to an already complex set of
laws that surround their work. Although my research participants, working as escorts, are, in
most cases, working in a way that is least likely to break any criminal code, they are
nonetheless likely to be conscious of, and affected by, the air of illegality that surrounds sex
work per se. As Sanders and Campbell (2008:.53) argue, “Despite consensual commercial
services between adults remaining legal, they occur in a fragile and hostile legal climate.”
70
Concluding Comments
Although outlining the current legal landscape is necessary for contextualising my thesis, it is
not my intention to advocate any particular system of regulation; for example by
differentiating between a system of registration and a system of licensing. Also, other sex
markets, such as street sex-work, are beyond the scope of this thesis, and need separate
consideration. To make my own position clear though, like many advocates of the sex-work
approach to prostitution, I do, in principle, support the decriminalisation of prostitution;
however, at the same time I do recognise the value of some kind of regulatory system for
indoor sex markets. That is, while I would like to see the removal of many, if not all of the
existing legislation that surrounds prostitution, I would argue that there is a need for some kind
of licensing of sex-work organisers and sex-work venues, and that a regulatory system needs
to be given more serious consideration. However, my primary aim in this thesis is to provide
an insight into what the implications of law are for the men and women working as escorts in
the sex industry. In particular, my thesis is primarily concerned with understanding the way
that law impacts their vulnerability to exploitation.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter I discussed the moral concept of exploitation and I outlined the way that I use
the concept of exploitation in my thesis. I have argued that there is a need to challenge
assumptions of exploitation in sex-work and in particular to be aware of how the associated
concepts of vulnerability and victimhood relate to, and impact upon, exploitation. I have
outlined the current legal landscape that applies to the practice of indoor prostitution in the
UK, including recent proposals to criminalise sex-workers‟ clients and to disrupt the indoor
sex markets. In the next chapter, I move on to explain how I designed and implemented my
research in order to empirically address my key research questions.
71
Chapter 3. Methodology
3. Methodology
This chapter is set out in five main parts. I start by briefly discussing how sex-work research
has most often been approached methodologically and how opportunities created by
technological developments such as the Internet have impacted on sex-workers, and
consequently, on sex-work research. As has been highlighted in my literature review, much of
the research on female prostitution has been conducted by feminists. It is to this body of
literature that I aim to contribute, and I have therefore strived to conduct my research in a
manner compatible with feminist research methodology.
In section two of this chapter, I will discuss what methodological concerns are important to
feminists and how I tried to address these to meet the standards of what constitutes good
feminist research practice. I will also discuss feminists‟ preference for qualitative research,
and show how while my intention was to include data collection methods which are not often
used in feminist practice, my research is nevertheless feminist in terms of its research aims,
methodological strategy and analytical approach.
In the third section, I provide detail on the procedures I employed in data collection, such as
the sampling process, survey design and implementation, ethical implications, interview
process and data analysis. In section four, I outline some of the more general survey findings
and briefly discuss methodological and ethical points that arose from my research. In the final
section of this chapter, I provide a summary and short description of the interviews that were
conducted in the second phase of data collection, including commenting on some
methodological issues.
Researching Sex Workers
Due to a lack of an accessible sampling frame, and the private and hidden nature of the sex
industry, researchers of prostitution have often used ethnographic methods, with participants
72
commonly accessed through contact with sexual health outreach services or with the use of
snowball sampling techniques, (e.g., Sharpe, 1998; Phoenix, 1999; O‟Neill, 2001). Partly as a
result of such limited access, and partly because it is seen as the most problematic form of
prostitution, research into sex-work has typically focused on female street sex workers.
Women working from the street in prostitution are a social concern, both as a public order
challenge and in terms of their vulnerability to violence. However, in the UK, fewer sexworkers are working in this declining segment of the sex industry, and for women, it is now
thought to be less than thirty percent at the very most (Scambler, 2007:.1092; Kinnell,
2008:.110). This is even less for male sex-workers, where street-based prostitution is thought
to comprise only around 2-5% (Cameron et al., 1999:.1524; WMP, 2002). In contrast, indoor
sectors such as „sex flats‟, saunas and massage parlours, and escort work, is said to be
„booming‟ (Sanders, 2006:.92).
Until recently the indoor sex markets in the UK were neglected in terms of research focus,
probably, in part, due to difficulties in identifying and accessing these less visible sex-workers.
However, in the last decade there have been a growing number of empirical studies which
have focused on, or included, a proportion of indoor sex-workers (e.g., O‟Connell Davidson,
1998; Rickard, 2001; Sanders, 2005; Day, 2007). Although sex-workers who identify
themselves as „escorts‟ are sometimes included within studies of indoor workers, there has
been little in the way of empirical research that has focused specifically on the female escort
markets9. There have however been several studies that have drawn on the experiences of
male escorts advertising on the Internet, though these have usually been more concerned
specifically with sexual health (e.g., Bimbi and Parsons, 2005; Chiasson et al., 2005;
Minichiello et al., 2008) .
9
One exception to this is Scambler‟s study of migrant women in London (Scambler, 2007).
73
Cameron et al. (1999:.1523) describe the term „escort‟ as “something of a euphemism which
enables the market for prostitution services to operate in a way that minimizes litigation or
police interest”. As such, it has become a somewhat catch-all title for men and women selling
sexual services. However, most men and women who identify as escorts, provide sexual
services in private premises such in the escort‟s home (incalls), or their client‟s home or hotel
room (outcalls) rather than at a sex-work venue such as a brothel or parlour10. Also, some
escorts do work together from shared premises that have been purchased or rented for the
purposes of escort work and some also supplement their escort work by working in brothels
for part of the week, so there is an overlap within escort work and other types of sex-work (see
also Day, 2007:.184-186). Escorts usually charge hourly rates which are typically higher than
brothel workers charge (Sharp and Earle, 2003:.36).
Some escorts work independently,
advertising on their own websites and/or on escort listings, while others pay an escort agency
to promote their profile and secure them custom.
Those who operate independently, advertising via their websites, typically charge “a minimum
price of £150 per hour or £750 for an overnight stay” (Sanders, 2005:.18). Perhaps as a
reflection of the higher rates that they command, and also the autonomous way that they often
work, escorts are usually considered as the „higher end‟ of both male and female sex-work
markets (Escoffier, 2007; Bernstein, 2007). For these reasons it could be argued that they are
less likely to suffer from some of the more obvious forms of exploitation compared to their
street working counterparts. However, although they do typically experience fewer violent
incidences, what has been noted, is that in terms of violence, attacks on escorts and flat
workers doing outcalls, can be “much more complex” in nature (Kinnell, 2008:.127).
Nevertheless, information on the level and form of exploitation experienced by men and
women within this particular sector of sex-work remains very limited.
10
In this thesis I will use the term parlour hereafter to include saunas, massage parlours, brothels or
similar venues.
74
What is clear is that in recent years, many men and women who work as escorts, have turned
to the Internet as their primary, or sole, marketing medium (ENMP, 2002; Sharpe and Earle,
2003). They also typically organise their businesses using the Internet to vet their clients by
email and by using online services such as telephone or electoral role listings. Some make
further use of the Internet for business purposes by using one of a growing number of websites
that exist for the sex-work community to liaise with other sex-workers. This is typically to
swap advice, provide support, share health and other tips and to provide information such as
„ugly mug‟ schemes (Hughes, 1999).
It is not only female sex-workers who have adopted the Internet as their primary marketing
and communications tool. In the US context, Hughes (2000) comments that one group that
makes much use of the Internet is male sex-workers. Similarly, Bimby and Parsons (2005)
describe the growing popularity for male sex workers of advertising via individual websites,
„escort finder‟ websites or in popular Internet chat rooms. In this way, prostitution is moving
away from the streets into a market that is in some ways far less visible publicly, yet at the
same time, is very readily identifiable by anyone who chooses to search the world-wide-web.
What is evident is that both men and women are now making more use of the Internet for
advertising their sexual services. As Sharpe and Earle report (2003:.37), “any Internet search
will reveal that there are literally tens of thousands of websites dedicated, in one way or
another, to prostitution, and this number is increasing all the time”. This growth continues.
Although sites advertising women far outweigh those advertising men, there are countless
websites aimed specifically at escort services for gay men, and a small number advertising
services to female buyers. Both male and female sex-workers are making the most of the
potential technology offers them in promoting their services.
Fortuitously, the Internet not only provides individuals and businesses with efficient marketing
and communications facilities, but it also offers new opportunities for the academic researcher,
75
particularly in terms of access. As part of her doctoral thesis, Sanders (2004) recruited female
escorts advertising on the Internet for interviews. Although a number of methodological issues
did arise from using online methods for interview recruitment, it nevertheless resulted in a
valuable empirical account of the strategies women used to rationalise and minimise workrelated risks. Sanders (2004) concludes that a combination of online and offline methods is
probably most appropriate.
There has been, and still is, to a degree, reluctance to accept the use of Internet technology for
academic research, particularly when generalizable, statistical evidence is required, because
even today, Internet-user populations do not constitute a representative sample of the general
population in terms of class, age, gender etc. However, whilst not offering wider
generalisability, where the target population is difficult to access, research is rarely able to
achieve representativeness in any case.
The particular sex-work community that I wanted to access for research purposes were escorts
who use the Internet as a marketing and communications tool; therefore, my target population
were, by definition, Internet users, and online communication was also therefore likely to be a
method of exchange that recipients would be familiar with. Because of the covert nature of
their work, escort sex-workers have historically been hard to identify, let alone reach for
research purposes. For the purposes of this study therefore, I chose to make the most of the
opportunities computer-mediated communications offered. Much as this was an exciting
decision, it did, on the face of it, pose a challenge in terms of overcoming any reservations
feminist and social scientists more generally, might have about what constitute suitable
methods of data collection.
Feminist Research Methods
My first observation on the topic of feminist methods is that even as a plural term, there are no
methods that are peculiar only to feminist research. As Campbell and Wasco (2000:.783)
76
describe, “more often than not, feminist methods are familiar methods of data
collection…..that are adapted to be consistent with feminist ideology”. Methodologically,
concern is more about the approach taken and the ideological aims of feminist researchers than
any particular method. Nevertheless, what is consistently articulated in feminist literature is
that it is qualitative methods of inquiry that are usually favoured.
That is, although
quantitative methods, which tend to use more structured methods of data collection such as
surveys and experimental designs have often been considered to be the most „scientific‟, and
„reliable‟, they have come in for some criticism from researchers whose goal is not necessarily
to quantify facts, prove a thesis or test a hypothesis.
Although feminists are not the only researchers to have demonstrated the need for alternative
ways to approach their research, it was within feminist research that disinclination towards
quantitative research was especially noticeable. By the early 1980s, several feminist social
researchers began to propose that the principles and practices associated with quantitative
research were incompatible with feminist research on women. The main concerns were that
quantitative methods were bound up with male values of control and that they reduced people
simply to numbers while ignoring the contextualized lives in which they live. As Brooks and
Hesse-Biber (2007) explain, feminist research originated within the context of the second
wave feminist movements, throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, when female scholars became
aware of “the glaring contradictions between their lived experiences as women and
mainstream research models, studies and findings” (Brooks and Hesse-Biber, 2007:.5).
The reservations women had about quantitative methods were, in part, that they were thought
to be based on male-orientated foundations, and merely attempted to translate women‟s
experiences into predetermined categories, resulting in distorted findings or even in silencing
women‟s voices (e.g., Miner-Rubino and Jayaratne, 2007; Keller, 1985; Mies, 1983). This
failure to „give voice‟ to women‟s activities, experiences and perspectives provoked early
77
feminist scholars and researchers to remedy this with strategies that included new
methodological techniques (Brooks and Hesse-Biber, 2007). Recognising that women had
been marginalised, stereotyped and sexualised in pre/non- feminist research,
Radford
(2001:.121) proposed that one way to overcome this “was to grasp the parts that experience,
emotion and subjectivity play in the research process”.
Ramazanoglu and Holland (2005) document how feminists argued that as science itself is a
social product there is no incontrovertible „truth‟ anyway, and that scientific methods were
dominated by patriarchal consciousness that only permitted certain questions to be asked, in
certain ways, within male-centred frameworks of explanation. Feminists queried the ability of
this patriarchal consciousness to discover the nature of their reality (Ramazanoglu and
Holland, 2005). Quantitative methods such as social surveys were seen as a one-way process
in which the interviewer presumed the right to ask what questions they deemed relevant
without giving anything in return, while feminists though it indefensible to „use‟ other women
in this way (Bryman, 2001).
In contrast, qualitative methods came to be seen as a way to address these issues, and they
became favoured for at least two further reasons. First, they are seen as correcting biases in
quantitative methods (Campbell and Wasco, 2000). That is, they could be used to highlight
flaws in quantitative analyses. Second, because qualitative data are organized and evaluated
subjectively in terms of themes, categories, and new concepts, not statistical significance, they
have been seen as a more useful way to capture women‟s stories and legitimating those
experiences (Jayaratne and Stewart, 1991). More generally it seems that if one accepts that a
primary aim of feminist research is to uncover the invisible voices of women and reflect
women's lived experience, then interviews need to be reflexive and respondent- focused, and
they need to be interactive. Ethnographies, focus groups and in-depth interviews were
considered to be the best ways to achieve these aims, because they were far more interactive
78
and reciprocal, less hierarchical and they did not treat women as objects to be controlled by the
researcher‟s instruments and procedures (Bryman, 2001). In particular, for interviews, the
face-to-face, in-depth unstructured or semi-structured interview has become the definitive
feminist approach, because this involved listening, interacting and reflecting upon how women
described the contextualised, „lived‟ experiences in their own terms.
Although I intended to offer face-to-face interviews as part of my data collection process,
there were nevertheless other methods that I also wanted to propose, which, at first, did not
seem to fit as neatly with feminist research practice. In particular, as mentioned in the previous
section, I aimed to take advantage of computer-mediated means of communication. I wanted
to do this both by conducting an online survey as well as in the form of computer-mediated
interviews. In the remainder of this section, I will demonstrate how, although communicating
via computers and conducting surveys may seem problematic to feminist research practice,
these methods can, if used appropriately, provide a sensitive, female- as well as male- centred
contribution to an overall research strategy.
Feminist Research and Quantification
In light of the observations discussed above, it was suggested that social researchers,
particularly feminists, should look at more qualitative, women-friendly ways of researching.
As Silverman (2001:.35) puts it, “from the early 60s onwards, a story has got about that no
good sociologists should dirty their hands with numbers”. Yet caution must be taken not to
dismiss quantification too readily. As Kirk and Miller (1986:.72) point out, “whilst qualitative
research may imply a commitment to field activities, it does not necessarily indicate any
commitment to innumeracy”. That is, qualitative and quantitative measures need not be
mutually exclusive in the sense that one can still illustrate prevalence through quantification
without loss to the richness of the qualitative data. Furthermore, although themes, categories,
and concept formation, rather than statistical significance, are seen as a more useful way to
capture women‟s „lived‟ experiences, I nevertheless find that statistics can be valuable in the
79
sense they can provide a striking, indisputable illustration of a point being made; one which
can often be readily recalled. As Miner-Rubino and Jayaratne (2007) describe, there is
something powerful and moving about statistics, especially in the way that they convey a
message in stark terms. That a point can be made with statistics alone may be moving,
however, it is only with elaboration and context that statistics can then become telling. To be
clear here, I am not concerned with either the use of scientific survey methods as such, nor
with systematic coding to pre-determined categories, but rather, I argue that statistics can still
be useful in feminist research in terms of the quantification of qualitative data.
As well as being powerful, quantification of data can serve other, more subtle purposes that go
some way to counteract some of the limitations of relying solely on interview narratives. One
of the criticisms of the validity of qualitative research has been how so-called „telling‟
examples can be used as evidence of some apparent phenomenon without the generality of
such fragments being properly addressed (Silverman, 2001). This issue has been raised by
various commentators in the context of sex-work and human trafficking, because relying on
individual personal testimonies without any accurate indication of their prevalence is open to
abuse (e.g., Kinnell, 2002; Dottridge, 2003; Tyldum and Brunovskis, 2005; Weitzer, 2007).
Kinnell (2002) cautions against relying upon isolated personal testimonies, such as those
“routinely paraded in front of abolitionist gatherings to recount their horrific experiences”. She
explains her reservations:
While I do not doubt that some experience their involvement in sex work in the
ways we have heard so frequently described, I know numerous others that
experience and/or conceptualize their involvement in sex work quite
differently. This is one reason why I dislike and distrust reliance on “personal
testimony” instead of objective research or collective demands, since by its
very nature, personal testimony privileges certain voices above others.
(Kinnell, 2002:.9)
It was important, therefore, for me to be able to illustrate clearly in my thesis to what degree
the experience or phenomenon being described was either common or exceptional within the
context of my overall findings. To be convincing in terms of the validity of my findings, I
80
therefore make use of some proportional, percentile data, which reflect the prevalence of
particular themes.
Quantification also serves a further purpose in terms of validity. Typically in qualitative
research, themes emerge from the data. However, no researcher is a blank slate, and it is not
possible to approach interviews without having some expectations or preconceptions about the
findings. Therefore some quantification also serves as a way of checking and correcting any
misconceptions the researcher may hold, particularly when the data highlights themes or
phenomenon contrary to what we anticipate; i.e. it prevents us from seeing only what we
expect to see. Therefore, whilst qualitative methods may correct biases in quantitative data, so
too do quantitative measures help identify and correct biases in qualitative methods. Using an
example from his own research, Silverman (2001) shows how quantification can help to test
generalisations and remove „nagging doubts‟ about impressions the researcher has sensed:
Simple counting techniques can offer a means to survey the whole corpus of
data ordinarily lost in intensive, qualitative research. Instead of taking the
researcher‟s word for it, the reader has a chance to gain a sense of the flavour
of the data as a whole.
(Silverman, 2002:.137)
My approach to this qualitative research strategy then is to use quantification where it is useful
and appropriate to do so within an overall qualitative research strategy. So while I would stress
that my research is not quantitative in its strategic approach, and therefore I will not be using
the language of quantitative research such as measurement criteria or statistical significance, I
will nevertheless use some numerical data, especially those provided by my survey instrument,
to contextualise my arguments.
To summarise, I have argued that there is justification for the inclusion of some quantitative
measures which support narrative data, and therefore, some quantitative data will be used as
an integral part of my overall qualitative methodological strategy. Having shown that
81
quantification of qualitative data is not inconsistent with feminist research methodology, in the
next section, I discuss the use of computer-mediated methods in feminist research.
Feminist Research Methods and CMC
Despite
the
concerns
with
generalisability
mentioned
earlier,
computer-mediated-
communication (hereafter CMC) research methods are now been used in a growing number of
academic studies. I wanted to utilise CMC methods in two ways: by using an online survey,
which would also serve as a tool for recruiting interview participants, and by using CMC
methods for interview purposes. However, given what has already been said about the
preference in feminist research for face-to–face interviews, using computers as an interface for
interviews did not immediately strike me as a particularly suitable method to employ.
However, in this section, I illustrate how, given what has been said about the need to uncover
and reflect the voices of women and to be reflexive and interactive in nature, CMC can, in
some ways, be an ideal interview method.
One of the pressing concerns about communicating „remotely‟ has been the impact this might
have on response quality. As Joinson (2005) explains, early theories of CMC tended to focus
on what was lost during Internet-based interaction. This may be, because, in qualitative
research, the depth and richness of the data provided through face-to-face interviewing, is
considered to be of particularly high value. A merit of face-to-face interviews is that when
communicating directly, interaction includes not just words, but also body language and
gestures, and things that words alone cannot convey, such as humour and sarcasm.
Furthermore, by communicating remotely, we lose the „personal touch‟, making it more
difficult to make a personal connection. The argument is that this could potentially result in a
loss of richness of the data.
However, while this is very likely to be the case in some instances, it is not clear that
establishing a personal rapport or connection with your respondent or interviewee is always
82
the best way to extract information. Not only do many Internet-mediated studies give results
comparable to others, (Hewson et al. 2003:.44), but more significantly, there is evidence that
there are certain important advantages to providing a shield from the direct exposure of faceto-face methods, where the researcher can potentially be a hindrance to candidness (Joinson,
2005:.22).
Social identity theorists (e.g. Spears and Lea, 1992; Spears et al., 2002) have argued that
visual anonymity creates a „strangers on the train‟ experience where the social cost of selfdisclosure is reduced through relative anonymity. This may be why, as Vir (2003) insists, the
Internet does appear to produce reliable and accurate data in some circumstances, because
respondents feel more able to be open and honest in the absence of an interviewer. He
observes the way that people sometimes revealed more about themselves to computers than to
people, due to an absence of social cues. Likewise, Bargh, McKenna and Fitzsimons (2002)
found evidence that people more readily disclosed information about one‟s self that would not
normally be socially acceptable.
The merits of CMC may be most valuable when the topic under discussion is of a sensitive or
personal nature. Illingworth (2001) used email communication with women for her research
into involuntary infertility. Illingworth reports that because of the sensitive nature of this
research, a number of her respondents emphasised that they would have been reluctant to
participate had this research been conducted in a more conventional, face-to-face setting. In
other words some people may be persuaded by the very fact that they can contribute their
opinions without face-to-face contact.
Illingworth contends further that the electronic
environment is an effective tool which presents a more neutral and egalitarian space in which
to communicate. She says many of her respondents, „encouraged by the anonymity and
privacy of email communication‟, reported that this was “a comforting and empowering
83
dimension for them” (Illingworth, 2001:.11). Selwyn and Robson (1998) also describe how
for them, email‟s primary advantage was its „friendliness‟ to the respondent.
However, non-visual communication does also shield people from close scrutiny in other
ways. Hewson et al. (2003:.4) for example, explain that a lack of visual clues may prevent the
researcher from picking up on important warning signs:
When materials are administered via a computer terminal, rather than in
person, the researcher is less able to judge the extent to which responses are
sincere and genuine, the conditions under which the questionnaire was
answered, the state of participants at the time of participation (for example,
intoxicated, distracted, and so on).
However, accepting that there are such risks whatever methods are used to communicate,
some risks can be minimised, in part, by the additional use of webcams or other audio-visual
media. As Gies (2008) points out, even in mainly text-based exchanges users are unable to
erase facets of their embodied identity and internet communication can reveal a lot about the
communicator. Gies also describes the value of anonymity in the context of reporting sensitive
and emotional issues such as with the work of charitable telephone helplines where children
and vulnerable adults have shown that “anonymity in these settings, far from encouraging
deception, actually tries to facilitate honesty and confidentiality” (Gies, 2008:.317).
As well as in the context of personal or sensitive topics, perhaps CMC methods are even more
suitable when the participants are being asked about behaviours that are of an illicit nature.
For instance, DiMarco and DiMarco (2003) note how CMC methods increased verbosity when
respondents were being questioned about behaviours that might be considered deviant or
socially undesirable. This may be of particular importance in the context of my project, given
the aura of illegality that often surrounds sex-work.
Another advantage of online communication is how it can overcome obstacles of distance and,
in the case of non-synchronous methods such as email, overcome different time zones and
84
incompatible work patterns. Further advantages of CMC methods include how online
interviews are undoubtedly a more cost effective, less time-consuming, and more flexible way
to communicate, and the interview data is presented in a text format ready for analysis. My
primary justification for offering online methods, however, was so that participants could
choose the method of communication they were most comfortable with.
As discussed above, most writers on feminist research agree that there is no single method that
can be termed the feminist methodology, but as yet, as Illingworth points out:
If one of the primary aims of the feminist research project is to uncover the
invisible voice of women and reflect women's lived experience, the
possibilities afforded by CMC must be embraced more fully.
(Illingworth, 2001:.12)
That is, CMC methods may offer an opportunity to further empower women by providing a
context within which they can be comfortable enough to contribute more readily. Online
interviewing can be a disappointing experience for some researchers (e.g., Sanders, 2004), and
use of them will not always be appropriate; however, my argument is not that they should
replace face-to-face interviews, only that they should be offered as an alternative, not
necessarily inferior, means of interview communication.
To summarise, CMC methods need not be any less in line with feminist requirements to
include the voices of women and in some instances might offer the perfect setting. Given that
CMC facilitates access to my target population, and considering the personal nature of the
research topic, administering a survey in the first instance seemed to be the most workable
approach. Therefore, despite not being an obvious feminist methodological approach, a survey
was my starting point and I was confident that this could, if approached thoughtfully, be
consistent with research that is respectful to, and appropriate for, women as well as for men.
The advantages and disadvantages of this decision as they occurred in the context of this
research will be reported upon later in this chapter when I discuss methodological issues as
part of my initial findings.
85
Gender-Inclusive Feminist Research
One of my theoretical research aims was to incorporate the experiences of male and
transgendered sex-workers into my analysis, so consideration had to be given as to whether
their inclusion was problematic in any way. Of course, not all feminist research has to be
simply about women. Cosgrove and McHugh (2000:.817) for instance, reject a simplistic
approach to feminist research that stipulates: “feminist research is research by, about, and for
women”, because not all research by or about women is feminist, while research conducted by
and about men may also be feminist. More accurate criteria, they argue, would be couched in
terms of the approach and aims of the research: “We believe feminist research examines the
gendered context of women‟s lives, exposes gender inequalities, empowers women, advocates
for social change, and/or improves the status or material reality of women‟s lives” (Cosgrove
and McHugh, 2000:.817). Ambition to improve women‟s lives is therefore what should be
kept at the forefront of any feminist research plan, and the question for me was how best to
achieve this.
Also, women do not live their lives in isolation and nor are all women‟s lives the same. Age,
race, class as well as religious and cultural differences can mean that at certain times, and in
some situations, as women, we may have more in common with men than with other women
whose background, beliefs and upbringing are very different from our own. In order to
understand gendered relations and their impact on women‟s lives, research needs to identify
similarities as well as differences within the diversity of gendered lives, and gender inequality
need not always to be studied in isolation from other forms of injustice. Letherby (2003:.137)
argues, “Taking „gender seriously‟ means „bringing men back in”, because, she argues, “in
order to fully understand what is going on in women‟s lives we need to know what is going on
in men‟s lives also”.
This may be of particular relevance given the topic of my study, because, as Collier
(1995:.223) argues: “Prostitution is one area where the politics of male sexuality has, for a
86
century at least, been of central importance in framing understandings of legal intervention”.
While research has typically shown that male and female sex-workers are likely to report
different accounts of experiences of exploitation, it is nevertheless important not to assume
that exploitation is necessarily a gendered phenomenon. As Gorelick (1989:.350-1) argues, as
feminists, “We cannot afford to be blinded by our own assumptions”. Assumptions and biases
are barriers to insightful research, and as Letherby (2003:.137) asserts, gendered assumptions
are just too simplistic: “Just as there are differences between women there are also differences
between men, and it is just as simplistic to characterise all men as powerful as it is to view all
women as inevitable victims”.
I wanted to approach my research in a non-sexist way that engages with both men and women
as individuals first and foremost, regardless of gender. As Ramazanoglu and Holland outline,
research does not have to start from a position of women‟s victimisation to be feminist in its
approach:
Research projects can be thought of as feminist if they are framed by feminist
theory, and aim to produce knowledge that will be useful for effective
transformation of gendered injustice and subordination. But this does not mean
that feminists have to study women, or only study gender, or treat women as
innocent of abuses of power.
(Ramazanoglu with Holland, 2002:.147)
Identifying and drawing attention to injustices, both those of a gendered nature and those that
result from other inequalities, is one of the key aims of my research. To conduct a useful and
consistent comparison of both male and female experiences, it was necessary to approach all
participants in a respectful and open-minded fashion and to look both at and beyond gender.
Edwards (1993) asserts that the most important feature of feminist research is the aim, at all
stages, to “provide explanations of women‟s lives that are useful to them as an instrument to
improve their situations” (Edwards, 1993:.183). In other words, feminist researchers must start
with the political commitment to empower women and to produce useful knowledge that will
87
make a difference to their lives, and so it is more important to be congruent with what
feminists are striving to achieve. In this respect my research is wholeheartedly feminist.
I have argued in this section that neither the use of quantification nor computer-mediated
research methods are incompatible with feminist methodological demands as long as care is
taken to do so sensitively and as part of a qualitative research strategy. I have also shown how,
far from being problematic, the inclusion of male participants is consistent with feminist
research aims that seek to examines the gendered context of women‟s lives and expose
gendered inequalities. Having demonstrated in the first part of this chapter that my qualitative
methodological approach fits with feminist research aims, including the use of computermediated data collection methods and the intention to provide some quantification of data in
my analysis, my theoretical framework and research strategy has been established. In the
following sections, I set out in more detail how this theoretical approach was designed to work
in practice.
Project Design
In the remainder of this chapter, I outline the design and administration of my data collection
methods. I start by explaining the sampling procedures that I used, the purpose of using a
survey website and the research ethics raised by my methodological approach. I then explain
the design of the questionnaire, and how I piloted and administered the survey.
Sampling, Survey Design and Research Ethics
The system of sampling I adopted is often referred to as purposive or illustrative sampling.
Purposive sampling allows the researcher to choose samples that best illustrate the feature or
phenomenon that they are interested in. As Mason (2002) explains, while this approach to
sampling seeks only to provide a flavour, it can be a very vivid or illuminating one and this
sort of research is particularly good at constituting arguments about how things work in
particular contexts, rather than representing the full range of experience (Mason, 2002). In this
sense the research is exploratory in nature, and I am not ensuring or implying
representativeness in any way.
88
Having made the decision to confine the research to sex-workers who advertise their sexual
services via websites as escorts, further decisions were made about the survey design and
administration. I chose to use a web-based survey, which was created using a hosted
application from Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com). This provides a browser-based
application and as each respondent completed the survey, responses were captured within the
application providing an aggregated view of responses and the facility to filter the data in
various ways. The software package allowed me to dictate which fields were to be stored, and
so to protect respondents‟ identities, no email addresses were collected. The website
(www.academic-survey.co.uk) also reiterated the aims of the project, outlined assurances of
anonymity and confidentiality, and provided a link for opting out, plus of course the link to the
survey itself. The webpage clearly stated that the survey was intended for adult men and
women who were working voluntarily as escorts.
Although I was aware that eliciting candid disclosure from research participants can be quite
sensitive to the ways in which researchers present themselves and their projects, I nevertheless
chose not to provide any indication of my own views on the topic of sex work on the website;
although there is no such thing as a neutral position, there is, nevertheless, a danger in
forewarning prospective participants of biases and assumptions, and in terms of the survey, I
decided not to outline my own views or theses. However, I was honest about my own views
when asked directly.
In the context of research into sex-work communities, this is an especially pertinent issue. As
Sanders (2004) observes, prospective interviewees may want the researcher to divulge more
about their personal opinions regarding prostitution. Like any community that are subject to
social-stigma and criticism, sex-workers may rightly question what the research hypothesis is
or what the researcher is posturing before risking contributing further to research that may be
89
used against them. It is important then that this was pre-empted to some extent. However, I
dealt with this issue on a case-by-case basis, and some of the implications of this decision are
discussed in the findings section.
Other ethical considerations in this project were mainly those that related to issues of
confidentiality, privacy and anonymity. The survey was anonymous, and informed consent
was indicated by respondents clicking a box on an information page at the start of the survey.
For the interviews, informed consent was secured by using an information sheet and consent
form which was provided to all participants. This was signed at the start of a face-to-face
meeting, agreed to online, or returned by email.11 All interviewees were allocated a random
name to protect their identity. All quotations in this thesis are identifiable only by their survey
number with a prefix of F (Female) M (Male) or TG (Transgendered). Other identifying
information has also been changed where necessary.
In terms of ethical procedures, guidelines provided by the Socio-legal Studies Association12
were fully adhered to. I also abided by the „Respect Code of Practice‟ which offers
comprehensive guidelines for research in the information society13. Institutional ethical
approval was gained from Keele University in two stages; initially, approval to conduct the
online survey, and again following the survey for approval to commence the programme of
face-to-face interviews. At this stage health and safety aspects of face-to-face interviewing
were taken into considerations and guidelines were agreed.
The Questionnaire and its Administration
Whilst questionnaires are usually considered to be quantitative research instruments, it was, as
explained above, my intention to try to elicit at least some qualitative data via my survey. For
11 The consent form is reproduced at appendix A.
12 http://www.slsa.ac.uk/download/ethics_drft2.pdf
13 http://www.respectproject.org/code/respect_code.pdf
90
this reason, I included several open questions. This decision runs contrary to the advice of a
number of researchers, (e.g., Gunn, 2002; De Vaus, 2002), who caution against using openended questions other than sparingly. De Vaus (2002:.129) suggests that open-ended questions
are best used when people can answer verbally rather than in writing. However, online
responses have been shown to be more verbose and more insightful than traditional survey
responses (e.g., Mehta and Sivadas, 1995; Bryman, 2004), and as my respondents were likely
to be familiar with online communication, in this instance, I took the view that the case for
caution may have been overstated.
The survey instrument, a self-completion questionnaire, was divided into four main parts.
Although the theme of exploitation was evident throughout the survey, because of my aim to
elicit a wider grasp of participant‟s own notions of exploitation, the questions were
deliberately designed to be open to some degree of interpretation. Following a small
orientation section requesting some demographic and work-specific information, there were
then sections broadly relating to each of the following topics: motivation; personal power and
respect; self-confidence; and the purchasing of sexual services. The final section asked for
more detailed demographic data and the final question was an invitation to participate in a
follow-up interview. There were 40 questions in total. Almost all questions provided space for
written text to be added should respondents wish to qualify or add to their answer, and any
questions could be skipped without explanation. The survey was piloted and pre-tested with
seven male and four female escorts. Piloting helped to identify where questions could be better
worded whereas pre-testing confirmed that there were no problems in accessing and
navigating the survey instrument.
Finally, it remained for me to bring the survey to prospective participants‟ attention. While
there are many ways to do this, I chose to contact escorts directly using the email addresses
provided by escorts on their websites. There were certain ethical issues raised by this choice,
91
most particularly in terms of privacy and the ethics of sending unsolicited mail. However,
because the addresses posted on these escorts‟ websites were being advertised as business
addresses, much as listings in Yellow Pages directories would be, I took them to represent
public business addresses. However, care had to be taken to avoid being accused of
„spamming‟. To minimise this, a meticulously complied database of addresses was crucial. To
achieve this, great care was taken to make certain, so far as was possible, that all of the email
addresses used were those of self-identified sex-workers. Finally, a pre-notification email,
giving a short description of the overall study was sent out to the database of approximately
10,000 validated addresses three days prior to the survey launch date.
Survey Results
The survey was launched on Tuesday 10th April, 2007. Within the first two weeks, 517
responses had been received. At this point a reminder email was sent out and by the time the
survey was closed on Monday 8th May I had received 635 responses in total. Of these, I
deemed 483 of them „usable‟; that is, they were both entirely or almost fully completed and
appeared to be genuine in nature. The success of a survey is usually judged firstly on the
response rate that it achieves, usually calculated by dividing the number of responses received
by the number in the original sample (De Vaus, 2002). With this survey however, calculating
what response rate 483 represents is problematic for several reasons. First, it is not unusual
for escorts to have more than one email address or online profile, therefore the number of
individual recipients is indeterminate. Also, because of the constantly changing nature of the
Internet, email addresses can become out-of-date fairly quickly, and around 10% of the emails
„bounced‟; that is, they were returned for failure to find the addressee. Of the 9,000 emails
that did reach a recipient, some of these were escort agencies rather than individual escorts.
Many agencies will have considered it irrelevant to them. However, others instead did pass it
on to their escorts; I know this to have occurred in at least three cases. I also received sixteen
emails from escorts or agencies saying they would be willing to help but would prefer not to
do a survey. I met with several of these people and their input to the research is very valuable,
92
however, they are not reflected in these statistics which are taken from the software package
data. Finally, several escorts contacted me after the survey was closed and they completed
word copies of the survey. A total of 497 individual respondents contributed to the research,
which I would estimate to represent a response rate of about 6%; however, of more importance
is that the survey was very successful in terms of the statistical and textual data it generated
and in terms of its role in recruiting interviewees. A full summary of the survey responses is
reproduced as appendix B.
Survey Statistics
Although the survey software can subdivide the data to provide all kinds of statistics, rather
than present my data in this way, I will discuss the response statistics in the context of the
themes or arguments to which they are most relevant. Therefore, other than for some of the
basic demographical information which provides perspective for the thematic data that follows
the survey data will be incorporated within my main analysis chapters (four to seven). Also, as
comparison by gender is a major aim of this thesis, throughout my discussions, I will, where
relevant, break the statistics down by gender, including reference to transgendered participants
where it is notably different.
As hoped, the survey did produce a vast amount of textual answers, resulting in a wealth of
descriptive and explanatory information. While a small number of respondents only ticked
boxes, many wrote several pages of text, and analysis of the word-count that resulted from the
survey suggests that they each typically provided between 600-1200 words. Furthermore, as
well as being positive in terms of their verbosity, in many cases they were also very insightful
and revealing.
Geographic Location of Respondents
In terms of geographic location of interviewees, the survey asked three questions: country of
birth, country of residence and nearest town or city. Although my thesis is most relevant to the
UK context, particularly in terms of legal implications, some facets of exploitation are
universal, and furthermore, responses from other jurisdictions offer useful comparative data.
93
Where UK-specific responses are markedly different from the overall responses, this will be
highlighted. I did however aim, as far as is possible, to restrict my address database to „first
world‟ countries. Whilst not foolproof, this does appear to have been fairly successful as
figure 1 below shows:
239
Survey Respondents by Country
of Residence
103
33
UK
USA
Western
Europe
27
Australia &
New Zealand
24
Canada
14
Other
Figure 1: Number of respondents by country of residence.
The most important factor to note here in terms of my thesis is that over half (54.3%) of my
survey respondents were resident in the UK. Respondents in the US, Canada, Australia,
Western Europe and New Zealand make up a further 42.5% (n=187). Only around 3.2% came
from outside of this group of countries14. Several research respondents had also worked as
escorts in other countries and some did overseas working „tours‟, therefore their work
experience and knowledge is not always limited to their country of residence.
Before providing other demographic data from the survey, it is worth stating that I chose to
allow respondents to skip questions and they were not restricted to ticking only one box. For
14
43 participants skipped this question
94
example, some people chose to tick more than one and then would usually explain their
reasons in the text box provided. The contextual detail this provided more than compensated
for the limitations this posed in terms of statistical analysis; however, it does mean that not all
totals equal 100%. In order to contextualise and compare the data that is discussed more fully
in my analysis chapters, I now provide some basic data on the gender, sexual identity and age
of respondents.
Gender
Of the 483 survey responses, the gender composition is shown below as figure 2.
298
Survey respondents by gender
155
22
Female
Male
Trans women
1
6
Trans man
Other
Figure 2: Number and percentage of respondents by gender
In terms of the 6 respondents who indicated „other‟, 2 responses were from couples who
escorted together and answered jointly, the other 4 were genetic males who were either
transvestites or in the process of gender transition to female. For the purpose of brevity
however, throughout the remainder of this thesis, where gendered comparisons are made, I
will refer only to the 3 gender groups: male, female and transgendered.
What is also of note here is that while overall, female respondents far outweigh male
respondents, the ratio was approximately 2:1. This may reflect the fact that I purposely
95
included proportionally more of the available male addresses in my original database. It may
also reflect the fact that male sex-workers have not been the target subjects of research to the
same degree as women have, a point made by several male participants. I am not suggesting,
therefore, that 1 in 3 escorts are male, which is unlikely; however, there are a substantial
number of male escorts, many of whom said they had never been asked to take part in research
about their work before, and this added to their motivation.
Sexual Identity
In terms of sexual orientation, sexual identity was reported in the proportions shown below in
figure 3.
Sexual orientation
100%
23%
80%
41%
60%
4%
64%
57%
Gay/Lesbian
40%
51%
20%
14%
19%
Bisexual
Heterosexual
18%
0%
Female
Male
Transsexual
Figure 3: Sexual orientation by percentage
While most respondents indicated one of the three options, with or without further elaboration,
14 respondents (2.9%) ticked „other‟ and of these offered explanation in the text box e.g., „gay
for pay‟, “bi-curious”, “mainly straight”, and “work = bi / personal = straight”. This latter term
was only specified by 1 participant. However, in retrospect, it was probably a more accurate
description of other female respondents, who, having reported as bisexual, later clarified in
their interview that this was only an identity that they related to within the context of sexwork.
96
There does, however, appear to be a significant proportion of non-heterosexual women. This
reflects Bernstein‟s (2007) observation that the majority of female sex-workers she
interviewed were bisexual and experimental. It also suggests that assumptions of
heteronormativity in female sex work are misleading. It is difficult to compare statistically,
because, as discussed in chapter one (see p.37), women are rarely asked about their sexual
orientation as they are presumed to be heterosexual. However, in this sector of the sex
industry, there are not only many bisexual women working as escorts, but 12 female
respondents identified as lesbian, 6 of whom serviced female clients only.
Related to sexual identity, question 5 asked about the gender of the respondents‟ clients. Of
the 155 male respondents, 80.3% (n=123) serviced all or mainly male clients. Of the 32
remaining men, 27 serviced only or mainly female clients with 5 reporting that they either
services couples or an otherwise equal numbers of male and female clients. With regard to
transgendered respondents, 96% serviced all or mainly male clients, with some couples or
other transsexual women. Of the 298 female respondents, over 96% (n=285) serviced either all
male or mainly male clients. Of those remaining women (13 in total), 6 had only female
clients and 3 had mainly female clients. The other four, who all reported as lesbian or bisexual,
chose not to comment.
Age and Length of Time in Sex Work
The ages reported by participants revealed that the men were on average younger than the
women, and the transgendered participants were on average older, with no transgendered
participants under 18 and only 1 under 25. In contrast 1 woman and 2 men were under 18. The
mode for women was late 30s whereas for men it was early 20s. This supports the argument
that male sex-workers are typically younger than female sex-workers overall, though both had
equal proportions over 41. Furthermore, as the interviews confirmed, although the demand for
younger escorts is still more noticeable for gay men, this sector is becoming less youthoriented, with a growing demand for more mature male escorts now too.
97
A summary of the ages of participants is shown below in Figure 4.
Age
< 18
18-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41+
Female
0.3
14.8
21.6
19.9
24.4
18.9
Male
1.4
23.8
21.0
20.3
14.7
18.9
Transwomen
0.0
4.5
22.7
31.8
13.6
27.3
Figure 4: Age in percentage at time of survey
As can be seen here, almost a fifth of both male and female participants, and almost a third of
transwomen, are over 41 years of age. To my knowledge, the youngest respondent, a female,
was aged 17, and the oldest respondent, a male, was aged 62. None of the three respondents
who reported to be aged under 18 offered to be interviewed, therefore the question of
interviewing minors did not arise.
Very closely related to age at the time of survey is the length of time that respondents had, at
the point of survey completion, worked in the sex industry. The survey did not ask at what age
respondents started sex-work, so this is the only indication of age at entry. The category most
frequently indicated by both men and women was 3-5 years. More men, proportionately, had
worked in the sex industry for over 21 years.
Before going on to the main findings section, there are two last points from the survey worth
mentioning. First, question 6 asked about other sources of income and here, 69.6 % (n=206) of
women reported that escort work was their main source of income. This was similar for
transgendered participants at 63.6% (n=14), and for men the figure drops to 43.8% (n=67).
This reinforces the notion that escort work is less often a full time role for men, albeit that it is
still the sole income for almost half of the male respondents. Second, in terms of educational
qualifications, male respondents rated slightly higher levels of academic qualifications. For
98
example, 35.3 % (n=54) of men held bachelor‟s degrees, whereas for women, this was 32.9%
(n=98). Also, a higher proportion of both transgendered and genetic females reported having
no formal educational qualifications at 13.6% (n=3) and 8.7% (n=26), respectively. However
more than a third of respondents overall were degree-educated, with over 18% (n=88) holding
post graduate qualifications.
Interviews
Before moving on to the analysis chapters, in this final methodological section, I provide a
summary of the interviews that were conducted in the second phase of data collection,
including some discussion of methodological and ethical issues. Participants were asked at the
end of the survey if they would consider taking part in a follow-up interview. Respondents
putting themselves forward as prospective interviewees were asked to indicate their preferred
method of interview, such as face-to-face or online. Most of the interviews were then arranged
via email or telephone.
Online (CMC) interviews were carried out using either instant messaging (Usually Microsoft
messenger (MSN) or via email. A small number of these incorporated webcam technology. Of
the 45 interviews conducted online, 6 of these were predominantly by email. This was deemed
the best method for various reasons, including different time zones and in 2 cases, where the
participants‟ first language was not English, and therefore they found it easier to answer at
their own pace. 2 were carried out over a matter of hours; 2 over a couple of days; and 2
continued on a weekly basis over several months.
A second group of interviews were conducted by telephone, and again, with some, webcams
were used. The remaining interviews I conducted in person. Figure 5 below shows a summary
of those interviews broken down by methods and gender. To include a wider range of
experiences, I deliberately included both lesbian women and straight men as interviewees.
Five of the 29 men interviewed serviced only female clients. I did not interview any lesbian
99
women that serviced women exclusively; of the 2 lesbian interviewees, one serviced mainly
men and the other serviced an equal numbers of male and female clients. Additionally, 6 of the
108 interviewees were industry organisers as well as being either current or ex-escorts
themselves. This was 4 female agency owners in the UK and 2 male agency owners: one in the
UK one in Mexico.
Face-toFace
Telephone
Online
Total
Female
Male
Transwomen
Total
36
6
28
70
10
4
15
29
5
2
2
9
51
12
45
108
Figure 5: Number of interviews by methods and gender
The interviews, which typically took between 90 minutes and three hours, were semistructured in format. That is, regardless of the interview method, or of the gender of the
participant, I used a general topic guide as a template which was then adapted to incorporate
the participant‟s individual survey response.
Face-to-face interviews took place in a number of venues, such as the escort‟s home or
workplace, or in hotels. All but 2 interviews (one face-to-face and one telephone interview)
were recorded and later transcribed. The data was analysed thematically using the software
package Nvivo. This facilitated the storage and management of the data from all interview
sources collectively and so to systematically code pieces of text to as many different themes as
they were relevant to regardless of their source. Again, software offered the advantage of
being able to segment the data by gender, geographic location, or any other common feature,
which allowed for „at a glance‟ comparison of common features between and among
participants.
Reflecting upon the interviews, and the data produced, there are a number of points worth
documenting. In quantitative terms, interviews with male participants were, on the whole less
100
verbose than those with female and transgendered participants. In terms of comparison
between interview methods, the face-to-face interviews produced almost twice as much data in
terms of quantifying text. However, in part, that may be because in face-to-face situations
there is a greater tendency to go off at a tangent, and therefore not all the words were relevant
to the research questions. Also, in instant messaging, the tendency is to use as few words as
necessary, and also to incorporate acronyms and emoticons, to convey meaning without
words.
In terms of the quality of the data, whilst face-to-face interviews provided very rich,
descriptive data, it was not clear that they necessarily brought about a greater level of
disclosure from participants. In analysing the data produced, there were very similar levels of
disclosure, such as the sharing of personal and sometimes very sensitive information. Overall,
the telephone interviews were the most productive in terms of overall verbosity and relevant,
rich data.
Although the face-to-face interviews were more productive overall than the online interviews,
not all participants found it the most comfortable way to communicate. For example, two of
the female participants that I interviewed face-to-face, later contacted me to say that there was
something that they hadn‟t felt able to disclose in person. One emailed me and admitted to
suffering from an eating disorder that she had denied in person; the other telephoned me to
disclose a very negative experience from her childhood that she had not disclosed in her twohour interview. Both explained their non-disclosure in terms of it being hard to talk about
these things. What is not clear of course is whether, had we not met first, these disclosures
would have occurred at all; having met these two women first, does of course, complicate the
analysis. However, it does reinforce the notion that face-to-face interviews are not always the
easiest way for people to feel comfortable disclosing their personal experiences.
101
As can be seen in the table at figure 5 above, overall, men had a greater tendency to choose
online methods, whereas women preferred in-person interviews, but there was quite a mix, as
well as an assortment of reasons why that method was chosen. I usually asked about
motivation for a particularly interview method and a variety of reasons emerged; often,
participants who had chosen online methods were thinking of my convenience in not having to
travel, but also, often, this was especially because they knew that the nature of their work
patterns meant they might not be dependable.
For others though, particularly women, rather than for either party‟s convenience, it was about
their comfort level, and several women turned down my offer to come to them in person in
favour of using instant messaging. For example, when I asked Lisa (F197) “what reasons did
you have for choosing an online rather than in-person interview?” she answered:
I thought I would find it easier to express myself online ... less afraid to tell the
truth.
Conversely, many others said that instead, they preferred an in-person interview because it
was more personal or that they found it easier to trust and „read‟ a person face-to-face. For
example, (Keira F204) felt that there was too much potential for deception communicating
remotely:
I prefer in-face….I like to see a person's face, and I like to know who I'm
talking to…..to tell where a person is really coming from…I want to see what
this person really thinks, how this person looks at this and what this person is
really like and you can't do that on MSN or whatever.
It was also clear in some cases that participants appreciated the opportunity to talk with
someone about their work; often it is something that they cannot divulge to those close to
them, and so whether on the telephone or in person, just being able to be open about what they
do as an escort, and how they feel about their work, was valuable to some participants:
You know I love these kinds of conversations because I never get to talk about
my work as much as I would like to because I find that it makes people a bit
uncomfortable, you know? It‟s kind of a litmus test that separates the women
102
from the girls and the men from the boys- whether they are happy talking about
these things.
(TG422-Sabrina)
On reflection, while the subject of sex-work was something many men and women are very
comfortable talking about, for others, it was more difficult and could be either intimidating, or
potentially too emotional. I conclude therefore that offering choice is what is important,
because CMC methods can, in some instances, offer what can be the most comfortable setting,
regardless of gender.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, I have discussed how sex-work research has, to date, been approached
methodologically, and how opportunities created by technological developments such as the
Internet have created new opportunities for sex-work research. I have also discussed what
methodological concerns are important for feminists and how I have addressed these concerns
in my methodological strategy and analytical approach. In doing so, I argued neither the use of
quantification nor computer-mediated research methods are incompatible with feminist
methodological demands as long as care is taken to do so sensitively and as part of a
qualitative research strategy, and that the inclusion of male participants is also consistent with
feminist research aims that seek to examines the gendered context of women‟s lives. I then
outlined how I designed and implemented data collection and discussed the comparative value
of different interview methods, as well as ethical issues. Lastly, after discussing some of the
preliminary data from the survey, I provided a summary of the interviews that were conducted
in the second phase of data collection, including some discussion of methodological issues.
This completes my foregrounding of my thesis, and I move on now to an analysis of the
substantive findings of my research.
103
Chapter 4. Vulnerability I: Motivation
4. Vulnerability I: Motivation
Sex-workers are said to be vulnerable to exploitation both in terms of being initially recruited
into sex-work and then to also being rendered vulnerable as a result of working in prostitution.
It is the first of these sites of vulnerability that is the focus of this chapter (the latter will be
discussed in chapter five). Much of the existing sex-work literature makes at least some
reference to what motivates sex-workers to become involved in prostitution, and some
research has considered the related topic of desistance (e.g., Mansson and Hedin, 1999;
Sanders, 2007a). Understanding what motivates people to engage in sex-work is important to
my thesis, because arguments that support the notion that sex-work is inherently exploitative
tend to depend heavily on the assumption that prostitution is only ever undertaken by those
with little or no choice. That is, even within the context of „sex-work‟ arguments, which
support the notion that prostitution is a legitimate choice given the limited economic options
available to women - the suggestion is nevertheless that a lack of alternative options always
underpins women‟s decision to engage in sex-work.
In this section I examine the explanations that participants provided as their reasons for
working as escorts. This may help to situate and contextualise some of the discussions
presented in subsequent chapters of the thesis and will also help to make more sense of how
escorts experience sex-work. Such an understanding is valuable to discussions relating to what
constitutes an appropriate legal response to prostitution. In terms of how this part of my
analysis relates to my research questions, the question most directly addressed is question one:
To what degree is vulnerability to exploitation a gendered phenomenon? In particular, my
analysis considers what factors, if any, make the notion of choice different for women than for
men, and whether motivational factors for men and women in this sector of the industry are
any different to those described by researchers reporting on other industry sectors.
104
Inquiring into what motivates an individual to work in any type of profession however, is not
as simple a task as it might first appear. For example, what is it most helpful to know? As
previously discussed, most studies that have analysed motivation to work in prostitution, have
indicated that financial need is most commonly cited. However, this tells us little because not
only would many people be likely to explain their motivation for going to work in terms of
achieving financial gain, but „need‟ is a subjective notion and so in terms of assessing
vulnerability, a far more nuanced understanding of „economic need‟ is necessary.
In order to identify vulnerability in terms of what constitutes motivation to undertake sexwork, the rest of this chapter is set out in five sections. First, I will use Weinberg et al.‟s
(1999) analytical theme of „ties to sex-work‟, to examine the reasons participants gave for
their initial entry to escort work. I then move on to consider one of the key assumptions
underlying the notion that male sex-work is inherently more exploitative than male sex-work; I
question the widely-held belief that for men, sex-work is about sex, and recreation, whereas
for women, sex-work is about work; more specifically, it is about money (e.g., Perkins and
Bennett, 1985; Weinberger et al., 1999).
To do this, I use section two to focus on the
significance of economic motivation for participants, including a closer look at what economic
motivation really means, both to male and female participants. In section three my focus is on
the sexual aspects of escort work; my attention here is on whether sex has a different meaning
for male and female escorts and what relevance, if any, sex has in motivating people to work
in prostitution. In section four, I highlight what, as a result of my data analysis, I identified as
an aspect of sex-work that was more influential than either money or sex: the social and
companionable aspects of escort work. In the final section, I will draw these together into a
broader discussion about what my findings suggest and their relevance to my research
questions.
105
Ties to Sex Work
I am not, for my purposes of this thesis, interested in motivation per se, but in the link between
vulnerability to exploitation and motivation to take up sex-work. Therefore, rather than
attempt to analyse the myriad reasons participants provided to explain how they first became
involved in escort work, in this section, I am going to borrow from Weinberg et al. (1999), by
focusing instead on the advantages and disadvantages of escort work reported by each gender
group, and in particular, their „ties to sex-work‟. Like Weinberg, I want to consider three
particular conditions of vulnerability that sex-work research has often identified as being
linked, to some degree, with „trapping‟ men and women into prostitution. These, often
interrelated issues, are those that are associated with one or more of three factors: a sexworkers‟ upbringing, including any history of abuse or neglect; the role of pimps or other
coercive influences; and a dependency upon illicit drugs or other addictive substances. While
substance abuse may be considered to be self-imposed, given the financial burden that it can
produce as well as the repercussions it can have for conventional employment (Weinberg et
al., 1999), it does nevertheless constitute a dependency upon sex-work, making notions of
choice somewhat more controversial. The relevance of these ties to sex-work is that they are
often argued to be part of what makes women vulnerable to recruitment into prostitution. I will
first draw on some of the data that give some indication on subjects such as family
background, negative or coercive relationships and substance abuse. Continuing with the
theme of „ties to sex-work‟, I will then go on to consider other ways in which participants
choices are constrained by relational responsibilities, such as caring for children or other
dependents.
In terms of family background, I refer to both specific issues such as abuse or neglect, as well
as where participants have reported a lack of contact with parents from a young age. I have
also included general poor parental relationships. 14 respondents reported negative views of
their childhood: 9 female and 5 male. The male participants‟ explanations were often
articulated in terms of disclosure of their sexuality, resulting in homelessness or harsh
106
treatment from their families. For example, 2 male participants were rendered homeless as a
direct response to discloser of their homosexuality, and sex-work was something they resorted
to for survival. For the females in contrast, accounts of difficult childhoods were described
more in terms of feeling unloved or unsupported as well as more general family breakdown
and issues such as parental alcohol or drug dependency. This resulted, in 3 cases, to them
living in state-provided care. Specifically in terms of sexual abuse, 7 of the 14 participants, 6
females and 1 male reported having been sexually abused as children. It is not clear how this
compares with the general population, particularly given the difficulties in determining
accurate data on topics such as sexual abuse. However, proportionately, this represents a small
minority of participants.
In terms of negative influences in the form of pimps or other third-parties, 10 participants
reported either being forced or coerced into sex-work. This included 9 females and 1 male. In
the 9 female cases, coercion had been taken place in the form of pressure from boyfriends or
husbands. Overall, this does reinforce the findings of previous research that has suggested that
females are more likely, statistically, to be coerced or pimped into sex-work (e.g., Weisberg,
1985; West, 1992; Aggleton, 1999). Nevertheless, 10 participants constitute only a very small
proportion of participants statistically, at around 2%.
Another problem often cited in sex-work research is that of resorting to sex-work to fund a
drug habit. Overall, 13 participants reported some degree of substance abuse or dependency.
This included 10 participants who disclosed prohibited drug use and 3 who reported alcohol
dependency. In terms of drug dependency there was little difference proportionally by gender;
in terms of alcohol dependency, the 3 respondents were all female.
To put these sites of vulnerability into perspective, when combining abusive or neglectful
backgrounds with coercive influences and problematic drug or alcohol use, (some overlapped
107
categories) in total, this effected only 22 participants overall, which is less than 5% of all
participants. Of those 22 participants, 11 were later interviewed. Of course it is quite likely
that other survey respondents experienced one of more of these negative influences, but did
not choose to offer that information; therefore, the data that the research provided can only be
taken to be an indication of the actual levels of vulnerability. The reason these sites of
vulnerability are important is that in terms of ties to sex-work, they may be the most likely to
have a negative impact on an individual‟s perception of choice. Although the data for this
study indicates very low levels of the kind of vulnerable characteristics that have typically
been identified in sex-workers‟ lives, there were other factors reported, such as caring
responsibilities, which also restricted participants from as wide a range of choices as are
available to others.
Relational Responsibilities
The responsibility of parenthood is one of the statistics often cited by advocates of the „sex
work‟ perspective. In particular, the ECP often highlights the plights of lone parenthood for
women. In this sample, 6.6% (n=33) of participants mentioned being parents15. This included
3 fathers, plus 1 transsexual woman who had children from a previous marriage. Of the 29
women who reported having parental responsibilities, 12 reported that their children were now
themselves adults and 3 participants had grandchildren.
As parenthood was not a survey
topic, I could not accurately ascertain how many women had children, let alone sole
responsibility for their child or children. However, interview data does suggest that at least
half of the mothers had primary, if not sole, responsibility for their children. Financial
responsibility was also mentioned by 2 of the 3 fathers in the sample, though this tended to be
more in terms of paying for their children‟s education, which was also something several
women reported doing escort work to fund. However, having dependents, both in terms of
children and also caring for parents and other family members, was undoubtedly a gendered
15 However this was not a specific survey questions therefore this cannot be generalised to all
respondents.
108
phenomenon. Altogether, 15 participants, all women, specifically reported needing money to
support dependents, including children, siblings or parents. For some, the harsh reality of
caring for dependent children in the event of a relationship breakdown was evident:
Separated from a violent husband after futile counselling, had a phone bill to
pay, three young children to provide for (one being disabled hence phone bill
being a major issue). Ex-partner did all he could to wheedle his way out of
responsibilities. Benefit system let me down. No qualifications, no work
experience (after being his home maker for 7 years). A relative confided in me
that she had been working in a sauna, and earned good money. I didn't want
good money, just enough to not have to say no to my kids when they asked for
an ice cream, and as she hadn't yet been struck down by God so I figured it was
worth a try.
(F226-Stacey)
In terms of choice to undertake sex-work, Stacey, and several similar examples, fit precisely
the kind of sex-worker that the ECP tend to describe as the typical scenario that leads women
into sex-work. My data confirms then that some women do fit this description, and those who
felt pressured by the financial demands of providing for dependents did appear to have little
genuine choice.
With the exception of 2 women, the participants who explained their motivation was to
support dependents, all chose, initially at least, to work via a third-party16. This was often
explained in terms of how one of the problems associated with caring for dependents meant
that they were often not in a position to see clients at home or sometimes even to take
telephone calls. Some had moved on to independent escort work since; others preferred to
remain dependent upon a third-party, usually in the form of an agent of some sort, but some
women did work a part of their week in parlours too. The need to find reliable, trustworthy
people to act on their behalf is a point that arises repeatedly in the context of this research, as
having dependents at home is one of many reasons why women may not be in a position to
engage in sex-work without at least some business support from other people.
16
I use the term third-party to include any individual who provides a service to sex-workers for profit,
including escort agency or parlour owners/managers and peripheral service providers.
109
The „ties to sex-work‟ that I have discussed so far, are important to highlight, because it would
be misleading to suggest that people working in the escort sector, where it might be expected
that vulnerability and susceptibility are minimal, are totally absent. This is not so; even in this
industry sector, there are women and men who feel they had little choice but to undertake sexwork. However, this was a minority, and for the vast majority of participants, reasons for
undertaking sex-work usually involved a combination of factors, not all of which fit
conventional perceptions of economic deprivation.
Economic Motivation
In this section, to test the hypothesis that for women, sex-work is overwhelmingly about
money (whereas for men it is more about sex), I will look closely at the motivations cited for
working in the sex industry that relate in some way to economic incentive. My reason for
questioning this hypothesis is, in part, that such an assumption reinforces the notion that all
women are economic victims. That is, while most jobs are not considered to be all about
money, the inference in much sex-work research, and as argued by proponents of both radical
and liberal feminists perspectives, is that prostitution is always something people resort to
rather than positively choose to do. Men in contrast are presumed to be less economically
vulnerable and more sexually motivated. However, this is not only an over-generalisation, but
in the following paragraphs, I use examples from the survey data and interview narratives to
illustrate that in the case of my participants, this assumption has little foundation.
Although money is often part of the justification for taking up escort work, my data shows
that decisions can be influenced by many other factors, sometimes linked with financial
motivation, but often unrelated to money in any substantial way. For instance, many
participants found themselves turning to sex-work following the breakdown of a marriage or
long-term partnership. This, they explained, could be a catalyst for entry to sex-work.
However, although a need for money could be part of it, and in some cases the relationship
110
breakdown rendered them financially disadvantaged, it was also frequently about the resulting
psychological loss and loneliness that prompted an interest in sex-work. For others, separating
from a partner was seen more as a liberating experience than a loss, financial or otherwise.
Altogether, 33 participants cited relationship breakdown, which included 4 men and 1
Transwoman.
Before looking more closely at some of the interview data that provides more meaning and
context in terms of participants‟ initial motivation, I first present some of the data collected in
the survey in order to provide an indication of the prevalence of some of the points raised. For
example, question 14 asked respondents to select which, of four statements, best describes
what escort work means to them financially. The results of this are shown below in figure 6.
49.3%
47.8%
Financial meaning of
escort work
36.4%
31.8%
27.3%
26.3%
21.1%
22.7%
22.1%
15.9%
17.6%
5.9%
Female
More luxurious lifestyle
More basic necessities
Male
Transgendered
More comfortable lifestyle
Not living in poverty
Figure 6: Question 14 The financial meaning of escort work
As this shows, overall, almost half indicated that escort work provided a more comfortable
lifestyle, and this is also the option most selected by each gender group. The second-most
111
indicated, for both men and women, was a „more luxurious lifestyle‟ (except for transwomen,
for whom the next most populous answer for them was that it provided more basic
necessities). The option selected least by men and women was „not living in poverty‟. Overall,
although the indication is that the income from escort work is not, for the majority, a response
to poverty, because multiple choices could be selected, and because respondents were keen to
qualify their answers, they often ticked several boxes, (hence in some cases, percentages add
up to over one hundred). These statistics do however give a good indication of the general
standards of living, and more importantly, the survey allowed respondents to explain
themselves in their own words. Here, because it depends upon how you define terms like
basic, comfort, and luxury, almost a third of the women clarified by citing the particular
expenses that escort work funded, such as holidays, paying for private schooling for children
etc.
One point of note here is that proportionally, more transgendered participants reported that
escort work had been a response to poverty, and for over half, escort work provided a basic
rather than extravagant lifestyle. Of the 6 who indicated that escort work meant „not living in
poverty‟, 3 cited the particular economic issues for transwomen, such as the medical costs of
sex reassignment surgery; 4 reported having experienced discrimination in the workplace.
While such comments were not widespread, they did, to some extent, reinforce the findings of
previous researchers (e.g., Bockting et al., 1998; Kulick, 1998; Leichtentritt and Davidson
Arad, 2004; and Nemoto et al., 2004); however, this still represents only around a third of
transgendered participants overall.
Another survey question that directly addressed initial motivation, was question 11: “How did
you first become involved in escort work?” This was answered by 331 respondents in total. As
expected, money in some form was cited as part of many participants‟ reasons for starting sexwork. Trying to quantify motivations from the survey responses would be inappropriate, as the
112
answers tended to vary hugely and included comments such as: „for a bet‟ (which you could
say was perhaps money-oriented, but not necessarily) and so I won‟t therefore try to quantify
these responses. In terms of interview participants however, a much more meaningful
assessment can be made.
Overall, from the survey and interview data, a multitude of reasons emerged in response to the
question of how men and women became involved in prostitution. In terms of economic
motivation, of the 108 interviewees, 57% (n=62) cited money as at least part of their
explanation. This differed little by gender and is not as high as might be expected given that
we were discussing the paid work that people do. Also, monetary need is still too widely
inclusive to be meaningful as an analytical theme, therefore, rather than just taking this at face
value, in the following section I consider more closely what economic „need‟ really means.
What I am interested in here specifically, is in what way financial gain changes the sexworker‟s situation in comparison to what they would otherwise have experienced. In part,
what I have in mind here, is that if one of the criteria for exploitation is that it should be
understood as an extreme dependency with respect to something that one needs – not merely
something that one desires, then motivation articulated in terms of „for the money‟ is
insufficient as an indication of vulnerability to exploitation. My purpose here is not to detract
from the financial need, which no doubt features in most sex-workers‟ accounts, but instead to
include some context and to illustrate the various ways in which money motivates people.
For example, the first group of participants that I want to draw attention to, are those who
initially undertook escort work to fund their education. Question 13, which asks about this
directly, was answered by 451 respondents, with 38% (n=178) reporting that yes, they had
used escort work to fund their education. This differed little by gender. Money is clearly a
major factor in terms of motivation for students; however, drawing upon the interview data,
money is not the only reason that sex-work suited student‟s needs. Other factors that make
113
sex-work seem a feasible solution to students is that they usually need work that is flexible
enough to fit around their studies:
The achievable income of being a student didn't match the expenses of being a
student. As I didn't want to leave university and didn't want to pester my family
about money, I had to find a job field where more money can be earned in less
time/with flexible work hours. The sex industry was the only one that fit that
profile. So I gathered information…and chose a freelance job in a brothel.
(F252-Katrina)
As Katrina explains, it is not that there was no other choice; the inference is that she could
have approached her family for help. However, she chose not to, and as she points out, sex
work is unique in its compatibility with student life and student costs. A point I want to draw
attention to here, is that again, Katrina also chose to work initially in a brothel rather than
independently. When speaking with other students, in a similar way to those with dependents
to care for, working independently is not always feasible given the constraints of living in
shared accommodation and having to fit escort work in on a part-time basis. Living with other
students would have restricted meetings to outcalls and made dealing with telephone calls and
vetting clients awkward. Also, students working or studying abroad would not typically have
the necessary home situations and local knowledge to set themselves up in the escort business
singlehandedly; they too may have to rely upon third-parties to provide them with customers
and perhaps premises to work from.
As well as thinking about initial motivation for recruitment into the sex industry, it is also
useful to examine participants‟ reasons for remaining in sex-work and how they felt about the
work they did. As Sharpe (1998) points out, if economics told the whole story, once initial
financial needs had been met, wouldn‟t sex-workers then simply refrain from this work? To
gain a fuller understanding of vulnerability to exploitation in the context of sex-work, my
focus here is on how escort work was experienced by participants in the longer term. To do
this I want to first discuss the comparative responses to survey question 16, which asked
respondents what they liked about their work. This included seven tick-box options, and
114
provided space to add others. The responses to this question, comparable by gender, are shown
below as figure 7.
The money
The lifestyle
Meeting people
The sex
Flexibility of working hours
Being part of the escort community
The independence
Female
93.4%
46.0%
67.6%
49.8%
75.3%
27.5%
72.5%
Male
83.0%
38.5%
66.7%
74.8%
51.9%
17.8%
46.7%
Transgendered
86.4%
40.9%
59.1%
59.1%
50.0%
0.0%
4.5%
Figure 7: Question 16 Which of the following do you like about escort work?
There were several differences in terms of how men and women answered this question. For
example, one of the most commonly reported factors for female participants was that
flexibility and independence were important to them. As can be seem from the graph, over
three quarters of the female participants rated flexible working hours (75.3% n=217) as
something that they like about the escort role, whereas for men, this dropped to just over half
(51.9% n=70). This contrast is similarly reflected in the number who indicated that it was the
„independence‟ that they liked. This is probably not surprising given the demands of childcare
that often fall upon women rather than men. In some cases the indication was that fewer
working hours meant more time to dedicate to parenthood, including attending school
meetings or being home out of school hours. The other benefit of escort work mentioned by
many participants with children was that because earnings from sex-work tended to be higher
than they could otherwise earn, they were also able to afford family holidays or finance a
further/higher education for older children.
However, it is also important to highlight that an appreciation of flexible working hours and
independence were factors that were valuable to women generally, not only mothers. The
benefits of greater independence and flexible working hours were not just about the demands
of parenting - they were often about time provided for other, non parenting-related pursuits.
These included other business interests, studying, and artistic or sporting pastimes. Although
115
some men similarly valued their personal time in this way, it was female participants who
mentioned freedom and independence most frequently. Thus, although the importance of
flexibility in work schedules is partly about the gendered care of dependents, it is equally
about women making choices between different priorities in ways that could be equally
relevant to male and female sex-workers. Competing priorities may, however, mean that
women are not always keen to take on all aspects of escort work themselves; they may wish to
outsource some work-related tasks, perhaps by paying an agent or using someone else‟s
working premises. Whilst this attracts additional financial costs, maximising profits may not
always be the highest priority.
For example, some participants pointed out that although escort work could be very profitable,
they were not always motivated to earn vast amounts of money. Rather, the important thing for
some was that they could work far fewer hours relative to other jobs, yet still generate an
acceptable income; they valued their time more than they valued material benefits. For
example, this French-Canadian escort explains how it is about personal priorities:
All my life I have been kind of "poor" because I'm not much of a worker... I'm
a lazy girl!! Pleasure has always come before work or money....I prefer being
poor and free than always working and have no time for me. I'm also a very (in
French we say "contemplative") girl. I watch more than I act….It's much more
the freedom than the money that has made me do this choice…OF COURSE,
the money I could make is absolutely great !! But until now, I haven‟t made
that much because I work only the time that I need to fulfil my basic
needs....although I can make $160 per hour I'm still kind of poor cause I work
only like 3 or 4 hours a month...so, I would say that it's more the fact of being
lazy that is the heart of my decision than the money.
(F43-Celeste)
Similar comments about being lazy by nature were mentioned by several participants, male
and female.
Returning to the responses to survey question 16 (what respondents like about escort work) to
address my analysis more specifically, I have isolated the responses that indicated „money‟,
and have provided this below as figure 8.
116
93.40%
Indicated Money
86.40%
83%
Female
Males
Transwomen
Figure 8: What do you like about escort work? = The money
These responses do appear to reinforce the notion that money is more important to the female
respondents. Yet, although proportionally more women have indicated that money is
something they like about their work, the difference is only 10%. Additionally, nearly 7% of
women (n=8) indicated that money was not even a feature of what they found appealing about
their work. For example:
I almost ticked “The money” but to be honest I find the other aspects far more
enjoyable. I‟m not saying I would work for nothing, or even just to cover my
costs, but I would happily work for less than the fees that I charge, which are
based on what other girls charge.
(F197-Lisa)
The point being made is simply that money is not the driving force for everybody. For the
majority though, financial incentive is certainly part of their explanation. At the other extreme,
for some participants, again, the opportunity to make as much money as possible was the
driving force, with clear goals to achieve longer term security; escort work was very much a
means to an end. For example, Connor, who worked as an escort before opening his own
escort agency, explains:
I wanted to own my own business and I was very goal-oriented and escorting
provided me with a way to achieve my goals, you know? And I did it at the
exclusion of having a social life, at the exclusion of having a boyfriend. I
would be having dinner with somebody and get up right in the middle of the
dinner to go and do a call. I‟d go to the movies with a friend and I would get
up right in the middle of the movie and go to a call. I was in graduate school
doing an internship and I would do calls on my lunch hour. I mean I was
extremely aggressive about making money. I wanted to make as much as I
could and I sat by the phone waiting for clients.
(M87-Connor)
117
Like Connor, who rarely experienced sexual pleasure in his work, many male participants did
report that economic gain was absolutely their primary motivation. Furthermore, many
participants, male and female, took escort work up as a short-term means to an end, but had
since made the decision to remain in escort work, despite having achieved their original goals.
Returning to the survey data, participants were asked whether escort work provided their main
source of income (question 6), and also what other sources of income they had (question 7).
157 participants described various sorts of other income. For example, many worked in either
caring or nursing roles, often in the National Health Service or other public sector positions;
many also worked in private industry. Many were in academia: 17 participants mentioned
teaching or lecturing while escorting. Yet others were writers or artists, and several worked in
television. For example Ashley, who is also an actress who has appeared regularly in popular
soap operas and television dramas, explains further, how her choices are far from limited:
I mean, I am not stupid. I am an educated woman. I attended Cambridge
University, I am very well-educated, and I attended grammar school and left
with very good results. I have a degree in nursing. I am studying a degree in
law. So I am not stupid, by any means. A lot of people think that you do this
job because you‟ve not got the skills to do anything else. You are not clever
enough to get a „normal‟ job. A lot of people do believe that, and it is just not
the case. I have quite a wide circle of escort friends all over the [regional] area
and we are all very highly-educated women who choose to do what we do.
(F54-Ashley)
Ashley is one of ninety-eight female participants who are educated to degree level (46 women
also had post-graduate qualifications), so although they may be economically-motivated,
describing women like Ashley as economically or socially vulnerable would be inappropriate.
Furthermore, not only is escort work sometimes chosen in conjunction with mainstream work,
it is sometimes preferable. The following excerpt is from an interviewee who took up escort
work when her husband was made redundant:
Trish-(F500): And I can make more in one booking that I used to at my
„proper‟ job for a month. So, yes, I was a teacher.
Suzanne: were you still teaching when you took up escort work?
118
Trish-(F500): I was, uh huh. I was teaching key stage one-key stage two. I
mean I have met an awful lot of women who have from what I call like the
caring professions. A lot of nurses, social workers, teachers, carers….I mean, I
still do some supply work so that my CV is kept up, not blank. And I have a
second degree in social work.
The need to keep up some kind of other work for the purposes of maintaining a C.V. was
mentioned by several participants. However, for some sex-workers, whatever their initial
motivation, escort work becomes more about a lifestyle choice, and over 60 participants, male
and female, indicated that for them, earnings from escort work funded a particular living
standard to which they had become accustomed. So defining monetary need is very subjective
and seeing money as an incentive to participate in sex-work need not indicate lack of choice in
any meaningful way; what one person considers necessary another might consider frivolous.
(Christina-F75) explains:
I consider saving for a deposit for a property and paying for a new education
without borrowing the money as comfortable. But I also buy luxuries such as
crème de la mer face cream and expensive lingerie. But I ultimately view these
purchases as reinvestment. I hide my money. I still appear relatively normal to
everyone around me.
Christina‟s comment about reinvestment is something that was echoed by many participants.
Female escorts in particular said that they could justify extravagant wardrobe choices because
of the requirement to look good for the job. However, for some participants, it wasn‟t just
reinvestment in the escort role. For example, the next excerpt is from a transsexual woman
living in London. For her, escort work, which she does to supplement her full time job in the
city, is about investing in her appearance and her home:
I would say that there is no direct financial need to do this, as I say, it is purely
a lifestyle thing, and yes, to me, it is the difference between a Dorothy Perkins
denim jacket and a dodgy perfume to my DKNY dress. It's a lifestyle
choice….but if you‟d seen my home you would see where a lot of my money
has actually gone. I‟ve done up my kitchen, I‟ve had the bathroom done, so
basically, I‟ve invested £14,000 between the two of them, and the way it
became was, well, I used „real‟ money for that, but for grocery shopping or
going out, birthday presents, all hard cash. So that was how I did it. I can
rationalise that, but the concept of having to go to the bank and having to take
out „real‟ money to spend on something is going to be a right pain in the arse
when I stop escort work.
(TG503-Chloe)
119
It is notable that Chloe talks about what is „real‟ money, i.e. for her, money that has been paid
in wages into her bank account. Money that comes in the form of cash is less „real‟ somehow
and therefore psychologically, it can have a different meaning and can be spent with less
hesitancy. Similarly, participants described how you do get used to having large amounts of
cash available and tend to lose track of it; it becomes, as one participant mentioned, like
„monopoly‟ money. Many participants admitted that they treated cash as „different‟ from
money made in the „real world‟:
The other thing is you get used to doing everything in cash, so you don't
become part of the system. It's easy-come-easy-go. Like I mean I think I
earned about £10,000 last month but I still have about £15,000 worth of debts
from cards that I ran up last year…I remember looking in my bag the other day
and I found I had about three grand in there. I don't even think about it
anymore…and I'm not sure if I could ever really get back into regular work in a
regular world because…..well, with my qualifications, I could do most
occupations, but I certainly couldn't earn as much as I do now. I know it's not
the be-all-and-end-all, but I‟ve got a mortgage that reflects my earnings and
perhaps if I stopped this I could pay that - but I wouldn't have any money for
any extras so I would be like your average person that would be…well, like for
instance, the last time, I knew how much was in my purse is when I was about
19 before I started doing this, because I always have money in my purse, that's
what I mean, it's the way you get used to living.
(F102-Miranda)
Miranda had worked in the sex industry for almost ten years; therefore she was very used to
having a ready supply of cash available. From the way participants spoke about this cash flow,
there was a sense of immediacy and several participants said that there was a feeling of
security from having a constant supply of cash. This fits with Sharpe‟s (1998) observation that
having alleviated immediate dire financial needs, women nevertheless remain in sex work; it is
very easy to get locked into a cash-cycle. The typical scenario, as described here in an online
interview, is one in which there is a dual effect of ready cash and becoming accustomed to the
lifestyle that sex-work provides:
The thing is, there is always another client for a quick £150, and there's always
another parlour who'll give you a day's work. All you have to do is update your
website or pick up the phone. But it takes a leap of faith to look for a straight
job and believe it'll work out for you etc, and you always say (like I did when I
took my very first client) 'I need £200, so I‟ll work today.' Then it was, well,
I‟ll do one more day, cos what‟s the difference? And another £200 would be
nice! I can pay x-y-z. Then it was I'll just do it for a year.' You may start by
120
thinking you're paying off debts, making one-off large purchases etc, but there
are two other aspects that girls always seem to miss- 1. You are unconsciously
raising your standard of living as your income increases. and 2. When you have
cash in your hand rather than a salary to budget, you spend more on crap that
you can't then account for….. just because you know you can go and get
another £200 tomorrow. You forget that you can live quite happily and well,
not even being parsimonious, just in the same way everyone else does, without
having everything you see, and thinking how you can just see another client to
top up the funds when you need to.
(F71-Fay)
Although this approach wasn‟t reinforced by the majority of participants, it was far from
exceptional either, and although some escorts stuck to fairly strict budgets, many participants
reported that the cash economy culture meant there was a tendency to become frivolous.
Kathy, who runs an agency employing many male and female sex-workers, describes the
typical scenario:
And they think “I‟m going to do it - I've got to pay the gas bill”. Or “I've got to
feed the kids”.…and you think “well I am only going to do this until I pay the
gas bill, and then you‟ve paid the gas bill” and you think, “oooh, I‟ve made
£400 today, I'll just do it for another week”. Then another week, and then all
of a sudden it just kind of becomes your life and you are hooked in a cycle of
money.
(F187-Kathy)
Although Kathy said that this applied to male escorts as well as female, my findings indicated
that male participants tended to be more disciplined about their longer term financial futures,
such as investing in pension plans and other financial security, particularly when escort work
was their primary income. Furthermore, as previously discussed, around half of the male
participants had other sources of income, often a full time job; therefore, although it was not
always explicitly discussed, it could be assumed that they had more structured security in
place.
In terms of participants‟ longer term plans, survey question 18 addresses this topic directly, by
asking: „How much longer do you plan to do escort work for?‟ The options offered range from
less than 3 months to „I have no plans to stop escort work‟. For women, „I have no plans to
stop escort work‟ was joint first choice of answer along with „one-five more years (both were
121
indicated equally by 35.3% (n=101). In contrast, only 3.2% (n=9) indicated that they planned
to stop in less than three months.
For males in contrast, the top answer was „one-five more years‟ at 43.4% (n=59), followed by
„I have no plans to stop escort work at 35.3 % (n48). Only 4.4% (n=6) of male participants
indicated that they planned to stop in under three months. The answers for trans women was
similar to that of the male participants at 40.9% (n=9) indicating that they planned to stop in
between one and five years time, while no transwomen indicated that they had plans to stop in
under three months. This suggests that few participants had any plans to cease sex-work in the
near future if at all. To gain a better understanding of what participants felt about moving on
from escort work, I will draw upon the textual answers to this question together with interview
data.
In an attempt to indirectly address the topic of desistance, I also asked many interviewees,
whether, in the event of winning or inheriting a large sum of money, they would stop escort
work. Altogether, 66 participants were asked the question and of their responses, only a third
of participants responded: yes; they would cease sex-work altogether. This included 14
women, 6 men, and 2 transwomen. The majority of women answered either that they felt that
they certainly wouldn‟t stop escort work or that they would retain a small number of clients.
40 women and 4 men said that they would continue to do escort work. Some argued that as
they were not motivated by money it would make no difference:
Definitely, yeah….I‟d still be a whore even if I had loads of money, definitely.
It‟s just who I am, yeah, I love it. It‟s the best job in the world….I‟ve tried
straight jobs and they don‟t interest me at all, you know? But there‟s so much I
love in this job and it‟s just the wild stuff that you get up to.
(F150-Rachel)
Rachel had worked mostly in parlours and she had no aspirations to work independently.
Although she also now did escort „outcalls‟, she still preferred to work in premises run by
122
someone else; she didn‟t strive to earn more and coming into money would not take her out of
sex-work. For others, coming into money would mean they would do more sex-work:
Yes, because it‟s like a vocation. It would be less stressful because I wouldn't
have to worry about money. If I had won the lottery or something, then I
would be free to move around the country and free to travel and see clients
anywhere….this would mean I could do more work with people that need my
work but can't afford me. For instance…people with a disability or something
like that.
(F34-Tabatha)
This kind of „vocational‟ approach was put forward by 7 other participants, all women. The
majority of participants however, particularly the female participants, answered in terms of
reducing the number of clients they saw; while most women would continue some sex-work,
they would be even more selective.
In summary, in this section I have addressed the question of whether, for men or women, sexwork is all about money. I have used my research data to illustrate that while money is part of
many sex-worker‟s accounts of why they sell sexual services, financial need alone rarely
explains the motivations of more than a very small number of participants and only a very
small proportion had taken up sex-work in response to dire financial pressure. For most
participants, the income from sex-work provided for a more comfortable, or even luxurious
lifestyle, rather than the avoidance of poverty.
Saying someone does sex-work for money is far too simplistic and thinking about money
alone doesn‟t explain why either women or men continue to engage in sex-work. Several
participants mentioned that if money was the only incentive, then they wouldn‟t continue with
sex-work. To explore what else is important, I will move on now to consider what is often
seen as either the real reason why men work in the sex industry, or the very thing that women
have to sacrifice for money: Sex.
123
Sexual Motivation
In this section, I turn to the question of what role sex plays in terms of motivating men and
women to engage in sex-work. To do this, I analyse the data that relates to how male and
female participants differ in how they feel about the sexual nature of their work. The relevance
of this is that, no matter how sex-work might be comparable to many other industries in which
exploitation is thought to exist, there is something about sex being sold that appears to disturb
many theorists. As documented in chapter one, this has been particularly evident in the
writings of some radical feminist commentators. However, even in liberal-inspired accounts of
„sex work‟, it is still often assumed that sex is something that women sacrifice in order to fulfil
economic needs. Male escorts, in contrast, are often thought to achieve sexual gratification
from their interaction with clients.
In order to see how far such descriptions accurately apply to the escorts in this study, in the
following sections I compare the views of male and female participants. To start this
discussion, I return to the relevant part of question 16, „what do you like about your work as
an escort. The responses that included „sex‟ are shown below in figure 9 below.
74.8%
The sex
59.1%
50.0%
Female
Males
Transwomen
Figure 9: Q16. What do you like about sex-work? = The Sex
As figure 9 shows, half of the women who answered this question indicated that sex was
something that they liked about their work (n=144) whereas for men this increased to around
three-quarters (n=101), with transwomen between the two at almost 60%. In a similar way to
the forgoing comparison of responses relating to money, this does reinforce the notion that
124
sexual pleasure is a more important aspect for male participants. However, not only do men
still rate sex less often than they do money; for 34 men, sex was not something they enjoyed
about their work at all. Conversely, considering that in the sex-work literature, sex is rarely
cited as a positive factor by female prostitutes, the fact that half of these female respondents
stated that sex was something that they like about their work, is surprising. The discrepancy
between my findings and that of other researchers is likely to reflect the research samples
being drawn from different types of sex-work, particularly when the comparison is between
street work and escort work.
My data shows that for many participants, their association with sex-work came through social
activities, including, sexual-orientated ones. For example, one of the reasons most commonly
cited was a move from involvement in the swinging scene17. Approximately 15% (n=16) of
interviewees said they had experienced a progression from swinging to sex-work, having
either been offered money to participate by other swingers or as a progression from having
attended organised parties where sex-workers are sometimes working. 13 of these 16 were
women, with no transgendered participants having been first involved in the swinging scene.
Similarly, many participants indicated that they had come to the escort industry as a
development from using adult-oriented chat lines18. For several men and women, the idea to
advertise commercially was a natural progression from posting their details on contact sites
and then being offered money for sex by contacts that they initially turned down. Similarly,
several participants had also been approached and offered money for sex in clubs and bars,
although this occurred less frequently for women. Altogether, 8 men, 2 women and 2
transwomen were approached in this way. This phenomenon did seem to be more common,
however, in Canada and the United States. Altogether, although women were approached
17
Groups of non-monogamous people, often couples, who enjoy being sexual with acquaintances or
friends.
18
Such as www.craigslist.org and www.adultfriendfinder.com
125
more online and men were approached more in bars, 25 men, 12 women and 3 transwomen
had been offered money for sex „unexpectedly‟ and this has led them to start advertising their
services. Although this has probably always occurred to some degree, particularly for gay men
(e.g., West, 1992; Morrison and Whitehead, 2007), it does appear to be that with the growth of
the Internet in particular, more men and women are now being approached and offered money
for sex in this way.
In some cases, escorting was a development from other kinds of sex-work. 6 male participants
had previously worked in stripping, massage or pornographic work. 26 women reported
having been involved in other sex-work first, including massage, maid/receptionist work or
glamour modelling. However, the most common scenario was again related to the internet,
with five women reporting having first made money from webcamming19, and this then
inspired them to take things from the virtual world into the real world of escort work:
I‟d set up this website and I thought, „I can't believe that I'm doing this at my
age‟. And so I had the website and I started doing a bit of webcamming you
know, which paid for it, and I thought‟ bloody hell, I‟m really enjoying this‟.
So then I was thinking well, I suppose I could just carry on doing this, you
know virtually, but maybe I ought to see what it would be like escorting.
F62-Sienna)
The point is that for these participants, regardless of what the money might have come to mean
to them at a later stage, in the first instance, the motivation behind taking up escort work had
little or no financial importance.
Furthermore, it was noticeable that a high number of participants reported having been very
sexually active prior to working as escorts. 38 participants described themselves as
promiscuous or sexually active prior to escort work, of whom only 8 were male. Of the 30
women who did talk about being very sexually active or adventurous prior to working as
escorts, many talked specifically about being sex-addicts or being highly-sexed:
19
The use of real time cameras to broadcast images and sometimes sound via the Internet
126
How I got into it was quite weird, because I was a single girl, and I had been
for about 4 and a half years before I met my current partner. I‟ve always been
very „horny‟, okay, very sexually active, in fact if I go back in my mind from
when I lost my virginity, I‟ve not been celibate for more than five months. So
yeah, that‟s pretty significant, and when I speak to a lot of my friends, they
seem to be able to go a year or whatever, but they can do that, whereas I can‟t,
and so I‟m not a nymphomaniac or anything, I‟ve never been diagnosed, but I
certainly enjoy it, and so, yeah.
(F436-Christina)
To be clear, it is not my intention to support the idea that entry to sex-work can be explained
in terms of nymphomaniac women, any more than it can be explained in terms of financial
desperation. Participants who fit this description are still only a relatively small percentage20,
but what it does challenge is the double standard about women and sexuality, where sex is
seen as something that women cannot or do not enjoy to the same degree as men. This simply
wasn‟t the case for many of these female participants, who, like many male participants, were
sexually active prior to engaging in sex-work and saw their work as something that paid them
for what they enjoyed doing anyway. It was not always that sexual appetite had resulted in
them taking up sex-work, but more that sex was not something that had to be forfeited in any
way. A typical example is Lorna, who had started escort work primarily for financial reasons:
Well, to be honest, in my younger years, I was always very promiscuous
anyway, so it's not like „I've saved myself‟ or anything. It's not as if it's a taboo
issue for me anyway. No, I was a slut before I got married (laughs). It is just
that, frankly, having been a slut before, well….between 16 and 21- I was 21
when I met my husband-.I know it sounds dreadful, counting notches, but he
was number 50.
(F425-Lorna)
The reason this is relevant is that women are often considered to be sacrificing themselves in
some way when they undertake sex-work, which tends to fit far more neatly with the idea of
women as „victims.‟ Whilst some women were sexually inexperienced prior to sex-work, over
a third of the females interviewed for this research were very sexually-motivated anyway and
were very comfortable with the idea of making a living from sex; they were not making the
20
At 47 participants this equates to less than 10% of research participants overall, however, only 104
(interviewees) were asked directly about this subject, and therefore as some of the data was provided by
the survey, it is not possible to quantify precisely
127
difficult kind of choices often noted by participants in research with women in other industry
sectors. Instead, women frequently displayed entrepreneurial attitudes towards sex-work:
Without wishing to sound like I‟m blowing my own trumpet, I‟m quite an
educated person, and even at the age I was (16), I was no fool to money and
quick ways to make it. I simply saw an advert in the paper, phoned with a
friend of mine and we went for an interview. I‟m an attractive girl and I knew
that I could use this to my advantage.
(F17-Holly)
Clearly, women can be quite business minded about selling their sexual services, and if
anything, the men‟s approach often seemed less calculating or purposeful than the women‟s.
Another aspect of setting about sex-work deliberately was when participants described having
had a fascination with, or fantasy about, sex-work for many years. In this category, of the 35
participants, 27 were female, 2 were transwomen and 6 were male. Many references were
made to having thought about sex-work for a long time or having been fascinated with the
glamour of escort work. For example:
I must admit I have always had a kind of secret fascination with the whole
thing. Even when I was a young girl, I would look at the back pages and
wonder about it, but not really being fully aware, you know? .….it‟s that sort
of….the unknown, and people mention somewhere like Soho, and when I was
a kid I always wanted to go to Soho….and when I was nineteen I wanted to go
to Amsterdam, and it was like being a kid seeing all these all these pretty
women sat behind these windows….I noticed that I had this sort of fascination.
(F75-Kristina)
Many participants, male and female, talked about how, since adolescence or younger, they had
fantasized about working in the sex industry and some had talked about the idea with friends.
Although some participants could not recall where their thoughts had originated from, many
people mentioned that their interest was sparked after reading an article or seeing a television
programme. Several women also mentioned how television programmes such as the ITV
version of Belle du Jour, which had recently been broadcast, were likely to serve as catalysts
for young women considering escort work. This was confirmed by several escort agency
owners reporting that such programmes had created a surge of calls to them asking for advice
on starting sex-work.
128
While most men had indicated that sex was something they liked about their work, for those
who rejected the idea that sex was part of the appeal, they explained how it was purely a
business arrangement. For example Connor expresses his distaste for the sexual aspect of
escort work:
I generally hated the sex. Escorting was a very non-sexual and physically
detached experience for me. Rarely was I physically excited by a client. I
would do physical acts that really repulsed me if the money was right. I was in
it for the money not the pleasure….I absolutely, towards the end, despised
clients. I despised having to service them. Some male escorts would say „you
can always find something attractive about every client‟….and I thought, well,
that's very nice and maybe some men can; me, I was frequently repulsed.
(M87-Connor)
Many participants did indeed talk about how you could usually find something nice about all
of their clients, and if not, they simply didn‟t meet them again. However, this depended on the
escort being in a position to be selective about their clients, and for these participants,
probably because of the greater demand for heterosexual services, women seemed to be in a
position to be more particular about which bookings to accept. Also, for most female escorts,
even with clients that they did not find sexually appealing, they were usually quite indifferent
about it; it was simply part of what they did with their clients, and was approached like any
other work-related task. In contrast, male sex-workers more commonly described a greater
discomfort with, or aversion to, the sexual nature of their work. For instance, Scott (M300),
who was thrown out of his home when his parents discovered his homosexuality, there was no
question of sex-work being about sexual pleasure:
The only reason I‟ve ever done it is for money – I hate doing it, I‟ve always
hated doing it, and I‟ve done opposite sex as well, I‟ve done women twice for
money, and one of them was 42, so….there‟s a huge, huge difference between
making love and shagging someone for money….when you‟re with a partner
who you know is yours it‟s a different thing.
Although both Connor and Scott‟s comments were not common, negativity about the sexual
aspects of escort work was more common among male and transgendered participants, than it
was among females. Many gay men rejected the view that for them, sex-work was about
enjoying their sexuality. This was consistently explained with reference to gay male culture. In
particular, they argued that the idea was nonsensical, because their sexual needs were already
129
well catered for with non-commercial partners. The argument was that casual sex was just
„expected‟ between gay men and so they questioned why one would need to do escort work
just to be able to meet sexual needs. If anything, many of the gay men who commented,
stressed that it didn‟t makes sense that men would do this simply for sexual purposes, because,
within gay communities, sex could be easily found by almost, if not all men, by cruising gay
establishments: either online, via gay-orientated chatrooms, or offline, in gay clubs or saunas.
Not only did men tend to have multiple casual partners, this was often as well as, and without
any detriment to, a more stable or long-term partner and it seems that they were not
necessarily expected to be monogamous. The demand for escorts was created, according to
many, both because some men lacked confidence or didn‟t know how to go about finding
suitable non-commercial partners and also because „closeted‟ gay men needed discretion.
This contrasted with female sex-workers, who less frequently engaged in casual, recreational
sex. Although some women (particularly those who were married) did talk about how sex was
different in the context of a personal relationship, the distinction was not argued as frequently,
perhaps partly because women less frequently engaged in unpaid sexual relationships while
working as escorts; most either chose not to have personal partners whilst escorting anyway,
or they simply hadn‟t met someone suitable. Either way, sexual relationships with clients was
often their only current sex-life.
Another difference in terms of how sex was experienced differently by gender was in terms of
specifically what participants disliked about the sexual aspect of their work. For women this
was usually articulated in terms of people, i.e. certain groups of people (such as by race, age or
body type), whereas for men, the most commonly cited factors were certain sexual acts. For
example, many men objected to kissing clients, which was something that was often expected
of escorts. Similarly, some male participants reported unease about being the passive rather
130
than active sexual partner, whether anally or orally, and also to discomfort with certain
fetishes and role-plays.
Although kissing has often been something that women have, in previous research 21, reported
being uncomfortable doing with clients, and for some, is an intimacy reserved only for noncommercial sexual partners, this was not something expressed by many female escorts.
Although many talked about the importance of good standards of personal hygiene, most
women were otherwise happy to indulge their clients with this service; in fact some went so
far as to say they found it unnatural not to do so:
I'll be honest, most of the time I do enjoy myself anyway, but even if you don't,
you have to pretend that, well, it's your fella really, basically. Lots of kissing
and cuddling….if you speak to girls in parlours for instance, they'll say that
they could never in a million years engage with their clients on another levelbut I couldn't imagine in a million years doing it without kissing somebody. In
seven years, I've only had one person who didn't want to kiss and I was totally
floored because I'd never done it without kissing before with anybody.
(F105-Melinda)
Similarly, although it has often been suggested that in order to cope with sex-work, prostitutes
may disassociate themselves by putting on an act of some sort22, this was only mentioned by a
very small number of women. Instead, rather than engaging in “neutralising techniques”23or
disassociation strategies, for most participants, it was themselves, or at least one aspect or
feature of themselves, that was being offered. The few who were more likely to resort to
roleplay in interactions with clients were women who offered fetish and dominatrix services.
Instead, many participants, male and female mention, dismissed the idea:
I know I shouldn't be blowing my own trumpet, but it's one of the things people
like about me- I am the same every time, because it is me. I don't hide
anything; I don't put any kind of act on. I have worked with a lady who worked
in the agency as well and we got on really well and we had to do a girl-on-girl
job for some guy. And when we got in there, she sort of changed, and I thought
21
See e.g., Sanders (2005); O‟Connell Davidson, (1998).
22
See e.g., Sanders, (2005a), on the way that sex workers created a „manufactured identity‟.
23
See e.g., Jeffreys (1997:137)
131
"what‟s that all about?" And I thought “Oh, no, I am me; I can't be anything
else”. I mean, it is exhausting enough as it is-first of all the physical act,
number 2- I do, get myself worked up about it, and so to have to put on an act
as well, no, blimey no.
(F321-Kelly)
Kelly‟s mention of „getting herself worked up‟ referring to a period of apprehension before
meeting a client, particularly a new client, was fairly common. Several women and men
mentioned that there was often a kind of nervous excitement. However, this was not usually
dread or fear; instead, many likened it to blind date scenarios where you might imagine what
someone might look like and how the date will proceed.
Also, because almost all of the participants advertised their services via websites which
allowed them to specify exactly what services they did and didn‟t offer, the likelihood of being
asked to participate in something with which they were not comfortable was minimal.
Although this was similar for men and women, women tended to have more comprehensive
websites, with far greater detail, thus avoiding ambiguity or negotiation.
Another point on the topic of coping with the physical intimacies of sex-work is that many
male participants had to resort, at times, to virility drugs such as Viagra because of the
additional pressure of having to maintain an erection. This was the case for both men whose
clients were also male, as well as those whose clients were female. Furthermore, although gay
male sex-workers were more likely to have multiple sexual partners outside of their work,
heterosexual males escorts were less likely to have multiple sexual partners and more likely to
be in a monogamous heterosexual partnership. In this respect they were more like their female
counterparts, and like the female escorts, many indicated that while sex wasn‟t always a
pleasurable experience, nor was it usually objectionable. For example Glenn, who works as an
agency escort in London, explains:
It‟s not so much that they are older, though they can be, but quite a few of my
clients have disabilities or are clinically obese which can make it difficult
sexually, I mean in a practical sense….or they have been ill or are having
132
treatment, so they are not at their best…but you get to know them so it gets
easier for both of us.
(M155 Glenn)
Although Glenn reported that he sometimes found sex with clients pleasurable, this did vary,
and he often used virility drugs in his work. My point is that regardless of sexual orientation,
not all male escorts found all sexual interactions pleasurable. Furthermore, some insisted that
sex with a client often meant nothing one way or another; instead, it was, or should be, about
the client‟s pleasure. If anything, clients could become too insistent on pleasuring the escort:
Sienna-(F62): they want to please me - they want me to have a good time, and I
find that quite stressful sometimes, because sometimes I‟m thinking, „just get
on with it,‟ you know? Because I‟m really not bothered, it‟s not about me.
Suzanne: but they‟re bothered about your enjoyment and satisfaction?
Sienna-(F62): yeah, in fact I would say more than guys that I‟ve had
relationships with, boyfriends and that, it‟s not that I‟ve had any terrible
relationships, it‟s just that with clients, well sometimes it means a lot to them
that you‟re getting pleasure too.
This was not an uncommon sentiment although not all participants shared Sienna‟s rejection
of the desire to please them sexually; some valued the fact that their pleasure was a necessary
part of their client‟s satisfaction. Overall though, sex was usually either seen as one of the
most highly valued aspects of the job or just a part of the job that had become routine. A large
proportion of participants seemed to feel that if they were attracted to their client that was
great – an added bonus, but even if they didn‟t find their client at all appealing sexually, as
long as they were pleasant and respectful then the meeting would simply proceed in a
professional manner. On the rare occasion where they really didn‟t feel comfortable with a
particular client, they simply terminated the appointment, returning any payments made. For
very few escorts however, male or female, was sex-work any kind of moral or physical
compromise.
In this section, I have illustrated that sexual motivation can be a salient factor for women and
that sometimes, female escorts can enjoy the sexual aspect of their work as much, if not more,
133
than male escorts. Many male participants argued that sex with clients was often very different
to that which they engage in with personal partners, and that they have no need to seek sexual
pleasure in the work context. Like men, many women came to sex-work as a development
from the swinging scene, from other types of sex-work, or from using adult-oriented websites.
I am not suggesting that for the majority of women sex was their primary reason for
undertaking escort work, nor even that for the women who were sexually very active, or
promiscuous, that there were no other reasons cited; many participants, male and female, also
mentioned money as part of the reason they started escort work. However, sex was, for many
participants, part of what they enjoyed about their escort work and when this was not the case
the majority reported that rather than being a harrowing or distressing experience, it was, for
the most part, routine. Moreover, as I will discuss in the next section, there were often other
more rewarding aspects of sex-work relationships than either financial gain or sexual pleasure.
Social Motivation
In this section, I draw attention to what I have identified as a further aspect of motivation, one
which was often woven through accounts which, on the face of it, related to either financial
need or sexual motivation. This third aspect is that of sociability or companionship. Returning
again to question 16, overall, 66.8% of survey respondents indicated that „meeting people‟ was
something men and women liked about escort work and the value of social interaction was
articulated by most interviewees. Although sometimes sex-work had been taken up to alleviate
loneliness following a relationship breakdown, it was also sometimes just part of wanting to
do work that involved meeting people, especially potential sexual partners. For example,
Jordan had recently moved to London:
It wasn‟t just the money. I mean, yeah, I needed to work like anyone else. But
I‟d moved down here and I‟d been working in a club, and it was a bit of an
oldies place really, and anyways, it was a lot of work for not a lot of money….I
thought “I want to meet men nearer my own age and earn some decent money,
maybe even find someone for myself that way” - that‟s never happened yet
mind, but we do have some laughs.
(F504-Jordan)
134
Jordan was financially motivated, but she was also lonely and so used escort work to address
both financial and social needs. The social aspect of sex-work was not only pertinent to initial
entry to sex-work however. As previously stated, deciding to work in the escort industry is not
a one–off decision and not only do people often come and go, but people‟s motivation can
change over time. What I noticed was that not only did a desire for company feature in many
participants‟ accounts of why they first started sex-work, but they also featured frequently in
their descriptions of what it is they enjoy about their work. What became evident in the
narratives of most participants was that regardless of how they felt about the financial or
sexual incentive, it was the social nature of the interaction with clients that held the greatest
value.
Most participants reported that they usually enjoyed the company, the conversation, and the
entertaining aspects of the job. Socially, this might include visiting public social venues, e.g.,
restaurants or the theatre, but this was not a frequent occurrence for most escorts. However,
even for those who rarely went out publicly with clients, there was nevertheless usually at
least some level of sociability. For example, many talked about how nice their clients were how many interesting people they met and what they had learned from their clients. In short,
many escorts, women and men, stated that they simply enjoyed their clients’ company. This
was particularly evident for escorts had more regular clients and who insisted upon longer
minimum appointments, sometimes extending to weekends away and even overseas trips.
However, even though short bookings with one-off clients could be very much a superficial
interaction, for the most part, these were exceptional. Although some participants avoided
extended bookings, finding the investment in emotional labour and the intimacy of such
arrangements too demanding, others valued the opportunity to get to know their clients better:
The relationships you have with clients can build into very dear friendships.
Although it is a very unusual situation you get to feel that clients really do care
about you…people you only see once are different, but I still try and treat them
like a friend though, and touch wood, I‟ve never really seen anyone totally
135
obnoxious. At the end of the day we are all human beings and like to be treated
as such.
(F428-Madeleine)
Several participants pointed out that escort work was the epitome of customer service work
and that being a good listener and having a warm personality were the most valuable assets.
Furthermore, some clients saw the same escort for decades, and often through numerous
marriages and divorces, so a relationship of familiarity developed. This was slightly gendered,
with women tending to be more descriptive about their long-term relationships with clients.
However, for male escorts who had been in the industry for a number of years and who had
regular clients, it was very similar. Far from being simply a superficial relationship based only
on sex, the time is far more about companionship, conversation and socialising:
It's quite sociable. I get to know the majority of clients. A few have become
good friends. Also, when you travel with someone on an extended trip you get
to know them. Then if you meet their family, friends, etc it's different…also, a
few have become close friends; one helped me move and fix up my new place
(hanging photos, etc) and he had, at one time, when I had the flu, brought over
chicken soup and such…I helped another clean out his best-friend's house after
he died. I was with a client at his house when his 90 year old mother became ill
and I had to go to the ER with them. When you spend time with people you get
to know them….Also, it's not like it's just- arrive, sex, and leave. There is
conversation, laughing, joking, chatting, dinners, etc. Then there are longer
trips (sometimes a week long) and you don't have sex the whole time. Think
"Pretty Woman" without the romantic ending.
(M159-Lee)
This again was not unusual, although I have chosen to use it because it so neatly illustrates
how the nature of escort work, which is still, essentially, about sex, extends beyond the
confines of the sexual interaction and this is what so many escorts valued about their work.
This was evident in most women‟s explanations, and was quite common for male escorts too,
including those with female clients.
For a small number of participants, mainly women, just as the basis of long-term noncommercial relationships can shift in focus from overtly sexual to one based more on
companionship; their commercial relationships could develop similarly:
136
I‟ve met so many interesting men who‟ve become just friends now. We are
past the sex stage now, you know? Because you ring them, you can cry, you
can tell them about your boyfriend, you can meet them for dinner, they have
met my mother, my sister, obviously my mother and sister have no clue….I
have found amazing friends through escorting….yes, amazing people, very
good. Very supporting in the way of just cheering me up, you know, they will
come over from London.
(F288-Sabrina)
Sabrina, who had taken up escort work largely to combat loneliness, was planning to have a
child with one of her long-term clients with his full commitment to providing for that child,
despite that fact that he was already married with a family.
That many clients were married or in long-term personal relationship had various implications.
For some escorts, it was irrelevant, and for others, the client‟s personal commitments were a
bonus - the escort got to enjoy the „best‟ bit while the wife had to deal with all the domestic
responsibilities. Some women however did talk about how the weekends, and the school
holidays for example, can be lonely, when clients have returned home to their families:
I love meeting new people…..but I also spend a lot of time on my own getting
ready…waiting for the phone to ring…it can get very lonely…it can be hard to
watch men go home to their wives, girlfriends and children knowing you have
nothing like that for yourself.
(F417-Amber)
Such sentiments were not uncommon and they reinforce the personal and social characteristic
of the relationships which many escorts reported enjoying with their clients. Although this
phenomenon was not unknown among the male escorts, it was less frequently reported,
perhaps due to the more active social life they typically reported enjoying anyway.
Another feature more frequently mentioned by females was how, over and above the distinctly
social value, clients were sometimes appreciated for what they offered escorts in terms of
knowledge-sharing and reciprocal services. For example:
Probably all people have got something to give. And I'm not talking just
sexually neither; I have learnt so much….I mean I had a guy doing baking for
us, so I've learnt all about different types of flour and the same guy used to
milk cows for a living, so he's taught me all about different types of cows. I got
137
£500 knocked off my new spa bath, because the guy supplies and imports
baths…..I got a plumber to do the plumbing of the bathroom, at a discount,
another client….you are never, ever short of contacts.
(F296-Shelly)
Shelly saw this reciprocity as indicative of the mutually supportive nature of the relationships
between many escorts and their clients, and having left escort work for a period, she had
returned to escorting herself because she had missed this. Other women discussed how they
had at various times in their past refrained from escort work, but, without good reason for
doing so, it could be rather futile:
I've given it up a few times….but then I‟ve been sitting at home thinking “I‟m
bored”. You see I'm used to talking to lots of different, intelligent guys, and
they are quite probably the type of guys that I'd want to talk to anyway, so
when I think “shall I give it up?” I‟ve thought “where would I be now?” I‟d be
round a customer's house drinking nice wine, eating food, talking, and having
sex, so, and getting paid £350 quid for it, so, if I wanted to get married and
have kids or something, maybe, but I don't, so…
(F103-Bianca)
Many participants had left and returned to escort work at various points, and I asked
interviewees what, if anything, they missed or would miss about escort work. Although of
course many said that they would miss the money, and many said they would miss the sex, for
women, there was one common theme that ran through most discussions relating to
discontinuing sex-work; that is, plans to move out of sex-work typically tended to raise the
issue of future personal partners.
Most women indicated that their motivation to stop escort work was more likely to be in the
form of future personal relationships and, for some, perhaps the possibility of children. 3
women were, at the time of interview, refraining from seeing clients as they had made
commitments to partners, including one woman who was about to marry her girlfriend in a
civil partnership (F342-Ellie).
Although some men did mention future relationships as
heralding the end of their escort career, it was much less common; more frequently, they were
in personal relationships anyway. These were often fairly long-term partnerships, and in some
cases civil partnerships had been entered into, however, for the most part they were non-
138
monogamous relationships anyway, therefore, escort work was not a barrier in the same way.
Transgendered participants‟ responses were similar to men‟s responses and no transwomen
mentioned the relevance of personal relationships to stopping escort work.
Many women, in contrast, felt that while they wouldn‟t wish to be dictated to by any future
partner, at the same time, from a romantic point of view they also wouldn‟t want their partner
to accept that they had sex with other people, paid or otherwise. Therefore, although several
female escorts did have husbands or long-term partners who were either accepting or tolerant
of their work, many others expected, and wanted, any future serious partner to request that
they stop sex-work. For example, Clare explains that she would stay in escort work for now to
fulfil her business plans, but ultimately, her decision to stop sex-work is more about romantic
ideals:
Providing I do not fall in love and get involved in a relationship or
marriage…basically, as long as I can genuinely enjoy it…I have no intention of
getting involved in a relationship before completing my course and having set
up my business, but I would love to find a loving partner after this. I do not
think I could get involved in a serious relationship with someone who knows
about my escorting….falling in love would take me out of escorting….straight
away.
(F52-Clare)
Some women, however, were concerned that they would be unlikely to meet „Mr. Right‟
whilst escorting, and that at some point, to find a suitable partner, they would first have to stop
escort work. For many, the prospect of giving up escort work would be difficult because they
would miss the social side as much, if not more, than the money or the sex. For Melinda,
whose partner accepts her escort work, it is an ideal job if you are a „people person‟.
I would miss the social side of it, definitely, because I, well the sex, mmmnnn
yes, I‟d miss that. The sex….yeah, I‟d miss that but not as much as the social
side of it….because I‟ve met people that I'd never normally meet. You know
people from, well, forensic scientists, up to people who do the weirdest jobs;
like I know one guy who recycles mercury or something like that, and I find
that fascinating because I'm a people-person….and it is addictive - absolutely
addictive.
(F105-Melinda)
139
This notion of sex-work as addictive was something that many participants mentioned. Most
frequently this was with reference to money; however, it was also argued that there were other
addictive aspects of sex-work, including for some, the sex, and for many, the social aspects of
the job, such as the company and the compliments and adulation from clients. Transgendered
participants were the only group for whom the social aspect of their work was less often part
of the appeal of sex-work. Thus, few transgendered participants said that they would miss their
clients if they stopped escort work; they would miss the money and sometimes the sex, but
less so the social interaction.
Before closing this section, there is one further way in which the point about sociability and
companionship can be illustrated. The need to address loneliness is reflected in the questions
about whether people would pay for sex themselves. Within the survey data, there were two
questions on this topic. First, question 33 asks respondents whether they have ever paid for
sex, and question 34 asks whether they were likely to do so in the future. The results, by
gender, are provided below as figures 10 and 11.
Yes
No
Female
Male
Transwomen
14.2%
82.9%
45.2%
25.9%
50%
50%
Figure 10: Q33 Have you ever paid anyone else for sexual services yourself?
Yes
No
Maybe
Female
Male
Transwomen
30%
46.4%
21.4%
45.2%
25.9%
21.4%
40.9%
31.8%
22.7%
Figure 11: Q34: Do you think there are any circumstances under which you
would pay for the service of a sex-worker?
This is a topic that was developed during the interviews, and the narrative data shows a variety
of reasons for hiring sex-workers. Sometimes this was for purely sexual pleasure; sometimes it
was to treat a partner (for example to make up threesome), and sometimes participants
mentioned trying something new or acting out a fantasy. Many gay men, and a small number
140
of women, unsure of their sexuality, also hired male escorts to „test themselves out‟. However,
often, descriptions of motivation for hiring sex-workers referred to combating loneliness or
needing company. As this male escort explains:
If I was in a position where I was lonely, and couldn't meet up with someone
through the normal dating channels, or if I became too old for dating, then I
would certainly consider meeting up with an escort. I know what's involved,
and am not immune to loneliness when I inevitably grow older.
(M107-Grant)
This last excerpt, from an interview with a female escort, exemplifies how rather than
dreading a forthcoming meeting with a client, escorts often look forward to meeting up with
the people that hire them and are disappointed when the meeting is cancelled:
Somebody let me down for a particularly long booking and I was stuffed. I was
stuck in, well it was when I lived on the Island, I couldn‟t get home, because
my flight was booked, and so I had nothing to do, so I did what blokes do and
went online and looked, you know, and yes, „he looks nice‟. It‟s hard to find
straight guys by the way, if I hadn‟t been a particularly good googler, then I
think I would have struggled, but yes, and he was worth it. I told him what I
did for a living, because I felt morally obliged to; because I think that from a
sexual health point of view, he‟s entitled to know, but he didn‟t particularly
have a problem with that, so it was quite a good laugh. And yes, it was nice to
kind of – well I don‟t suppose it worked out any different than it would have
worked out if somebody was actually paying me…but there was less pressure
to perform if you like.
(F105-Melinda)
Melinda mentioned that explained that she knew other escorts who had hired male escorts as a
treat for themselves, and that being faced with the prospect of an evening alone in a hotel, she
had simply decided to do likewise. The relevance for my analysis however is simply that
assumptions shouldn‟t be made about how sex-workers, male or female, might view sex with
complete strangers; for some people, the human interaction is part of what many sex-workers
look forward to and would miss if they stopped sex-work.
While the social nature of the escort-client interaction was not articulated by all escorts, male
or female, the importance of the social and companionable aspects of the relationship was
certainly a part of, and often the greater part of, explanations as to what motivated participants
in this research to engage in escort work. In the final section of this chapter I will summarise
141
the main findings of my analysis of why men and women engage in escort work and discuss
whether their motivation to do so could in any way constitute vulnerability to exploitation
Chapter Summary
In order to establish whether sex-workers resort to sex-work as a result of vulnerable
circumstances, in this chapter I have analysed the way that participants described their
motivation for taking up sex-work in the first instance, and for continuing in sex-work in the
longer term. Given that, as discussed in chapter two, in order to be exploited, someone must
have some kind of „exploitable circumstances‟, I have used this chapter to identify and
highlight conditions that could be taken to indicate participants‟ vulnerability. In particular, I
have tried to ascertain whether these particular sex-workers have come to work in the sex
industry as the result of sexual or economic inequality. To do this, in the first section, I
examined the „ties‟ participants have to sex-work. As sex-work has often been linked with a
number of negative personal or situational factors such as sexual abuse and drug addiction, I
drew upon my interview data to assess to what extent such negativities had featured in
participants‟ lives. Specifically, this included considering any evidence that participants had
experienced problematic childhoods or had been coerced or forced into sex-work as well as
any substance dependency.
My findings indicate that, in total, fewer than 5% of this research sample reported that any of
these negative factors had been a feature of their lives, and there was little difference by
gender. For the men and women for whom one or more of these aspects had featured, it could
be argued that their choices were limited by, or at least their decision-making ability hampered
by, the impact of that negativity. In terms of exploitable circumstances, these participants
could therefore be considered to have been rendered vulnerable to recruitment into the sex
industry and whilst they do not necessarily claim to experience sex-work as exploitative, there
were often features of their history that could be perceived as resulting from, or in,
exploitation.
142
Economic advantage specifically however, would not have prevented the majority of the
participants in this study from working in the sex industry; even those for whom „ties‟ to sexwork resulting from family backgrounds, drug dependency or coercion, i.e. those who had
specific, exploitable vulnerabilities, would not have been protected from recruitment to sex
work by economic equality. This does not in any way imply that women are never recruited
into sex-work for economic reasons; however, in this research sample, such a narrow
explanation only applied to 15 women: those who resorted to sex-work in order to support
dependents. Therefore, simple economic reasons are insufficient explanation for the majority
of these sex-workers.
In terms of remaining in escort work, I wanted to know what it was participants liked about
the work that they do and to see how the motivational reasons that they describe fit with the
notion that, for women, prostitution is meeting financial needs, whereas for men, prostitution
is about meeting sexual needs or desires. My findings indicate that rarely does this dichotomy
truly exist for either most men or most women. Instead, in this sample of women, for around
half of them, sex is something that is sometimes valued as part of the job and secondly, even
where the physical act of sex is not always appealing, this does not suggest that it is all about
the money either. Rather, motivation is largely based on the flexibility of working hours, the
company, the excitement, the sociability and the more subtle rewards of human interaction.
In terms of male sex-workers being more sexually motivated, while for around a third more
male participants the sex itself was something that they liked about their escort work, there
were also many who didn‟t enjoy the sexual aspects. Moreover, for gay male sex-workers who
worked only with male clients (over 80% of the male sample), what was consistently argued,
was that although sex was often an enjoyable aspect of their work, with a high level of sexual
activity with multiple partners in their non-commercial lives, they were not reliant upon the
143
sex provided in their work role in any case. Similarly, in terms of the importance of the social
aspects of their work, this was reported less frequently by men, and was not elaborated upon to
the same extent. However, this is likely to be because gay male escorts typically had very
active social-sex lives outside of the work context, therefore their relationships with clients,
social and sexual, may have had less significance for them.
For transgendered participants, the findings were different again. Rather than being motivated
by a combination of reason, the reasons that transsexual sex-workers provided as their
justification for engaging in sex-work were more likely to fall into the extremes of either sex,
or money. That is, for around half of transsexual participants, sex-work was specifically and
overwhelmingly about financial gain. In particular, the economic costs involved in undergoing
gender reassignment and/or a lack of earning opportunities as the result of discrimination, was
what motivated about a third of the transsexual women to work as escorts. For the other half of
transsexual participants, sex-work was about sexual, rather than social, gratification, which
was not often a feature of their relationship with clients. This was further illustrated in the way
that, in terms of stopping sex work, the prospect of future personal partnerships was not
mentioned by any transgendered participants.
To answer my research question, there is no indication that vulnerability to exploitation, in the
form of recruitment into prostitution at least, is a gendered phenomenon. The reason that this
is important to my thesis is that if we understand women‟s motivation to undertake sex-work
to be exclusively or even overwhelmingly economic in nature then this reinforces the idea that
women are vulnerable and that prostitution will be eradicated when that vulnerability is
addressed because in the absence of such conditions women would not work in prostitution.
My research does not support that argument. For these sex-workers, the contention that for
men prostitution is about sex and for women it is about money is unfounded. Furthermore, I
contend that saying that sex-workers are motivated to work in prostitution as the result of
144
economic need is misleading and that need is a subjective notion that can mean little in terms
of vulnerability; economic motivation alone cannot be taken to imply vulnerability of any sort.
As stated earlier in my discussion on the concept of exploitation, (see p.51) not only are
women thought to resort to sex-work because of their vulnerability, but they are also though to
then become vulnerable to further exploitation as a direct result of working as prostitutes.
Having challenged the former, i.e. the significance of women‟s economic disadvantage in
starting sex work, in the next chapter I consider whether, and in what ways, sex-workers may
become vulnerable as a result of their work.
145
Chapter 5. Vulnerability I I: Power, Respect. Self-esteem and Social Stigma
5. Vulnerability II: Power, Respect, Self-esteem and
Social stigma
In chapter four, my concern was with identifying vulnerability in terms of what motivates
people to start and stay in sex-work; in this chapter, I move on to consider how, and in what
way, sex-workers feel vulnerability within the sex-work context. This includes vulnerability to
harm, either physically, socially, or psychologically, as a consequence of working in
prostitution. Specifically, I use the themes of power, respect, self-esteem and social-stigma to
develop an understanding of vulnerability within the dynamics of relationships between
escorts and their clients, including any gendered differences. Although these four themes are
often interrelated, there are certain aspects of each that warrant specific focus, therefore in this
chapter, I will consider them separately in turn, drawing upon excerpts from interview
narratives and incorporating any relevant survey data as appropriate. The research question
that this discussion addresses most directly is question one: To what degree is vulnerability to
exploitation a gendered phenomenon? Indirectly, the discussion also contributes to the more
general question of whether prostitution is inherently exploitative, by identifying and
exploring any imbalances in the position of sex-workers, relative to their clients.
Power
As discussed at various points in chapter one, although power is a subjective and contested
notion, it has often been used in radical feminist analyses to argue that prostitution is an
example of men‟s exploitative power and dominance over women. However, discussing
power in ideological or abstract terms has limits, and in this chapter, I am interested in how
power is experienced subjectively by escorts, including the multidimensional and more subtle
and relational aspects of power. I do this by moving beyond abstract notions of power to more
demonstrable examples of how power, and the related notion of „control‟, are far more multifaceted than radical feminist analyses have typically shown.
146
First, however, I will compare some of the relevant survey data. For example, question 32 asks
participants to choose, from 3 statements, how power is played out in commercial sex
transactions. The results are provided below as figure 11 below.
Paying for sex puts the client in a position
of power over the escort
Paying for sex puts the client in a
vulnerable position in relation to the
escort
Commercial sexual transactions are
relationships of equality
None of the above
Females
Males
Transgendered
6.8%
15.8%
31.8%
26.2%
33.8%
13.6%
54.5%
44.4%
40.9%
15.1%
12.8%
22.7%
Figure 12: Responses to Q32 Which of the following statements would you say best explains how power is
played out in commercial sexual transactions?
The responses to question 32 show that regardless of gender, the majority of respondents
perceive commercial sex as a relationship of equality; as escorts, they neither have power
over, nor are submissive to, their clients. In this respect their relationships were similar to
those described by commentators on male sex-work (e.g., Prestage, 1994; Persky, 1997;
Altman, 1999; Bell and Couture, 2000) wherein the equality and reciprocity between gay male
sex-workers and their clients is noted.
Of those that indicated otherwise, the next most commonly-indicated answer was that paying
for sex put the client in a vulnerable position in relation to the escort. Only a small proportion
of respondents, particularly female respondents, felt that power resided with the paying client.
For men it was a little more varied, with more, proportionally, indicating that there was a
power imbalance one way or another. Although otherwise similar, for transgendered
respondents, the proportion who felt that the client was in a position of power was somewhat
higher. Positions of power do appear to be more variable for transgendered respondents, and
they seemed to depend on many different factors, both situational and psychological.
147
Accepting that notions of power and control are interrelated, insofar as a lack of power would
suggest a related reduction in the ability to demonstrate control, a second question that feeds in
to the theme of power relations is question 19, which asks who normally took overall control
of the encounter. 3 options were provided, and the results are shown below as figure 13.
You always do
You usually do
Your client does
It varies greatly
Females
Males
Transgendered
54.6%
24.1%
0.7%
22.3%
24.6%
26.1%
8.2%
45.5%
27.3%
22.7%
4.5%
54.5%
Figure 13: Responses to Q19 In your escort interactions, who normally takes
overall control of the encounter?
As figure 13 shows, while over half of the women reported that they always took control of
meetings with clients, men were far less likely to do so. Of the 281 female respondents who
answered this question, only two women said that their client took overall control, and both of
these participants were professional submissives. Of the 79% of women (n=222) who reported
feeling either always or usually in control, many said they controlled everything both prior to
and during the meeting, whether subtly or overtly. Of those that indicated that they were in
control „usually‟, rather than „always‟, the most common explanation offered was that on
occasion, with regular clients, control was relaxed somewhat. In contrast, both male and
transgendered participants more frequently reported that control varied greatly. The additional
explanations they provided suggested that it varied both from client to client, and from one
occasion to another with the same client; control could also switch between the two parties at
different times within a single encounter. In contrast, for women, additional comments almost
always reinforced the importance of feeling in control.
Before moving on to look directly at two particular examples of how power and control can be
illustrated, there are two further survey questions that are relevant. First, question 26 asks:
„Have you ever felt physically threatened in any way as a result of your work?‟ In response to
148
this, 25% of women and 18.7% of men said that they had, at some point, felt physically
threatened. For transsexual women this increased to 45.5%. Although this indicates that a
quarter of all (genetic) women have, at some point, felt physically threatened in the context of
their work, the level of fear of threatening behaviour is far higher than the level of actual
physical harm (which I discuss in chapter six). Furthermore, when you look at the explanatory
comments to question 26, the type of threats experienced relate to the behaviours, not just of
clients, but also other escorts, sex-work organisers, police, and to the threat presented by
condom failure. Therefore, although some respondents did report nervousness in the face of
threatening behaviour by clients, this was not usually the threat of violence.
Survey question 27 asks about other types of threat (i.e. non-physical). 30% of women and
23% of men indicated feeling threatened, and again, for transsexual participants, this was
substantially higher, with half of all transgendered participants reporting having felt
threatened. It was clear from the comments provided in response to this question that the type
of threat being reported, in almost all cases, was the threat of being publicly exposed as a sexworker. It is not clear why transsexual sex-workers in particular should be more at risk of this
type of threat; however, the survey comments and interview data suggest that transsexual
women are less trusting of their clients generally.
The survey data has provided some indication of the way that escorts view their relationships
with clients in terms of how they feel that power and control are distributed. However, in order
to exemplify how power and control manifest themselves in more concrete terms, in the
following section, I am going to base my analysis on two examples of directiveness as
identified by McKeganey, Barnard and Bloor (McKeganey et al., 1990). Although this
Glasgow study was based on a comparison of HIV-related risk behaviour between streetworking males and females, it is nevertheless a useful way of understanding how relationships
of power and control are demonstrated during a meeting between sex-workers and their
149
clients. McKeganey and his colleagues used the term „directiveness‟ to describe how the
women in their study tended to be more assertive in their negotiations with clients, and how
this was evidenced in two particular ways: that of ensuring payment in advance of services,
and the related subject of negotiating safer-sex practices.
The reason for including payment procedures was that it is a measure of how control was
taken and maintained in escort appointments. McKeganey et al., found that female sex
workers were far more likely to have insisted on upfront payment. Then, negotiating from a
position of strength, women could more easily dictate exactly what would be provided for that
fee, and under what conditions. The sex-worker‟s ability to negotiate safer-sex as part of those
conditions was said to be compromised when, as in the case of many of the male participants
in the study, payment was made retrospectively. Therefore, although power may be
demonstrated in other ways, my analysis will focus first on these two related examples of
directiveness in order to compare whether power relationships differ for male and female sexworkers.
Payment Procedures
The first point to note is that although in contrast to McKeganey et al., (and other studies, e.g.,
Perkins and Bennett, 1985; Phoenix, 1999; Kinnell, 2008:57), my findings indicate that,
regardless of gender, securing payment at the outset of a meeting with a client was not normal
practice for the majority of participants. Sixty-four interviewees were asked about their
payment procedures. This included 12 men, 4 transsexual women and 48 female escorts. Of
these, only a quarter of participants (n=16) insisted upon payment upfront as their usual
practice. This included 9 women, 3 men and all 4 transsexual women. Other than the
transsexual women, an otherwise fairly equal proportion of men and women reported that
retrospective payment was not unusual. That is, in the majority of cases, neither male nor
female participants insisted on payment being secured upfront, especially, though not only, for
regular clients.
150
The difference in my findings compared to much previous research is most likely to be
explained by the sample population of sex-workers being studied; i.e. escort workers rather
than street or brothel/parlour workers. Again in contrast to McKeganey et al.’s study, what
becomes clear when escorts elaborated on this topic is that far from indicating a lack of
directiveness on the part of the sex-worker, a more subtle method of control is evident. That is,
instead of demanding upfront payment signifying the taking of control, for these escorts, doing
so would indicate that there was something different between a sexual contract and any other
contract; they feel no more need to demand upfront payment than would any other serviceprovider. Viewed from this perspective, rather than indicating a lack of assertiveness, it was
quite the reverse; an air of confidence about the whole interaction makes asking for advance
payment unnecessary, and perhaps unhelpful, because doing so would suggest doubt and
uncertainty.
I‟ve never required payment upfront. I believe that 'dis-trusting' sets the ball
rolling in a direction I‟m not comfortable with. I‟ve never had anyone walk out
without paying.
(F18-Britney)
What Britney is suggesting here is that trust needs to be mutual; treat someone with distrust
and the chances are that the client will be more likely to behave in an untrustworthy way. The
inference is that by demanding upfront payment, you are, in effect, giving out a signal that you
might be vulnerable to being cheated. In contrast, an air of confidence suggests that attempts
to do so would be futile. The point often made was that it is about establishing a relationship
of trust and that by raising the issue of payment, or counting the money out in front of the
client, an atmosphere of distrust and hostility was more likely to develop. Many participants
reported that they knew that other escorts always insisted on taking the money upfront, yet
very few of these respondents said that they did so themselves. Although advisable for
newcomers to the industry, it was often dismissed as unnecessary by more experienced
escorts:
151
I know all of the rules say you must get the money upfront, because then you
can relax and that, but I‟ve never been stiffed or short-paid….since I‟ve never
been abused in any way in what, 7 years, and God knows how many….not
being paid is not an issue….I mean I know all the rules and we do tell them this
on the boards-that they must do this and that, but….on the other hand you do
have to kid-on the same, otherwise you'd get the people who‟d take advantage.
(F425-Lorna)
What Lorna is saying is that whilst she doesn‟t insist on upfront payment, it is not in the
escort‟s interest to publicise this fact, nor to encourage women who are newcomers to the
industry to do so. This kind of relaxed confidence about payment procedures was evident in
the explanations of at least two thirds of the women interviewed. In contrast, although the
male participants were even less likely to secure upfront payment, they tended to explain this
more by way of having the physical means to secure payment retrospectively should any issue
occur. Unlike women, men usually couched their explanations for not requiring upfront
payment in terms of their ability to deal with problems rather than arguing that they are
unlikely to occur. For instance, Hugh, (M218) explains how to use environmental factors:
Suzanne: do you ask for the money upfront with new clients?
Hugh: I used to, but I realised with the control thing I can leave it.
Suzanne: the control thing?
Hugh: with my bedroom I‟m always nearer the door when we‟re dressed; I
figure when they're naked they're not going to run into the street without
paying.
This kind of explanation exemplifies the way that, although few men did secure upfront
payment, their justification for not needing to do so was very different to that of female
participants. Although few reported having had negative experiences regarding payment, men
nevertheless tended to anticipate the possibility of non-payment or confrontation. This was not
a view expressed by women. Men also argued that retrospective payment shows confidence in
terms of ability to provide a satisfactory service, and because tips are more likely once the
client is satisfied:
I actually don‟t like asking for the money upfront….if an escort doesn‟t
perform well, they almost always ask for the money upfront because otherwise
152
they might not get paid afterwards…so if somebody asks for the money upfront
I think that‟s a big danger sign. It also makes it harder to get tipped.
(M155-Bradley)
The possibility of receiving a tip was mentioned far more frequently by male participants. For
women, rather than cash tips, as though to replicate the traditional courting relationship, they
more frequently mentioned receiving personal gifts from their clients, such as books by
authors they liked, or music they had mentioned.
The most frequent point made by women generally, however, is that they simply had no need
to make a fuss about this issue of payment as they experienced so few problems. On the rare
occasion payment was forgotten, the client always came back apologetically. Not demanding
payment in advance was therefore rarely part of women‟s overall business strategy. In this
following excerpt, Sienna explains how, like other working „rules‟, because sex-work is such a
personal interaction between two individuals, rules are simply unhelpful.
Oh, you know, some women have loads of rules, and I don't.….and I tend to
just trust clients….if something doesn't work out then I don't see them again. I
would rather have that attitude than have all these strict rules. For example, if
you have a rule that you don't kiss anybody-then you don't kiss anybody- but
sometimes I actually enjoy kissing, but not with everybody, so there is no point
in having a rule. And as far as when they pay me is concerned, I don't care
whether they pay me upfront or when they leave, as long as they do pay me.
Some just get it out of the way upfront; they don‟t need asking….so I don‟t
have a rule about it. I don‟t need to with the kind of clients I get.
(F62-Sienna)
This is probably the most significant aspect of determining appropriate payment procedures;
escorts were often in a position to be selective about which clients they accepted. They argued
that part of the justification for charging the high fees that they did, was in the way that they
provided a total fantasy for a client, and this included being sensitive to clients‟ pride and
emotional vulnerability; paying for sex can be seen not only as a submissive act but one that is
a clear demonstration of unequal powers of attraction. To make reference to payment draws
attention to the fact that it is a commercial, rather than a spontaneous, encounter.
153
This was not only the case for women, and is also something that deterred male escorts from
demanding upfront payment. For example, Glen explains how it is important that the client
feels comfortable about having to pay someone else for sexual services:
But I would have thought a good 20 to 30% of the clients would like to ignore
the fact that it is a paid session….they want to leave with the feeling like they
have just left their boyfriend's house.
(M155-Glen)
This is indicative of the way in which, rather than it being the sex-worker who needs to
disassociate by putting on an act when interacting with a client, it can be the client who uses
disassociation as a technique of emotional management. The perception that being paid for
sexual services is experienced by the sex-worker as a submissive, or in some way belittling
act, was not reported by any participants in this study. Rather than being offended or degraded
in any way by the act of being paid for sex, it is a sensitivity towards, and consideration of, the
client’s feelings that motivates escorts to maintain a pretence that it is no different to any other
„date‟. Melinda explains why she is happy to trust her clients:
No, I'm probably bad in that way, I have never been ripped off. Of course the
first time I'm ripped off I probably will make it a rule, but quite often, chaps
who are quite self assured and confident and not too nervous will get the
money out of the way first anyway. They'll normally just put an envelope
somewhere and say „I've just left that there for you‟, and I don't count it. I don't
touch the money. I don't have a problem with somebody who puts in my hand
but it's not just about me. It's also about them, and strange as it sounds they'd
much rather leave an envelope on the side…I'll just say „oh thank you‟, and
that's the end of it, but no, they could count ten pound notes out into my hand
for all I care, but if they want the fantasy, then really….and well I‟ve never
been short-changed.
(F105-Melinda)
This particular excerpt also illustrates a related point about the payment; that is, when payment
was made the money was not usually counted, or at least not openly, though some escorts did
discreetly take bathroom visits in order to check it. Overall, most escorts took a flexible
attitude towards payment procedures, particularly if they had seen the client before, and that
often meant payment was made retrospectively.
154
For transgendered participants, however, this was rather different, and although some were
relaxed about it with regular clients, for the most part, payment was required upfront. This
seemed to be indicative of the higher level of tension and wariness that existed between some
transgendered escorts and their clients:
One client refused to pay upfront, then we decided to pay half at the start, half
at the end, he refused to pay the other half, when I demanded it, he pushed me,
I got up, walked to the dressing table in the hotel, took the money that was
owed to me, took my things and left, whilst he verbally shouted at me, calling
me a whore and a freak of nature
(TG70-Tina)
Although such incidences were not common, their occurrence was far higher for transgendered
escorts than for other participants. The interview data suggests that for transsexual women the
escort-client relationship can be rather more strained and distrustful generally.
To conclude this section, in contrast to the participants in McKeganey et al.‟s research, the
sex-workers in this study mostly felt that negotiations and conflict were more likely to arise in
situations where sex-workers demanded upfront payment. Of those who did insist upon
payment in advance, two factors were evident: first, agency escorts, where procedures were
normally determined, to some extent at least, by the agent who instructed the client beforehand
regarding payment procedures. Second, escorts who worked at the lower end of the escort
markets, for example sometimes offering half-hour appointments, payment was often secured,
in cash, prior to services commencing, reflecting the way that far less „pretence‟ was expected.
Although the findings from my research contrast with those of McKeganey et al., I would
argue that this makes sense given that McKeganey‟s participants were men and women
working in street-prostitution. In contrast, the escorts in this study were, for the most part,
confident enough in their business dealings to allow for retrospective payment. Therefore, I
would argue that rather than being related to gender, it is the nature of the sex-work and the
venue in which it takes place, which dictates whether retrospective payment is normal
155
practice. Furthermore, I contend that in contrast to McKeganey et al.‟s research, where the
men‟s acceptance of retrospective payment was interpreted as an indication of a lack of
directiveness, for my participants, accepting retrospective payment indicated the opposite:
being relaxed about payment procedures was more about confidence in the absence of
vulnerability.
Negotiating Sex
The second example of directiveness or control referred to by McKeganey et al. (1990) is that
of confidence in negotiating under what conditions service will be provided. Although
McKeganey et al. were particularly concerned with how this was demonstrable in terms of
ability to insist on safer-sex practices, they also described directiveness in terms of dictating
the location and the way in which sex acts would take place. This is, in part at least, related to
the issue of payment, insofar as, having secured payment in advance, women appeared to be in
a stronger position from which to negotiate. This does make sense, and certainly seemed to be
the way it worked for the street-workers who were interviewed for this Glasgow study.
However, although in that particular context, the ability to control the transaction was very
strongly associated with women‟s insistence upon upfront payments, I will illustrate that in
different contexts, directiveness may be associated with gender regardless of payment
procedures.
There are some obvious differences between the ways negotiations work in practice in street
sex-work compared to escort work. For example, by the nature of the interaction, street sex
workers need to be very explicit about terms and conditions of the transaction, because clients
are often charged by the particular „act‟ rather than hiring on the basis of time. However, even
for escorts, who usually charge by the hour, sex-work is a very personal interaction, and most
escorts will state that some services are at their discretion. Therefore, I believe that regardless
of the environment, McKeganey et al.’s example of negotiations around the provision of
sexual services is still a useful one for comparing gender and power relationships.
156
Before discussing some of the interview narratives, question 21 asked respondents: „do you
ever perform sexual practices that you are uncomfortable with? Although overall, 60%
(n=266) of respondents said „never‟, men were more likely than women to perform sex acts
that they were uncomfortable with. The kinds of things that were mentioned most were
comments related to hygiene issues, as well as, particularly for male and transgendered
respondents, the adoption of active versus passive roles with clients; however of these, the
sense was that they were very open to negotiation depending upon how much they liked the
client and how much money they were being offered.
Most female participants, however, seemed to be very aware of the relative health risks of
different sexual practices and most had strict rules about what was acceptable to them. The
sexual service that appeared to pose the most controversy was the provision of unprotected
fellatio, a service which many women said had only become expected in recent years as the
result of increasing competition. They argued that this service had become part and parcel of
the „girlfriend experience‟24. Although many escorts insisted that this was not a service they
were prepared to provide, either for health reasons, or simply because they consider it to be
too intimate, many others, aware of the competition, felt pressured to provide this service:
It‟s when you are new to things, you see, you do things that you learn not to do.
But it's like so many girls are likely to give oral without a condom that you feel
you have to do so, otherwise you won't get the bookings, because all the other
girls do it.
(F101-Jane)
This also highlights a related point. Several female escorts said that they had been more likely
to provide unprotected oral sex with clients when they were new to escort work, which is often
when women work for agencies. This was precisely what had put one woman off the idea of
working for an agency, even though she was keen for someone else to take over organisational
24
A term used to suggest a service that most closely replicates a non-paid sexual encounter, including
kissing, cuddling and other demonstrations of affection.
157
matters for her:
"Total GFE" (total girl friend experience) which actually means "Oral sex
without protection". I personally don't want to do this, so the agencies weren‟t
something for me.
(F43-Celeste)
However, many women did feel that as unprotected fellatio was expected by agencies, and
because clients might make their choice of escort on that basis, they were minimising their
chances of being hired if this service was not offered. Two agency owners also confirmed this,
stating that although they would never insist girls provide any particular services, not
providing unprotected oral sex would reduce earning opportunities.
In the case of independent escorts, although care has to be taken not to be too explicit,
advertising via a website, using acronyms and euphemisms, allows escorts to specify exactly
what services are being offered. Therefore, the likelihood of getting into any kind of
negotiations is minimised:
The encounter can only take place within the rules that I've set and
communicated beforehand. As one can't go to McDonalds to buy a „Whopper‟
one cannot come to me to expect a service outside my offering.
(F25- Kasey)
Having set out a personal menu of services, most escorts deviated from that only on rare
occasions, and many mentioned the importance of being disciplined about their approach:
Boundaries are extremely important. Cross one and another will soon be
crossed. No exceptions ever, lest the 'uncomfortable' becomes „comfortable.‟
(F105-Melinda)
Overall, women rarely negotiated with clients. However, this seems to have been made very
much easier since the advent of websites and email, where all terms and conditions can be
clarified in advance, negating any real likelihood of such discussion arising once the meeting
had been arranged. Again, for men, rather than a comprehensive website, they often had only
a brief advert for their services on gay message boards or other sex-oriented sites, so they were
less likely to have a detailed list of services and restrictions posted. This lack of clarity at the
158
outset could lead them into situations where negations took place; nevertheless most
discussion still took place via email or telephone rather than in person. Therefore, for most
men, negotiations were not a problem; it was simply the way that they worked. Furthermore,
as for many, what they were comfortable doing with clients was very much dependent upon
their own mood and how they felt about that particular client, it suited them to work in this
way.
To summarise, my findings concur with that reported in previous research, insofar as, women
do seem to be less open to negotiation about their services; women rarely acquiesced to
services outside of their own predilections. Again then, like McKeganey et al., my findings are
not dissimilar in that men do seem to be more open to negotiations about what services are on
offer, under what conditions. However, most escorts, male and female, only work within the
boundaries that they have set for themselves and rather than being related to payment
procedures, the most significant exceptions to this tended to be for women who worked for
agencies and felt under more pressure to be competitive and less able be selective about which
clients they saw.
Power as Choice
Although the topics of payment procedures and sex negotiations are useful ways of
considering how power and control are played out in sex-work transactions, there are other
aspects of the relationship between an escort and their client that are helpful in understanding
how each feel other about their respective roles. In particular, considering the arguments put
forward by abolitionist feminists about male domination and the oppressive nature of
prostitution, it is useful to know how sex-workers feel about the relationship between choice
and power dynamics that operate within the context of sex-work. The question of how power
and control is demonstrated, or manifests itself in particular ways, was discussed in many of
the interviews, and although sex-workers cannot provide accounts on behalf of their clients,
they did provide their own interpretation of the interactions. For example, the notion of choice
159
was evident in many escort‟s understanding of where power resided, insofar as they had the
power to accept or decline the potential client‟s approach in the first instance. Many women,
in particular, were keen to illustrate how they not only chose whether to do this work in the
first instance, but that they also chose which booking requests they responded to.
For
example:
I choose who I see, literally. Men/some people outside of the industry, think
that escorts take literally any job offered, and do anything that person wants.
But the majority of us, we cherry-pick our clients (I get five-six genuine
booking requests a day, and take one or two of them) according to how we find
the person we speak to, whether they are respectful, and want something I
happily offer etc-he wants me. I can get £150 from him, or the next one, or the
one after that - but if he wants me, or a service I offer, then he can only get that
from me.
(F71-Fay)
Many escorts, familiar with radical feminist arguments about sexual domination, were
perplexed by the whole idea that there might be some kind of oppressive force in existence,
arguing that it was no different to meeting new people in any other situation. Likewise,
although they felt largely that they were in a position to be more choosey, several escorts felt
that it was more about taking the lead, as the professional, than taking control which
misleadingly suggested that power games are being played.
My clients really want a woman who knows what they are doing and seduces
them. It‟s more that I take the lead, rather than take control, but I am always in
control.
(F212-Maria)
Furthermore, from the escort‟s point of view, it is not that men never have issues about their
assumption of dominance - on rare occasions they do – however, where power issues are
evident, the client is more likely to have misgivings about having to pay for sexual services
rather than seeing paying for sex as an expression of male dominance:
The majority of clients are not on a power trip, quite the opposite, most clients
love women….they act subordinate and grateful to be in your company in a sex
transaction. I feel like I'm gaining personal power, not sacrificing it and more
to the point, paying someone else for sex reverses the power-thing. Knowing
that a man is willing to jump through hoops and pay you money just for the
pleasure of your company. And frankly, that‟s why men who don‟t use escorts
have problems with it. They cannot bear that a woman or TG would have the
160
upper hand. For men, its more their personal power being threatened or
diminished, knowing the escort is in control. That explains why so many
escorts are physically threatened….men that already have self-image problems
really can feel diminished in an escort-client relationship.
(TG40-Ella)
What Ella is suggesting, is that some of the difficult behaviours that men have been known to
adopt towards sex-workers result from negative feelings about their having to pay for sex. This
very much concurs with what Kinnell (2008) argues: clients who are not willing to pay pose a
greater threat of violence, not paying clients. This was evident in many escort‟s explanations
of power in the context of sex-work, with most participants, male and female, expressing
frustration at feminist assumptions of male dominance or power. Instead, most escorts were
keen to make it clear that they didn‟t see themselves as in any way dominated or oppressed.
Rather, they were the one who dictated the terms of the relationships and many found it quite
amusing that anyone should see it differently:
I know everybody says we get used in this job, but I genuinely do feel that I am
using them, and I wouldn't pay someone £180 (laughs).
(F103-Bianca)
Furthermore, it is not just that the client is the one who is deferent and sometimes subservient
by virtue of having to pay for sex, but also, it is the client who is more under the influence of
sexual and emotional arousal, whereas the escort is often more detached and therefore able to
maintain a sense of control:
The fact that they are the ones who want sex while the escort controls the sex
professionally makes them 'weaker' to a point where the relationship is equal or
even dominated by the escort. The escort isn't emotionally involved or sexually
aroused and knows what to do to get a customer want practices that the escort
favours.
(F252-Kasey)
The other point that was raised was simply that although there is no guarantee that clients
would behave deferentially or that they would allow the escort to control the situation, this is
no different to situations that can occur in other, non sex-work-related contexts:
I always have the option to walk and if I don't have that option, it's not because
money is involved, it's because he's a nutter.
(F425-Lorna)
161
In other words, while there are no guarantees of safety, that is not peculiar to sex-work.
Moreover, for women, the idea that they are vulnerable in some way was dismissed as rather
naïvely based on stereotypical misconceptions of who sex-workers are and a lack of
recognition about how much sex-work has changed, in some sectors of the industry at least:
It‟s like women have taken back control of it, I mean they choose who they see
and when they see them and they chose to do it rather than being bullied or
coerced or forced into it….and in that respect I‟m glad women have taken it
back from pimps and that sort of stuff. I would like to think that pimps are
becoming a thing of the past because women are better at managing it
themselves….I mean it‟s my choice to do this instead of working fifteen to
twenty hours a week for six quid an hour whereas I can do an hour‟s work and
get eighty quid- it‟s a „no brainer‟ really isn‟t it? That‟s my outlook. But people
never seem to understand, which is why it‟s a good idea to keep your mouth
shut about it.
(F82-Gemma)
The term „no brainer‟ was used by several women, who argued, that it was more a case of
„why not‟ than „why?‟ Many women also talked about how their clients seemed humbled at
the idea of spending time with someone who they knew would otherwise be „out of their
league‟. In this next excerpt, a post-operative transsexual woman in London explains how it
was all about what she called „between the hunter and the hunted‟.
Going back to the idea that I have something that you want and you have to
pay me for it. You want that commodity so much that you are prepared to part
with a large amount of cash to have that. How can that make you dominant
over me? Where you are so weak that you‟re prepared to open your wallet and
give me money for something that I can get for free.
(TG503-Chloe)
Chloe described this as the ability of the escort to „draw the client into her net.‟ Having
attracted them to her, via her website, she then used psychological tactics in her
communication with them to convert the contact from an inquiry into a firm booking. This
ability to command attention was something that transsexual women in particular seemed to be
conscious of. Several transsexual women described how they had always recognised women‟s
power in this way and that it was a power that they sought for themselves; achieving payment
for sex reinforced their feeling of personal supremacy.
However, this notion was not
exclusive to transsexual women:
162
Ask yourself really, who has the upper hand? The man because he is paying a
woman to do something for him, or the woman who has just taken the silly
bastard‟s money to do something that is nothing more than a job to her??? The
attitude from men towards women has always been that men are the better sex
etc, but at the end of the day; they are the ones paying for it.
(F17-Holly)
Most women reported that because they had the power to choose to accept a client, this puts
them in the more powerful position. For male escorts, in contrast, this was less consistent and
the location of power seemed to be a little more variable in nature. For example, men said that
sometime they felt it made the client feel more powerful. Whilst they were usually quick to put
the client right, the fact that it manifested itself in that way at all occurred only when the
interaction was between two men. Again, this is probably, in part, a reflection of the higher
level of demand for female escorts, which allows women to be more selective; having more
choice as the result of higher demand puts female escorts into what was experienced as a more
powerful position. Overall, however, rather than being vulnerable in any economic, social or
psychological sense, most escorts, male and female, were adamant that they were, for the most
part at least, operating from an advantageous, and psychologically superior, position.
Respect
Although connected to power and control, the way respect is experienced by sex-workers,
warrants a distinct focus. In this discussion, I use respect in the sense of holding someone in
high esteem.
I consider, in particular, how the existence or absence of respect between sex
workers and their clients, impacts on emotional vulnerability. I first raised the subject of
respect in the survey because I was keen to know whether, as previously discussed (see p.30),
relationships between male sex-workers and their clients are any more respectful and
reciprocal in nature than those between female sex-workers and their clients. Before drawing
upon the interview narratives to illustrate particular examples of respect, I will first present
some of the survey data to provide an overall impression and comparison by gender. Two
survey questions addressed the topic of respect: question 25 asks: „Do you feel that, in the
main, your clients treat you respectfully? The results are shown below as figure 14.
163
Clients' respect for Escorts
78.9%
77.0%
54.4%
16.0%
50.0%
15.8%
Females
Males
yes
Transgendered
no
Figure 14: Q25 ‘Do you feel that, in the main, your clients treat you respectfully?
As figure 14 shows, the overwhelming answer to this was „yes‟, male and female escorts did
feel that they were treated respectfully. Only 15 respondents, said „no‟ to this question: 3
women, 1 man and 11 transsexual women. Transgendered respondents are over-represented
here, and several transwomen added that, unlike the male and female participants, they often
felt „used‟ or „unfairly criticised‟, by their clients.
The second question on respect (question 30), asks: „Do you feel genuine respect for the
majority of your clients?‟ The responses are shown below as figure 15.
Escorts' respect for their Clients
78.9%
77.0%
63.6%
36.4%
16.0%
15.8%
Females
Males
yes
Transgendered
no
Figure 15: Q30 Do you feel genuine respect for the majority of your clients?’
164
Overall, three-quarters of all respondents reported positively. As before, this differed little
between men and women; however, again, far fewer transgendered respondents reported that
they respected their clients. Additional comments from transsexual women mostly sought to
explain that „ambivalence‟, or „indifference‟, more accurately described their feelings towards
clients, as well as to make derogatory remarks about men generally. The most common of
these referred to the way that some also thought that men were hypocritical and disrespectful
towards their families.
This criticism about married men being unfaithful was also articulated by several female
escorts. For them, although rarely critical of their clients in general, criticism was directed
specifically towards married clients, with many escorts arguing that men deserved little respect
if they were cheating on their partners, and that the money these men were „selfishly‟ spending
on escorts should be spent on their families. A similar lack of respect was expressed by 5 male
escorts. Here, the concern was more that ostensibly heterosexual married men were
hypocritical:
It‟s funny, because I had this scruple of not wanting to meet with married men
with families. But then I just realised that that was a double standard, and I
realised that that was not really helpful or ethical, because these people are
starved for touch, these people are starved for contact, and the society in which
they grew up precluded the possibility of them to have a relationship with a
man. So they still have needs to be met and it‟s funny, but as I am saying this,
its sounding, even to me, as if I am justifying it, but I do believe that we all
have the right to fulfil our desires, our sexual needs, and sure, they are being
unfaithful to their own commitments, and I don‟t even know – some of them
are and some of them might have agreements in which that is allowed, I don‟t
know, but that‟s not my business.
(M168-Martin)
Such agreements between couples could equally relate to women‟s clients and their partners;
however, it was the women who more frequently expressed frustration at men‟s
thoughtlessness, perhaps because of gay men‟s more relaxed attitude towards casual sex
generally, as described previously (see p.131-132). The way that some escorts felt about
165
clients who were married was that prostitution is not morally wrong, but infidelity is. For
example:
Most of my clients are married and they love their wives…I do sometimes still
find it quite distasteful, I mean….well it's not my place to judge them, but there
was one who said, " I'm getting married in a couple of weeks" and I just
thought, “oh, that's not right- you‟re supposed to be very „into‟ her”. Another
one said "oh my wife's gone out for a few hours, I'm babysitting, can you come
round?" And I said “no, no way!" she‟d gone out a couple of hours or
something….talk about cutting it fine, and the children were in the house! I just
thought, „Oh my God, men!‟
(F101-Jane)
The notion that men were somewhat thoughtless ran through many female escorts‟ accounts.
Escorts sometimes received phone calls from clients‟ partners as the result of them having left
the escort‟s detail on their mobile phones or otherwise being indiscreet; escorts found this
behaviour frustrating, often chiding their clients for being irresponsible. Overall though, the
lack of respect reported was often a frustration with men‟s irresponsible behaviours, rather
than a lack of respect for clients generally.
The only other form of disrespect mentioned was being asked for a discount; whatever the
reason, this was considered disrespectful and often resulted in the meeting being terminated.
Generally however, as the survey results indicate, there was much mutual respect between
escort and client, and if anything, although over time it became more relaxed and informal,
initially, the client was humble and deferential, and the escort, as the professional party, often
took the lead in maintaining respectful boundaries. For example:
If I detect any disrespect on the phone during their initial inquiry I will
immediately turn them down at that stage. I welcome my clients as a part of
myself. My clients are equal to me in terms of respect and dignity, but I
maintain a professional benevolent control over our sessions, as appropriate
duty of care requires.
(M91-Daniel)
Daniel‟s comment sums up the way that most participants described their relationships with
clients; unless something occurred which compromised it, then sex-work was usually
conducted within a dignified and mutually respectful framework. Daniel‟s comment about
166
clients being welcomed as „part of himself‟ is also suggestive of a subjective feeling of selfrespect, an aspect of respect which overlaps with, and contributes to, another aspect of
emotional vulnerability: self-esteem.
Self-Esteem
As discussed in chapter one (see p.32-33), sex-workers are often assumed to have low selfesteem. It is argued that not only must they have suffered from low self-esteem to have
undertaken sex-work in the first instance, but also, that low self-esteem would inevitably ensue
as a psychological response to participation in sex-work. In both ways, low self-esteem could
be considered an aspect of psychological vulnerability. Having established in chapter four that
in terms of vulnerability to first undertake sex-work, low self-esteem was not evident, in this
section I focus on self-esteem as it is experienced within sex-work, especially as it effects
escorts‟ bargaining power and sense of control. Thinking of self-esteem as an internal
judgement of oneself, (with self-confidence a judgement of what one can achieve externally),
the two concepts are closely linked. A lack of either could contribute to psychological
vulnerability, and I will consider both aspects simultaneously.
The topic of self-confidence is addressed by survey question 29: „What impact, if any, has
working as an escort had on you in terms of your self-confidence?‟ The results are shown
below in figure 16
Effect on Self-confidence
72.1%
68.9%
63.6%
25.0%
9.6%
27.3%
22.7%
15.7%
Females
Positive effect
6.1%
Males
Negative effect
Transgendered
No effect
Figure 16: Results of question 29 What impact, if any, has working as an escort had on
you in terms of your self-confidence?
167
As figure 16 shows, many more respondents indicated that escort work had positively affected
their self-confidence, and this was particularly pronounced for females. This was not,
however, an indication that men were more frequently negatively affected; instead, more men
reported that it had had no effect at all. The additional comments to this question showed that
where escort work reportedly had „no effect on self confidence‟, this was largely because the
respondents had always had a high level of self-confidence, and moreover, they argued,
without it, you would be unlikely to consider escort-work. This was also discussed during
interviews and with very few exceptions, a positive self-esteem was considered to be a
necessary prerequisite both prior to and for continuing in, escort-work.
Although the answers were otherwise fairly similar for all respondents, for many transsexual
participants, their value as women was validated by their success in escort work, and several
transsexual women talked about how it gave them confidence in their new, feminized body.
One transvestite escort explains:
Frankly, I believe that many TS, regardless of their sexual orientation or
whether they desire the full SRS or not, find a real power in being a beautiful
woman. And escorting, where you receive concrete remuneration as "proof" of
that attractiveness, is quite a validation.
(TG40-Ella)
Although Ella had no intention of undergoing sex reassignment surgery, succeeding in a niche
market that desired a combination of female appearance and male genitalia, had a positive
effect on her self-confidence. As this post-operative transwoman explains, it all becomes a bit
of a game and the prize is in knowing that you can command payment for your femininity:
Going back to the hunter and hunted thing, there‟s a real ego boost because that
person‟s had to pay me quite a lot of money for just of an hour of my time. I
mean, ok, I haven‟t got downstairs anymore, which puts me at a certain
disadvantage, but I can go into a tranny cafe and I know that I can pull a bloke
just the same. So, it ups the ante a bit, to pull a bloke and make him pay me.
(TG503-Chloe)
However, this notion was not exclusive to transgendered sex-workers; for the vast majority of
participants, and especially for women, it was thought logical to perceive being paid for sex as
168
something positive. This is not the first time such arguments have been put forward, and many
of the contributors to Nagles‟s 1997 book „Whores and Other Feminists‟ made similar
assertions. For my participants however, the positive effect of sex-work was exemplified in
particular ways. For example, for many women, the confidence that having a large income
gives you was a boost to their confidence:
Oh, of course, we have low self-esteem, don‟t we? (Laughs) It has done masses
for my self-esteem, not to mention the simple fact that having money does a lot
for your self-esteem as opposed to going in and going „right, I've got a fiver,
how exactly do I budget this?‟ And in terms of self-esteem, I'm providing
good things for my children. A really nice house, so….self-esteem?
Confidence? All way up.
(F425-Lorna)
Equally though, sex-work, for many, also impacted on how they felt about their bodies:
It has had a positive effect; I was always a confident personality, but the body
confidence this job brings is amazing. I am the fattest girl in the swimming
pool but I still wander round the changing rooms naked, completely
unselfconsciously, while girls with model figures hide behind their towels.
(F17-Fay)
The reason this did not seem to feature as commonly for male participants, was that most gay
or bisexual men had access to a network of multiple sexual partners anyway, therefore they
did not depend upon sex-work for sexual reassurance to the same degree. Hence the typicality
of the following response to my question about self confidence:
Yes that's always nice, especially when they feel you're worth paying for a
repeat….but then I get reassured in gay clubs anyway.
(M155-Glenn)
There was however, for some gay male participants, a sense of social pride in being an escort.
For example, some said that putting a price on their time turned them from being „ugly
ducklings‟ to being in demand. In this respect, being able to charge on the strength of their
sexual desirability was little different to those who gain their reputation through modelling or
film work:
again, most of the dynamic is that gay men put escorts and porn stars on a
pedestal, so you know even if somebody bumps into me out in public and
maybe they weren‟t terribly interested and then they have realised, „Oh hey,
you‟re that escort‟, you know, all of a sudden they are more interested than
they would have been.
(M155-Bradley)
169
Although it makes sense that being „in demand‟ could have a positive effect, some participants
did add that they were aware that this was could sometimes all be part of „the game‟ and,
therefore, not to be taken too seriously. Some, particularly more mature, experienced female
escorts, cautioned against letting it go to your head. For example:
you can get this idea in your head that you are some kind of sex goddess….and
people are so nice and you know they obviously have had a good day so that
gives you a buzz, so you walk away thinking you are really something quite
special, “yes I'm the girl- „I've still got it?” But then, if you've got any sense
when you get on that train, you come down to earth.
(F105-Melinda)
However, while some participants did recognise the danger of letting the positive feedback be
taken too seriously, for others, client feedback had a very real effect, whether positive or
negative in nature and they saw their ability to succeed in the escort industry as a test of their
desirability. Neither women nor men were immune to the negative effect that sex-work could
have on them. In answer to the question about what effect escort work had on his self-esteem,
Richie for instance, indicated that it had had both a positive effect and negative effect. He
adds:
I've put positive and negative as in some aspects, personality and shyness I
have gained loads of positivity but in body and looks I have lost confidence, as
I'm not the best looking of all the other escorts.
(M193-Richie)
For the majority of women and men however, sex-work did usually provide a boost to their
self confidence and self-esteem. What was noticeable was that the risks associated with a
reliance upon clients for positive reinforcement of self-esteem seemed to be most problematic
for transsexual women, 27.3% of whom reported that escort work had negatively affected their
self-esteem (question 29, figure 16 p.170). This may be because they relied more heavily on
clients for sexual feedback than did male escorts, whilst perhaps being more sensitive to
criticism than other women given their trans status.
170
More generally, although many escorts tended to judge their success on how much in demand
they were by clients, they were usually far more confident in themselves as a result of their
work:
I think if my phone didn‟t ring I'd be really paranoid. And I think to walk away
from it, even if you didn‟t need money, I think you'd miss mmnnn, I can't think
of the word, sort of reassurance, that you‟re this or that…I think it changes
things as well, like I'd do things like model for nude art classes and things now,
whereas years ago, I'd never have….but now, because I'm probably at ease
with getting naked within minutes of meeting someone, it's quite easy for me.
(F102-Miranda)
This excerpt represents the kind of narrative articulated by around a third of the female
participants. Although it could be argued, therefore, that escort work can negatively, as well as
positively, affect self-esteem, the majority of respondents, and particularly female
respondents, (at 72.1% n=202) answered question 29 by saying that escort work had had a
positive effect on their self-esteem. Furthermore, as the feedback they received from clients
was almost always positive, psychological vulnerability was rare.
The final point I want to make about self-esteem and sex-work was that several participants
argued that one‟s self-esteem was inextricably linked not only to how clients treated them, but
to the social-stigma of prostitution:
But then I think from everybody else‟s point of view it is horrible, and that
affects me. So, it is your opinion of yourself but it is informed by what other
people think of us that‟s so degrading and that brings me down because….my
self-esteem goes low because of what they all think about me because I‟m quite
strong but then again it‟s the nature of the profession; it always has been.
(F288-Sabrina)
The point here is that no matter how sex-workers feel about the work that they do, and even if
the direct feedback that they get from clients reinforces positive self-esteem, there is
nevertheless a persistent source of negativity about sex-work. Sex-workers interact with other
people within and outside of the sex industry and unsurprisingly, in the context of discussions
about self-esteem and self-confidence, participants often drew attention to how self-esteem
and social-stigma were very much interlinked.
171
Social Stigma
As discussed in chapter one, previous research has identified and discussed the negative effect
stigma can have on sex-workers (Pheterson, 1996; Phoenix, 1999; Sanders, 2005). Socialstigma can not only affect the way sex-workers feel about themselves, but also how they are
treated by those around them. For example, in the following interview narrative, Rachel
describes how disclosure of her occupation to a nurse meant that she went from being a patient
like any other, to being negatively stereotyped by assumptions about prostitution.
When I was in hospital and I was honest with her about what I did, I did get
treated a lot differently and they automatically assumed that I was a drug addict
and I was stereotyped straight away… it was as though they just didn‟t have
the time or they mistrusted everything you said….and there is just this stigma
attached to what you do, isn‟t there? You think, well I‟ll be honest with them
and it just bites you in the arse so it‟s not worth being honest.
(F150-Rachel)
According to participant‟s narratives, the kind of reaction that Rachel describes is not
uncommon and is usually based upon negative images of street prostitution. During the period
the interviews were being conducted for this research, a television documentary series25
featuring Conservative MP Anne Widdecombe was broadcast. Several interviewees argued
that such programmes, which very narrowly focused on a the negative issues of prostitution
such as drug addiction, pimps and human trafficking, were irresponsible by continually
reinforcing negative public attitudes about sex-work.
Although social-stigma was not a topic addressed directly in the survey, the salience of social
stigma was evident both in response to other questions, such as question 17: „What if
anything, don‟t you like about escort work? Here, many respondents, male and female, cited
social-stigma as the worst thing about their work. This is not only because of assumptions
about who sex-workers are and how they work, but also assumptions about sex-workers‟
A three-part Current Affairs series broadcast by ITV1 in August 2007 entitled: „Ann
Widdecombe versus prostitution‟.
25
172
moral standards. For instance, Stacey, who also runs a brothel in London, adds the following
comment in her answer to question 17:
The stigma, the fact that those who have no experience of the sex trade feel
able to judge me because I sell sex. The fact that they seem to believe that fact
reflects on my moral beliefs and standards and my parenting skills. The
attitudes of society in general that we are 'only whores'. The above issues
sicken me, because those people are so wrong. I liken the society‟s current
attitude towards sex-workers to the prejudice experienced by homosexuals in
the 1950's and hope that understanding will move forward towards us as it has
for the Gay community.
(F226-Stacey)
Stacey‟s likening of sex-workers to other marginalised groups was echoed by three other
women and as another participant points out, sex-workers‟ lack of progress in challenging
stereotypical perceptions about themselves is apparent:
Well a lot has been done by media to let: single mothers, gay, trans, lesbians,
divorced, drugged and aids affected people be accepted by the
community…porn actresses as well…but nothing for escort…they are damned!
(F348-Monique)
In terms of interview data, the salience of the issue of social-stigma was also evident when,
towards the end of every interview, I asked participants what single point they would most like
to make. The vast majority of both male and female escorts used this opportunity to highlight
the importance of challenging media-, and by extension, public-- perceptions, about sex-work.
Almost all of the escorts in this study had kept their escort identity hidden from at least some
people, and many kept it hidden from almost everybody. For some, this was relatively easy
given assumptions about prostitutes:
I don't fit this victim profile, either, and most people assume that if you are a
prostitute then you are a victim, that you need money for some reason or
another. So nobody guesses. Nobody has a clue...It doesn't cross people's
minds and I've had friends that I've known all my life and they have absolutely
no idea.
(F105 Melinda)
Most participants, however, found having to hide their work from family and friends a very
negative aspect of their job. For example:
I don't like the fact that it is a social taboo, and that half of my family and
friends do not know what I do, that's a big part of my life. The half who do
173
know don't understand, having primaeval imagery of 'prostitute' being
synonymous with drugs, street girls and pimps.
(F071-Fay)
Unfortunately, having to lead a double-life can be isolating for escorts and several participants
argued that one of the implications of the stigma attached to sex-work was in the way that it
reduced their potential to establish personal romantic relationships:
Sometimes I feel that I'll never be able to have a "normal" relationship after
doing sex-work. The perceptions and misconceptions people have about me
because I do sex-work are staggering.
(TG422-Zara)
Although this was not always an issue, and of course many escorts were either married or had
long-term partners, the difficulties in finding a partner who could accept the escort‟s work
choice did pose difficulties for many participants. A gay male escort explains:
It‟s also nearly impossible to get a boyfriend if they know about that source of
income, so they don‟t want it that close to their personal lives. There are still
jokes about it and gay humour can be brutally honest and cutting, sometimes
very bitchy. But there are still double-standards where guys have lots of sex
themselves but then criticise friends or guys they don't know for being sluts.
(M218-Hugh)
As documented in chapter one, (see p.30) male prostitution has not typically been stigmatised
to the same degree as female prostitution, however, the findings from my research are mixed
and sometimes contradictory on this point. For example, in terms of how men view another
man who can command payment for their sexual services, there is certainly some evidence
that this does indeed make them more, rather than less, appealing:
There is this notion that someone who is a porn star is hot and sexy and that
rubs off into the escorting community as well. I think the moment someone
calls himself an escort, other people assume well, he must be hot.
(M155-Bradley)
However, although similar views were put forward by a substantial number of male escorts,
there were counter arguments too, including the view that in some ways, male sex-work
carried additional stigma - in particular, the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS:
To be quite honest, a lot of men look at it as a source of…not a source of pride
per se, but that they are attractive enough, and have a decent enough body to do
it. So it is a source of pride and the only stigma is, quite honestly, in the male
escort community is HIV/AIDS…escorts therefore are still stigmatised too
because they are considered to be automatically high risk for HIV/AIDS -
174
contracting it and spreading at; that stigma is very much felt by all male escorts
I believe; more so than female escorts.
(M087-Connor)
Connor was not alone in making this argument; however, he does argue that because this is
based on the fact that HIV is still largely perceived by the public as a gay disease, that it
wouldn‟t apply to male escorts with female clients:
The few heterosexual male escorts that I know, that only see women or married
couples, their heterosexual friends are practically jealous, you know they think
how lucky you are to get to screw all these girls, and you know, it's kind of a
macho thing.
(M087-Connor)
Although this does make sense to a degree, the heterosexual male escorts who took part in this
research did not always feel this way. For example, some argued that male sex-worker suffer
in the same way that female sex-workers do insofar as for men, people automatically assume
sex-workers to be street hustlers, rent boys, or gigolos. Furthermore, friends are not always
jealous or supportive:
My friends are my only critics. They despise what I do, because it goes against
everything they believe in, so we don‟t talk about it
(M74-Christian)
Christian argues that his friends have different moral values and that the acceptability of men
selling sex to women is still dependent upon cultural norms. It is important to acknowledge
and recognise this because whilst gender and sexuality do doubtlessly affect the way stigma is
differentially applied, other factors are also influential.
Notwithstanding this, it is women who more frequently reported the negative effect of socialstigma and the argument that double standards apply for men and women (see p.33-34) were
evident: For example:
I‟ve always enjoyed sex, and I‟ve never been afraid to portray that, but going
out and discovering sex and discovering the fact that it‟s ok for boys but not for
girls, that irritated me greatly. And I know exactly how gay men perceive their
escorts, because my son is one. He is held with real high regard within his
community. His boyfriend is also a porn star and the two of them are like
175
Gods, Icons. And it really pisses me off….women are not allowed to take
control of their own sexuality, that‟s why it is taboo.
(F204-Keira)
Furthermore, cultural expectations about women and sex seem to be ingrained even in the
narratives of male sex-workers, who, usually without meaning to be unsupportive of their
female counterparts, expressed similar notions:
I don't think a woman would be having as much casual sex as I‟m having, let
alone being paid as well. It would be interesting to know how a female
prostitute rationalises it in her head with several guys a week.
(M218-Glen)
One of the things that struck me in my conversations with escorts is how, frequently, male
participants understood little about female escorts, often drawing upon the very stereotypical
representations that are portrayed in the media, including assuming that women would not be
doing it through choice. This exemplifies the strength of social-stigma, and is even sometimes
evident in client‟s attitudes towards sex-workers:
I had some bloke the other day, a barrister, going „oh if I was younger, I‟d take
you away from all this‟, but I take that as an insult….and, I would never say
this to punters, but I earn £600-700 hundred pounds for doing fuck all-who‟s
the mug? I don‟t want their pity…I hate it when punters say „what‟s a nice girl
like you doing in this job? (laughs) Bless them. There, there. And „you‟re too
nice for this‟. That‟s another insult.
(F103 Bianca)
Similarly, there were occasional references to clients of female escorts who made certain
assumptions on the basis of a woman‟s association with sex-work. For example, clients
sometimes expect escorts to be uneducated and unintelligent:
It's not the majority of my clients but still many people think that you are escort
because "you cannot do something else". One time, I had a client he was a
young neuro-surgeon and neurology is one of the subjects that I prefer and I
like a lot so I talked with him about plenty of things and I asked him so many
questions and he got confused at some point and asked me "how come you
know all this stuff?" See, people often ask me "You're so intelligent, why are
you an escort" The "préjugé" is so deep….and I answer, "I'm an escort because
I'm intelligent"!
(F043-Celeste)
As Celeste points out, this is not common; nevertheless, if male escorts and even clients are
guilty of holding prejudices then there truly is a long way to go in terms of overcoming social-
176
stigma. In the meantime, challenging the stereotypical image of prostitution was a high
priority for many participants; indeed, in many cases this was the primary motivation for
agreeing to be interviewed. I would argue that it is difficult to challenge media stereotypes of
female sex-workers when it is assumed that people only engage in prostitution through lack of
choice and that media stereotypes are further influenced by the quasi-legal status of
prostitution, which will be discussed in chapter seven.
The relevance of social-stigma is important to my analysis of vulnerability to exploitation
because social-stigma could arguably render someone vulnerable from an economic or social
point of view if they are treated in particular ways, such as being discriminated against.
Equally, they can be made psychologically vulnerable if the effects of a negative social-stigma
are detrimental to their self-esteem. Men and women suffer from the negative effects of socialstigma; challenging this would reduce sex-workers‟ psychological vulnerability and would be
in the interest of all sex-workers.
Chapter Summary and Conclusions
The purpose of this chapter was to use my data to assess how vulnerability is experienced by
sex-workers in the context of escort work. I have used this chapter to analyse four themes of
vulnerability: power, respect, self-esteem and social stigma. In the first section, I discussed the
dynamics of power relationships that exist between sex-workers and their clients. My findings
show that overall, women more frequently feel that they are in either an equal or superior
position to their clients in terms of power, and similarly, for women, they, rather than their
clients, usually took control of the escort interaction. In contrast, men were more likely to find
that power and control were much more variable. Drawing on McKeganey et al.‟s theme of
directiveness, I then argued that in terms of comparing payment procedures by gender, my
findings differ somewhat from those reported in their 1990 Glasgow study. In particular, I
argue that insisting upon upfront payment for sexual services was not normal practice for the
majority of my participants, male or female, but that rather than being an indication of a lack
177
of directiveness or assertiveness, it showed confidence and control. Only transgendered sex
workers consistently insisted upon upfront payment, and this seemed to be the result of (and to
some extent result in) the more problematic relationships transgendered sex-workers have with
their clients.
The second example of McKeganey et al. that I drew upon, was the related topic of sex-related
negotiations, and on this subject, my findings did concur with McKeganey‟s insofar as, unlike
women, the male participants in this study did tend to be more open to negotiations about
sexual practices with clients. Nevertheless, it was not common practice for either male or
female escorts to regularly acquiesce to practices that they were not happy with, and women
rarely did so.
The final part of my discussion of power relations drew on the notion of choice, and I argued
here that clients of sex-workers were not displaying or expressing dominance, but instead they
were all too aware that the escort was, by virtue of the privilege of choice and selectivity, the
more powerful party. Overall, although for male escorts, the power relations were somewhat
more variable, very few participants reported feeling in any way dominated or oppressed. In
terms of power relationships, there was little to suggest that these participants were vulnerable,
either socially or psychologically and so I would conclude that in terms of exploitation, no
exploitable circumstances were evident as the result of an examination of power and control.
The second theme that I examined in this chapter was that of respect. Here, I considered how
the existence or absence of respect within the sex-worker-client relationship impacts on
participant‟s emotional vulnerability. In terms of survey data, it was clear that there was little
difference between male and female participants, both in terms of escorts respecting their
clients, and their feeling that respect was mutual. However, although rarely critical of their
clients in general, many participants were critical of their married clients, who, it was argued,
178
were behaving disrespectfully toward their families. There is no justification in my findings,
therefore, for the argument that male sex-work is any more respectful or reciprocal in nature
than female sex-work.
In the third section, because of the way that sex-workers are often assumed to have low selfesteem, I examined ways in which participants could be perceived as psychologically
vulnerable because of low self-esteem resulting from sex-work. The rationale was that if
participants suffered damage to their self-esteem, this may have a negative effect on their
confidence in negotiating both with clients and in other areas of their work such as with third
parties. What my findings indicated was that rather than having a detrimental effect, for most
participants, male and female, sex-work had had a positive effect on their self-esteem. This
was partly the result of increased financial security; however, in much the same way that it has
been noted that transsexual sex-workers thrive on feedback from clients, many female escorts
reported similarly, that positive feedback from their clients resulted in a boost to their ego.
This was less the case for male participants, due to the fact that they tended to have more nonpaid sexual encounters and therefore client adulation had less significance for them. Overall,
with very few exceptions, male or female, a positive self-esteem was considered to be a
necessary prerequisite both prior to and continuing in, escort-work. Consequently, while I
would not dismiss it altogether, there is little basis on which to conclude that participants,
male or female, were in any way psychologically or otherwise vulnerable as a result of a
negative effect on their self-esteem.
The final theme which was discussed in this chapter is the topic of social-stigma. My concern
here was with the way that not only can -stigma affect how sex-workers feel about themselves,
but it can affect the way that they are treated by others. On this subject, most participants
described the negative effects of social-stigma as the worst thing about sex work and as the
biggest challenge they faced. Negative stereotypes included assumptions not only about their
179
assumed victimisation, but also about their moral standards. Although in some respects socialstigma was different for males, particularly gay males, the effects of negative social-stigma
were evident for almost all participants, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
In terms of increasing vulnerability to exploitation, self-esteem, specifically as it is negatively
impacted by -stigma, was the only aspect of vulnerability that I don‟t feel can be dismissed.
There are two ways in which social-stigma increases sex-worker‟s vulnerability. First,
although most participants were adept at managing the negativity of social-stigma (largely by
hiding their sex-work identity), when they do disclose their occupation to people around them
it often results in them being treated less respectfully on the basis of misconceptions about
who sex-workers are and how they work. Second, the negative effect stigma can have on sex
worker‟s self-esteem can also increase their level of psychological vulnerability to exploitation
by compromising their self-confidence.
In conclusion then, I would argue that neither male nor female escorts are particularly
vulnerable as the result of unequal power relations or lack of respect; however, social-stigma,
including that which results in a low self-esteem, does, to some degree at least, render them
vulnerable to exploitation as a result of their work and this did appear to have a greater impact
on female escorts.
180
Chapter 6. Experiences of Exploitation
6. Experiences of Exploitation
I experience psychological violence every time I read about how I am
supposedly "exploited" in my work. Women with whom I have had this
conversation clearly are focused on the media's stereotype of this work, and
have no idea that MOST of this work is carried out indoors under similar
situations as what I do. I get very frustrated that so-called "feminists" work
incessantly to silence those of us who do speak out about the general
enjoyment (or even mere economic independence) we experience from our
work.
(F475-Jade)
I open this chapter with a quotation from a participant, because in some ways, Jade‟s comment
epitomises how the vast majority of women who took part in this research responded to my
questions about exploitation, and it also draws attention to a contention that lies at the heart of
my thesis; not only do many sex-workers reject the argument that they are victims of sexual
exploitation, but also, that the alternative feminist explanation - that sex-work is justifiable
given women‟s economic inequality - is also inadequate. I would add further, that not only can
assumptions of economic vulnerability be misleading, but relying upon economics as a blanket
explanation for all sex-work can obscure some of the more subtle ways that sex-workers can
be taken advantage of.
In this chapter, I move on from notions of vulnerability, to examine participant‟s reported
experiences of exploitation. Although I am interested in participants‟ subjective accounts, I
examine this against a backdrop of what I consider to be the salient features of exploitation
(see p.54-55). However, rather than categorise their explanations of exploitation as physical,
social or psychological in nature, (as often they can be more than one simultaneously; for
instance, violence could constitute both physical and psychological exploitation), I instead
consider exploitation in terms of the source of that behaviour, because this more clearly
highlights the more subtle forms of exploitation.
In terms of data sources, the survey was very valuable in terms of providing some statistical
indication of the extent to which respondents felt exploited and by whom. Many respondents
181
elaborated quite fully on this topic, therefore the survey was also a good source of textual data;
the interviews then provided greater context. I present my analysis by starting with the data
that refers to exploitation specifically by clients, before moving on to discuss exploitation by
third-parties and other business associates. I then consider participants‟ descriptions of their
own exploitative behaviour. Throughout this analysis, any notable differences by gender will
be highlighted and discussed.
Exploitation by Clients
Drawing on the survey data, the first point to highlight, is that in terms of exploitation
specifically by clients, levels were very low for both men and women. Question 22 addresses
this directly, and the results are shown below in figure17.
56.6%
Exploited by clients
43.7%
40.0%
31.8%
34.6%
29.9%
18.2%
11.1%
10.7%
9.1%
2.1%
1.5%
Never
Rarely
Females
Sometimes
Males
Often
4.5%
0.7%
0.7%
Always
Transgendered
Figure 17: Responses to question 22 How often does escort work leave you feeling exploited by a
client?
As figure17 shows, there are some gendered differences in the results to this question. For
example, women report that they „never‟ feel exploited by clients more frequently than the
male participants. However, once the results of „never‟ and „rarely‟ are combined, the
difference between men and women is negligible at 86.5% for women versus 83.7% for men.
182
In other words, although fewer men said „never‟, more men, in proportion to women, said
„rarely‟, and the most significant point is that for neither men nor women was exploitation
commonly experienced.
For transgendered participants, this combined figure drops to 66.4%, indicating that far fewer
transgendered participants were able to dismiss notions of exploitation in the way that most
other escorts did. Furthermore, the kind of exploitation that transgendered participants talked
about was often violent, or at least physically threatening in nature; 40.9% (n=9) referred to
incidences of physical violence or threats of violence that had occurred in the context of their
work, and many suggested that violence is intrinsic to escort work. However, whilst this
reinforces the way that relationships between transgendered participants and their clients often
appear to be more contentious, exploitation of any sort, let alone violence, was still dismissed
by many transsexual participants. For example:
This whole talk of exploitation is what‟s confusing me. The concept never even
enters my mind during a working day….In my business, clients and escorts do
NOT exploit each other....that is not my world.
(TG40-Ella)
Similarly, despite the higher levels of exploitation reported by transgendered escorts, the idea
that exploitation, especially violent victimisation, was in any way inevitable, was strongly
challenged by most participants. For example:
Exploitation gives the connotations that I am unaware or incapable of
perceiving the result (my seemingly diminished status) of a deliberate action. If
someone is being exploited, it's probably the desires of the client and what little
he receives in return for a great deal of something that has practical value
everywhere (money).
(F41-Erica)
Erica highlights the reversibility of exploitation by arguing that her client is likely to be more
vulnerable than she is, and that she benefits from the transaction in a more tangible way. There
were many comments like this, and very few participants were able to provide examples of
their own exploitation. Moreover, as the following narrative explains, escorts and clients are
183
not in opposition to one another in any way; instead, they become bound by the escort-client
relationship and the power is in the strength of that bond:
I don‟t think anyone‟s really exploiting anyone….not at all, there‟s a sort of – a
very powerful understanding between an escort and the client, there isn‟t
anything like it – they‟re both there for the same reason, there‟s no feeling of
superiority….it‟s quite funny, because they are the strong woman over this
poor little man who‟s very nervous, but I would say that the majority….well,
there‟s a very powerful understanding. Mutual respect I suppose.
(F203-Lily)
As Lily notes, clients are often approaching the escort from a less confident position. This is
not surprising, since the escort is likely to be far more familiar with the routine and the
expectations than even the most experienced client. Hence, it was very rare for participants to
report that they had felt intimidated or threatened in any way.
Several women mentioned that that they were often treated far better by male clients than by
boyfriends. Similarly, several participants argued that compared to other types of work they
had experienced, escort work compares favourably:
Quite frankly, I felt the most "used" and "sold out" when I worked as a 17-18
year old for the international discount retailer, Wal-Mart, making US$3.85 per
hour. I felt unfairly compensated for the work, exploited and used by a multinational mega corporation….as an escort I generally felt adequately
compensated for providing a desired service.
(M87-Connor)
Overall, in terms of the kind of exploitation that most people would typically associate with
sex-work, such as violent victimisation, or some kind of psychological harm, participants
found examples hard to recall:
I wish I could write something for you here, but I retain total control over what
I do- I really don't give anyone the opportunity. The worst that might happen is
a client that 'accidentally' runs over time, but even then I'm aware, and choose
to allow it. It's a small example, I know. Sorry.
(F105-Melinda)
Melinda is referring to something that several other participants mentioned; occasionally
escorts could feel taken advantage of by clients, but this was usually only by continuing
chatting once the agreed time was up or by being slow showering and dressing. Other than
184
this, participants pointed out that if they were exploited by anyone, it was not by established
clients, but by potential clients who wasted their time on the telephone and/or did not turn up
for appointments. In this respect of course, sex is no different to any other business. However,
given the nervousness and apprehension of many potential clients who then cannot muster the
courage to keep the appointment, it perhaps happens more frequently in sex-work.
In terms of violent or dangerous incidents, survey question 28 addresses this directly. The
results show that transgendered participants suffered, by far, the most violence, at 40.9%, with
men and other women experiencing only 6.7% and 15.7% respectively. However, several of
the incidences described included what must have been rather frightening situations, including
the use or threat of weapons. Most of the violent or threatening incidences described by
participants had occurred at a time when they had been new to sex-work. Being new to the
industry was significant in a number of ways, not only did escorts lack experience, but many
had started sex-work either in parlours or as agency escorts. Although it is not entirely clear
why working for an agency should result in higher levels of violent victimisation, my results
show that this was, overwhelmingly, the case. The correlation could be based simply on the
relative inexperience of the escorts at the time. However, incidents were also reported to be the
result of either poor vetting procedures or poor security provision and because more women
tended to work via third-parties, they more frequently reported experiencing violent or
threatening experiences.
The way threats were dealt also differed. Although violent incidences had occurred for some
men as well as women, men were often able to confront the situation directly through physical
means, for instance either by escaping or by overcoming the client with force. The danger of
confronting threats of violence directly is reduced in male-to-male interactions, given that
often, male escorts were coming from an equal, if not superior, position of physical strength,
particularly as many male escorts trained regularly and were often extremely physically fit.
185
For women in contrast, direct physical confrontation was not always feasible, and might
exacerbate a situation. Therefore, situations tended to call for more psychological tactics, as
the following example illustrates:
A local well known dodgy punter, known as (nickname). I had no physical
description, was working alone with just a maid who also had no description
and admitted the man as a typical punter. Local legend had educated me as far
as knowing his creed and identifying abnormalities which were only visible
once he was naked and 10 mins into service. His reputation preceded his visit. I
honestly believed that he would not leave the premises without myself
obtaining serious physical injury. I was very lucky, and maybe a little bit
clever. Put into use everything I had picked up about psychology and prayed
like I actually believed in a God. I got lucky and started shaking once he had
left.
(F226-Stacey)
Although employing a maid provides some security, problems are not entirely avoidable. In
total, three women reported being raped in the context of escort work, and again, these attacks
occurred when the women were new to the industry. Whether because of the involvement of
third-parties, or the greater imbalance in physical strength, women not only experienced more
violence than did men, but the incidences tended to be more complex. One woman, in her
early escorting career, found herself in a very precarious set of circumstances, in which she
had to downplay her own reactions in order to minimise the likelihood of violence:
F103-Bianca: But I ended up walking into an estate in Stockwell and there
were like five black guys in there. And again, now if that happened, I'd pooh
my pants, but then I just went with the flow, and it was fine. You just think
„Jesus Christ!‟
Suzanne: You didn't just turn around and walk out again?
F103-Bianca: No, I don't think you could have done, when you get that far,
you're probably going to just provoke the situation doing that even more, aren‟t
you? They can follow you….probably the best thing is just to let them have
their shag, because if you leg it: a) it would wind them up and they're not going
to like you then either. I mean they‟re probably going to have their sex anyway.
Once you've given them attitude, because they're going to think it's because
they're black, and it's probably not necessarily that, but…
Bianca presented as a very streetwise woman and she had since run a number of working flats
in London, where she employed some of her sex-working friends, providing a safer way of
186
working. However, because of the risks associated with brothel-keeping charges, she had since
stopped this and was currently working alone from an apartment she rented for daytime use
only. Working from your own home raises another issue for sex-workers, because of the risk
of being accessible to clients who had become personally involved, which could lead to
stalking.
A couple of times I have had a mad case, someone who was stalking me. That
is the downside and I would never do it from my home now. This one was just
mad about me and he started writing me letters saying he must see me….I think
he was mentally disturbed, dangerous.
(F288-Sabrina)
The problem of attracting stalkers was not uncommon, and many women preferred to do
outcalls only. Likewise, many male escorts preferred to visit clients at their home or hotel.
Men were less reliant on agencies, and most of the men in this study worked independently.
However, two men also worked in parlours and three men also had their details advertised on
agency sites. Perhaps because of a heightened awareness of their greater physical
vulnerability, women tended to report having more strict vetting procedures and routines,
particularly when they were doing an outcall. This helped to minimise their risk; however, it is
difficult to account for every eventuality, especially if the motive is to deliberately target, and
harm, a sex-worker:
I was followed by two youngish Asian men. I was called and led into a trap.
Because of various checks I usually do I realised this before I got out of the car,
but it was pretty scary being chased about ten miles and having to lose the car
that was following me. This involved a high speed chase on the motorway.
(F58-Rebecca)
Rebecca, who had worked in the industry on-and-off for six years, had first worked for an
agency, then, having gained sufficient experience, decided to work independently. Had she not
gained this experience first, she may not have avoided this potentially violent situation, and
several escorts said that they would not have known what checks to make, or what security
backups to have in place, if they had not first learnt from agency practice. However, as already
suggested, third-parties can also behave exploitatively; this is discussed more fully in the next
section.
187
Exploited by Agencies and Parlours
Although many participants were independent escorts now, many women, and several men,
had first started out as sex-workers by working for a third-party organiser, such as for an
escort agency or in a parlour. Escort agencies differ in terms of service and conditions, but
most provide website photographs which are then used in promoting the escort‟s profile. They
also usually secure and arrange bookings, carry out vetting procedures, and provide the facility
for credit card bookings. Some also provide drivers and/or security. However, while there are
many benefits, working for an agency does not protect escorts from every danger, as they are
usually, ultimately, on their own, often in unfamiliar premises, with someone unknown to
them. Many women for instance, stressed that, in their early escorting days, they had allowed
their safety to be compromised:
But I, God, I mean I can be so naive. One of my first clients through the
agency, I went and saw him, we were doing what we were doing and then he
said he wanted me to tie him up and blindfold him. And so I said „yeah, okay
fine‟. Then he said „right, it‟s your turn‟- he wanted to do it to me. And it
wasn't until I was on the bed, tied to the four posts with a blindfold on, and he
said „I won't be a minute‟, and I could hear him, and I thought it sounded like
he was in a cutlery drawer. And I thought to myself, „you stupid bitch‟. „You
stupid bitch, what are you doing?‟ but it was only ice he was getting….but how
did I know? But not now, no.
(F321-Kelly)
While Kelly wasn‟t blaming the agency, and clearly the situation could have come about if she
had been an independent escort at that time, it does raise a question about an agency‟s role in
briefing inexperienced escorts about some basic safety procedures. Many agencies do provide
their escorts with guidance about risk-management.
However, as mentioned above, my
findings indicate that the majority of incidents that have either involved violent behaviour or
have resulted in the escort feeling under threat, have occurred when the escort has been
working for an agency. This is not always the result of bad agency practice; sometimes,
incidents occurred in ways that no agency could have foreseen. However, there were many
reports of bad agency practice provided as explanations to question 23, which asked about
exploitation by people other than clients. The results of this are shown in figure 18 below:
188
62.4%
59.4%
Exploited by Others
50.0%
30.1%
27.3%
20.8%
10.5%
13.3%
9.1%
4.5%
1.1%
0.8%
Never
Rarely
Females
Sometimes
Males
Often
1.1%
0.0% 0.0%
Always
Transgendered
Figure 18: Responses to question 23 How often do you feel exploited by other people in the escorting
business?
As figure 18 shows, once the results of „never‟ and „rarely‟ are combined, there is little
difference between males and females. The responses indicate that exploitation is not a
common occurrence, with very few participants indicating that exploitation occurs „often‟ or
„always‟. However, to understand more about the nature of exploitation that was reported, in
the next section I analyse the explanations provided on the survey, and draw upon interview
narratives to illustrate examples of behaviours that participants considered exploitative.
Of those that did report feeling exploited by others, the most commonly cited „other‟ were
third-party sex-work organisers, such as agencies and parlours. Over 40% (n=44), of
interviewees reported that they had felt exploited by third-parties. Although there were also
many very positive experiences of agencies reported, there were nevertheless some that had
behaved in an exploitative manner. Some of these complaints related to agencies charging
excessively high fees for doing very little, whereas others related to more serious or
unscrupulous behaviour.
189
Some participants were similarly very critical of parlours that they had worked in. However,
most were only negative about particular parlours, rather than parlours more generally. Some
participants were critical of parlour owners who took an unfair proportion of the sex-worker‟s
fee, and/or charged the sex-worker service rates that sometimes meant they earned very little
or even found themselves worse off:
I did parlour work for less than 12 months because it got stupid….the last one I
worked in, well at first you only gave half of your money, so say you earned
£30 you give the receptionist £15. Then they put the reception fees up to £40
and you gave the receptionist £40 for the day. And you had to pay that full
forty pounds to her- so if you did a £30 job you„d come out a tenner worse off,
so I said no. I walked out on April fool‟s day and they thought I was joking.
(F426-Bernadette)
Several participants described similar set-ups, but most only remained in such situations if
they were being provided with enough clients to make a reasonable amount of money
themselves, which usually meant seeing numerous clients per shift Although most participants
who had worked in parlours, had, in time, found parlours that provided a fair arrangement,
many reported having experienced exploitation by parlours at some point, and it was typically
when they were younger or less experienced. Rachel explains how, having started out in her
mid-teens, she had been very easy to exploit:
It took me three years to realise that I could walk away right?- she [parlour
owner] used to threaten us and I was quite young at the time and I used to earn
good money there and I really believed that I couldn‟t earn that sort of money
anywhere else- she convinced me of that, and I felt kind of trapped there and I
was too scared to walk away, because I thought, „I‟d be jobless, and I worked
when I had pleurisy and I couldn‟t breathe and it got to the stage where I
finished my shift and went straight to the hospital and she was on the phone
asking me “are you out of hospital yet? I need you in work”. And another time,
I was sore, from working, and I said, „I just can‟t do any more‟, and she says
“well you‟ll have to or I‟m going to sack you.” And I basically, well I was sat
on the floor with a bowl of water and a cold cloth, trying to cool myself down,
just to…I was actually nearly crying when I was doing the job because it was
so….well it was just so painful…but because there‟s no regulation, people can
get away with it and with the younger girls, they don‟t know, you see.
(F150-Rachel)
Although Rachel now had much firmer ideas about what expectations are acceptable as
opposed to what constitutes exploitation in terms of industry organisers, she nevertheless still
prefers to work in a parlour. Although she also did escort outcalls, Rachel had no desire to
190
work independently; she preferred the camaraderie of working with others and the
convenience of being provided with clients, for what she considered a fair fee. However, her
point was that finding a good parlour was very hit and miss, because women starting out have
no way of knowing who is, and isn‟t, likely to offer sex-workers a fair arrangement. Several
participants also said that when they had worked in parlours, they constantly had to look for
alternatives due to their workplace being raided or completely closed down; hence they mostly
now worked alone.
Selecting a suitable agency (from the numerous now advertising via websites and in printed
media) could be similarly unpredictable, as again they vary: not only in their charges and
services, but also in their expectations. For example, a common complaint from participants
was that they often felt exploited when they had no choice about accepting a client:
I did often feel exploited when I was working for an agency. I had to put up
with things I didn't want to (refusing would have got me fired from the agency)
But since becoming independent, I never felt exploited again. With agencies:
Refusing a client was possible ONLY when there was a safety threat
(obviously aggressive, refusal to pay) No other reason was acceptable, even
when the client was impolite, disrespectful, dirty or intoxicated.
(F274-Madeleine)
Being able to select or reject clients, on whatever basis, was something that many escorts said
was a major benefit of working independently. Their justification for rejecting clients could be
based on various things, including age (both too young and too old), race, disabilities, and
sometimes simply on instinct. This is more difficult in a brothel or agency situation, and
agencies differ in how much discretion they allow their escorts.
There was also more serious criticism levelled against agencies. For example, some
participants described situations where an agent‟s actions had physically endangered the escort
or when organisers hadn‟t taken their complaints about clients seriously enough. The
following excerpt is from an online interview with an escort, who, when working for an agent,
was neither adequately protected, nor supported, by her agent
191
F17-Holly: I went on an outcall once to a guy who-unbeknown to me-was on
the dangerous clients list at the agency I worked for. I arrived and the house
looked a state, clothes and boxes covering the whole floor, the guy himself was
tall, thin and rough looking, the whole thing felt wrong from the off. He started
getting rough, pulling, pinching at me and biting. I asked him to stop and he
did for a while, until he asked me to get in the 69 position. He had his hand
closed tight and I asked him calmly what he had in his hand. He opened it and
there was a flat razorblade in his hand, he simply replied “I only wanted to
shave you.” I was so terrified-I grabbed my clothes and ran out for the driver.
Suzanne: How come the agency sent you there if he was on the list?
F17-Holly: I suppose they didn‟t think I‟d realise or complain and just wanted
the money. The worst part was, the guy phoned when I got back and told them
and demanded his money back, which they gave him, and I didn‟t get paid for
that. I left that agency the next day.
This example shows how third-parties can exploit their escorts by taking advantage of the trust
escorts put in them. Although no agent can protect from every eventuality, in this scenario, the
agent could have foreseen the potential for harm and should not have taken advantage of
Holly‟s lack of knowledge about this client. It is not clear whether the agent differentiated
between clients who were deemed „dangerous‟ and those who were „banned‟. However, by
upholding the client‟s complaint by refunding his money, the suggestion is that the escort‟s
reason for terminating the session was inadequate, and also, that the agent‟s motivation for
doing so, presumably, was to encourage the client‟s continued patronage.
Failure to take suitable action in response to complaints made by the sex-worker was reported
by 12% (n=13) participants; 10 women, 1 transwoman and 1 male escort. In the example that
follows, another participant describes how an agency she started out with didn‟t want to turn
business away, even when they knew that a client posed a risk to women:
F321-Kelly: It did put me off for a while because he physically hurt me. He
wanted unprotected sex and no way, sorry, no way was I going to do anything
without a condom. And he only used his hand internally, but he did hurt me
internally, I certainly couldn't work for a few weeks.
Suzanne: did you tell the agent?
F321-Kelly: yes I did, yeah. And they said “okay we won't put you with him
again”. And what they should have said is that “we won't deal with him again
at all”.
192
Again, Kelly felt that her complaint should have been sufficient for the agency to blacklist the
client entirely; instead, other escorts would be at risk from him and if that was how complaints
were dealt with, how she could trust other agency clients? Although Kelly was new to sex
work at the time, she was nevertheless a mature woman with enough experience to know that
this was unacceptable, and consequently, she moved on to other agencies and then to
independent escort work quite quickly. However, her initial preference for working via an
agent was to learn the peculiarities of escort work with what she thought would be a „guiding
hand‟ into the industry.
Some agencies were also criticized for demanding free sexual services from escorts, either
initially, such as in the typical „casting couch‟ scenario, or as an ongoing condition of
employment. This was not reported by any male or transsexual escorts, but was mentioned by
several women. For instance Lily explains how her inexperience was taken advantage of:
I worked under an agency for a while, and the guy who ran it always expected
at LEAST a free blowjob (without protection) in the promise that he'd get you
work….demanding sexual favours from me for free. I mean by the time it got
later on in my career, I‟d got very good at just saying “no, go away” but when I
first started I was really shy and I just did everything….I thought that‟s what
you were supposed to do. And he could get very, very forceful. I mean I
remember he came round to my house to collect his money, which I wasn‟t
keen on him doing anyway. But, then he was stood in my doorway, with an
erection- still had his trousers on – and he just sort of grabbed my hand and put
it down there and said “ah, you‟re not going to leave me like that are you?‟ is
this what you do with your clients, leave them like this? And he was doing all
this stood in my doorway. This is the guy that was supposed to be
guaranteeing my safety!
(F203-Lily)
Although Lily was quite young at the time, several older women reported similar scenarios; it
was experience at sex-work, not age, which correlated most closely with being exploited by
third-parties. Most of these experiences were short-lived; however, as several women reported,
it isn‟t always easy to know who to avoid as a newcomer to the industry, and finding a
trustworthy and professional agent could be somewhat hit-and-miss.
193
Although there were reports of good male industry organisers, as well as female ones, a point
many women raised, sometimes based on negative experiences, was that they would never
work for a male organiser. Some said it was wrong in principle for men to profit from
women‟s sex-work, but more frequently, the argument was that men couldn‟t understand the
job from a woman‟s point of view. However, as other female escorts recounted, it was not
being the same sex that mattered so much, it was more that they didn‟t want to work for
someone who hadn‟t worked as a sex-worker themselves. In other words, being the same sex
was not enough; only another sex-worker could understand the practicalities of sex-work:
I wouldn‟t work for somebody who‟d never even, you know, worked it, I
wouldn‟t work for a man. I‟d work for somebody if they‟d retired from it and
opened up their own place because that person is more… I worked for one
woman and she didn‟t have a clue and she‟d do stuff like buy cheap nasty
baby-wipes – lemon scented ones – and when you‟ve just had sex twenty times
and you‟re sore, who wants a lemon baby wipe for God‟s sake? She just didn‟t
think, you know? Because she‟d never been there…I don‟t think they have any
business.
(F150-Rachel)
This was echoed by many women, and also by two gay male participants, who argued that
there were not enough agencies for men, run by men, and that only a gay man who had done
sex work would be in a position to advise or act for gay male escorts. This may be another
reason why fewer men tended to utilise escort agencies.
Another reason many women gave for choosing to work via a third-party was that setting up in
business independently can entail negotiating with a number of other service providers, which
again, without experience and contacts, can be problematic. Agencies and parlours often have
private arrangements with other parties, such as photographers and web-designers, as well as
firms providing security or transport. Although securing such services can be a necessary part
of any business, for escorts, they can present another opportunity for exploitation.
For
example, Gloria describes an arrangement between a parlour and taxi drivers:
for stag nights and that, the taxi drivers charge ten pound for each client they
take, so what happens is, you get poor girls working, who, full service and
everything for twenty quid, which is what the taxi driver got for that client
anyway….It totally stinks! Last year it was a fiver, now it‟s twenty quid -
194
because the parlours are struggling they‟ll do anything to get clients in, so if
they take four guys to a parlour they get eighty quid, plus they‟re getting the
fare, so they‟re actually making more money than what the girl is! I mean it
just stinks.
(F309-Gloria)
Although only one other woman reported something similar, most sex-workers would be
unlikely to be privy to the terms of agreement between the parlour and taxi drivers, so they
may not have known when they were being exploited in this way.
In summary, exploitation by third-parties was the most often cited example of exploitation
(other than by clients); however this was still only reported by a relatively small proportion of
participants. Of those that had experienced exploitation working for agencies or parlours,
some had replaced poor or exploitative agents with better ones now and others had gone on to
work independently. However, even working independently, as discussed in the following
section, is not problem-free.
Discrimination as Exploitation
One of the other ways in which participants felt that they were exploited in the course of their
work, was in terms of being overcharged for goods and services. Whilst there would be no
reason to disclose the nature of their work in most instances, if purchasing goods or services
for use in commercial sex (e.g., dominatrix equipment or bulk purchase of condoms), this can
be unavoidable. One of the most common complaints from participants was from women
running agencies or parlours who were paying to advertise their business in the local press.
The feeling was that they were being exploited by the media, simply because they were
advertising sexual services. Shelly, who runs an escort agency in the North of England, was, at
the time of her interview, considering pursuing legal action against her local newspaper, in
response to various discriminatory conditions and charges they had recently imposed on her:
The biggest exploiter in this industry is the media, for not letting you advertise
in one newspaper, then letting you advertise in another and carrying it on and
putting your advert up by 200% or 300%, that's just what's happened up here
195
just now. They charge us a lot more than John, the plumber- they hit us with
everything they can. For a half page advert I was getting charged £200 every
four weeks. I get a phone call telling me that it‟s going up to £4,800. They said
that I had been on a 94.5% discount. And I said “You are expecting me to pay
you 2-300% more for the same product, surely there has to be a law against
that?” It's the same size paper, the same advert, it can't be right. And that's the
exploitation that we have to deal with at the moment.
(F296-Shelly)
According to the Advertising Standards Authority “Advertisers who offer sexual services,
such as prostitution or sexual massage, are not acceptable”26, nevertheless, advertisements for
sex-workers and massage parlours have, with careful wording, appeared in the classified
section of newspapers for many years. Recently however, as part of a campaign against the
trafficking of women, there has been pressure to clampdown on allowing advertisements for
sexual services in the print media (Sweney, 2008). The unfairly high cost of advertising was
raised by several escorts, and, in particular, by escort agency owners. Although agencies tend
to be more dependent on newspapers for advertising than individual escorts are, many escorts
do still use classified newspaper advertisements, even if only to direct readers to their
websites. As well as overcharging sex-workers, Rachel points out that the newspaper press‟s
attitudes can also be hypocritical:
Is it fair that if I put an ad in as a builder, it would be half the price? They‟re
feeding off our „immoral‟ earnings. It‟s like every way you turn everyone
wants to make a crust off you. And then they have the audacity to write stories
on us, slagging us off! In the same paper-all the adverts in the back and then
there‟s like this nasty article.
(F150-Rachel)
Similarly, another way that women, and several men, felt exploited was in the way that they
were often charged with what they considered to be exorbitant costs by website owners and
designers, many adding that many webmasters could often be very difficult to deal with.
Although this may not be peculiar to escorts and escort agencies, the semi-legal status of sex
work and restrictions relating to advertising „adult industries‟ heightens the tendency to charge
26 See:
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/codes/radio_code/Radio+Code+Prostitution+Sexual+Services+and+Obscene
+and+Restricted+Material.htm (note 16.1)
196
disproportionately high rates. Several escorts complained that they felt they had little choice
but to comply with the requirements demanded by the site owners (such as those that provide a
directory of escorts) where they can pay to advertise. For example, one couple who do escort
work together express their frustration at having limited choice:
We receive most of our work through a website called Adultwork. It concerns
us that we are too dependent on their service and if we were to be removed
from the site would lose our only source of clients and, therefore, income.
(M-F51-James/Emma)
These participants‟ argued that because adult industries service providers are, by necessity,
“very impersonal and insulated organisations”, it is impossible to resolve disputes, and
furthermore, their semi-legitimate status protects them from normal competition, hence,
sexworkers are left with few alternatives. On the survey, in response to question 24 (If you
feel exploited in any way as a result of escorting work, by whom, and in what way?) 33%
(n=42) of respondents mentioned website owners. Some offered little specific detail; however,
some escorts explained that as well as being exploited economically by webmasters,
dependency upon the more popular sites put independent escorts in a disadvantaged position:
Some large advertising websites where escorts are listed don't always use good
customer relations in emails and requests for payment. They sometimes don't
inform when the advert is due for renewal then send a very arrogant demand
for payment saying unless payment is made immediately the escort will be
removed from the website. They realise they are in a position of power in terms
of advertising. Although I can be found via a search engine, most of my work
comes via these listing sites.
(F328-Camilla)
Although there is no reason this should be different for men, it is women who most frequently
reported being affected in this way; of the 42 respondents who mentioned this, 40 were
female. Three reasons may explain this gender bias. First, male escorts aiming their services at
other men are more likely to have their details listed on gay-oriented websites or magazines,
rather than in general print media. Male interviewees said that this was a very competitive
market, with the customer able to pick and choose who they would place their adverts with.
Second, women are more likely to work for agents, many of whom are also women, and
although it is the agency who pays for advertising, the high costs are probably also passed on
197
to the escort via agency fees; third, many men said that webmasters and other advertisers
simply “wouldn‟t get away with it”, partly because it would be perceived as homophobic. I.e.
conflation of homosexuality and male sex work may mean that to avoid being accused of
homophobia, advertising companies refrain from exploiting male sex-workers. It is not clear
which of these reasons is most influential in reducing the difficulties for male escorts;
however, the suggestion was that men were far less dependent upon advertising organisations,
whether online or in print media.
I don‟t think they‟d get way with overcharging because we‟d just use someone
else or do our own site and they need us more than we need them, so they can‟t
get away with it, though they do try sometimes, but there‟s loads of ways to do
it so you don‟t need them anyway, and they know that.
(M298-Ross)
A further point Ross raises here is that men who do have their own website often have the
technical skills to design and manage the sites themselves. Although many female participants
may also have had the capability, fewer women managed their own websites. Again, it is not
that women were being directly discriminated against because of their gender; nevertheless,
the result is that they can still be victimised in the context of their work.
Another way in which sex-workers are taken advantage of is by landlords who try to charge
sex-workers rental rates far above market value, on account of the work that they do. Here, it
can be reasoned that, as landlords, they are putting themselves at risk of being charged with
offences related to brothel-keeping27. However, although landlord‟s reservations about letting
premises to a sex-worker may have some substance, the way many participants saw it was that
landlords simply wanted to exploit sex-workers. That is, landlords saw escorts as being able to
afford higher rents and also knew that they would likely have fewer rental options; therefore,
they were not in a position to negotiate. However, several women said that they had had
difficulties persuading landlords to take a risk on them at all. Joanna was still struggling to
find suitable accommodation at the time I interviewed her:
27
Sexual offences Act 1956, s.33-36
198
With me looking for houses to work from I‟ve met a lot of walls, because
people around here do know of what I do. So I suppose in that way….and
because I‟ve spoken to landlords before and they‟ve said, “Look I‟ve got
nothing against you, but I am scared that if I rent you a place I‟m going to get
done”.
(F36-Joanna)
Not only does this make it difficult to find single-tenancy residential premises but if women
try to share costs by working together in rented premises then the options are even more
limited. Several women had looked at the idea of sharing premises only to abandon the idea as
just too complex:
And there's also, as far as I understand it, some strange laws relating to people
renting flats…what happened to them? I was reading some really complicated
stuff about…like if I bought a flat and rented it out to somebody else so many
days a week then I would get into trouble and that. It just seems so unclear, and
so it is hard for me to say, because it does seem so complicated, because there
are so many sort of slightly grey areas that people don't understand very well,
they just don't all makes sense to me.
(F62-Sienna)
The lack of clarity in law is a point to which I will return in chapter seven. However, the
present point is that there is reticence on the part of sex-workers to take risks by sharing
premises, and they often have no choice but to accept being overcharged:
Landlords that are aware that you are using their premises to have clients visit
charge double or more than what they would a tenant that had a "straight" job.
(F102-Miranda)
Not only do they get overcharged by landlords, but several women also commented on the
position of maids, or receptionists, who they felt were also taking advantage of escorts.
Although many women had sympathy for the receptionist who risks prosecution from a range
of offences28, some nevertheless felt that this didn‟t make it any less exploitative; the high
rates receptionist charged meant that they were still making too much money in relation to the
sex-worker.
28
E.g., brothel-keeping (Sexual Offences Act 1956, s.33) procuring (Sexual Offences Act 1956, s.22.1)
or controlling for gain (Sexual Offences Act 2003, s.53).
199
Overall, a wide variety of examples of exploitation were reported, and most of these were
attempts to take advantage of the semi-legal status of sex-work. For example, Shelly-(F296)
was asked to slip a backhander to a hotel doorman (who had also, incidentally, taken a
backhander from the client) before he would let her into the hotel; another female escort,
Jordan-(F504) found herself in a situation where a hotel manager demanded that she service
him without charge, knowing that she had hired the room to see clients. In both cases, the
escorts refused to comply with these demands. However, as several escorts complained, this
constant need to protect themselves from would-be exploiters was very wearing. As one
woman Fay, (F71) says, “People are always, daily, trying to make a buck out of women selling
their services”.
Moreover, some go further, likening the behaviours of those who try to take advantage of sex
workers as no different to that of a pimp, the traditional notion of whom, participants argued,
didn‟t feature in escort work:
I mean I emailed a guy who wanted £150 per day for me to rent his flat. So
what he‟s doing is taking the piss. The local newspaper charges us £100 for an
ad that would cost anyone else £20. They‟re taking the piss. They‟re all pimps
if you put it in black and white you know…you do have to stick up for
yourself, you‟ve always got guys trying to take the piss, and you‟ve always got
possible pimps around.
(F103-Bianca)
In terms of vulnerability to being taken advantage of financially though, the legally ambiguous
status of prostitution combined with, and exacerbated by, the stigma attached to prostitution,
means that sex-workers are assumed to have little choice. Also, organisations such as
newspaper companies, webmasters, and landlords, all know that the escort cannot pursue a
case for discrimination on account of their profession, even though it is clear that their sex
worker status is the basis upon which they are being overcharged.
This also makes sex-workers vulnerable to threats of public exposure. 35% (n=38) of
interviewees (including 1 transgendered woman and 4 men) reported that someone had
200
threatened to expose them. Furthermore, it is not only personal relationships that can
potentially be jeopardised; employers can also react to the knowledge that an employee is a
sex-worker. Four participants reported having lost their mainstream job as a result of their
employer having been made aware of their sex-work. Although in two cases the employer was
directly discriminatory, in the other two, it was more about protecting the business from being
associated publicly with prostitution. For example, Kelly had to leave her main job because
her employer was worried about how it might affect the business:
I was in mental health, that's where all my qualifications are, in mental
health…and I worked in a boy‟s home; you know a home for maladjusted
boys. And the owner said, “I don't care what you do in your own time, I really
don't care; I have got no problems with your work, and I trust you with the
boys, but this is a privately run organisation, and if they take it further I could
lose business”. So I had to go.
(F321-Kelly)
Before moving on to consider the escort‟s own exploitative behaviour, I conclude this section
with one last interview excerpt. Its significance lies in how it typifies the reaction to being
asked about exploitation, particularly by female participants. Their position is that it is the law
itself that is exploitative, because, rather than protecting sex-workers, the law victimises them,
which, in itself, constitutes exploitation:
The law should be protecting vulnerable people of all ages, all sexes and in all
societies, and then they should leave the rest of us, us that don‟t need
protecting, alone. It is supposed to be a free country. We should be free to
make our own choices. Now, either I am old enough to make my own decisions
or I am not. I am old enough to smoke; to vote; to drink alcohol; get married; I
can go and lay my life down for my country if I so wish, but I‟m not allowed to
decide what I want to do for a living? - That is me being exploited! I‟m sorry
but if that is the way that the law works then the law is exploiting me, not the
people that I see. The law is determining that I am a vulnerable woman. And
whose decision is that to make? Who has the right to decide that I am
vulnerable?
(F54-Ashley)
The effect of the law on vulnerability to exploitation will be discussed in chapter seven;
however, in terms of participants‟ subjective views of who was responsible for their
exploitation and in what way, legal and other associated institutions, featured explicitly in the
accounts of 9% (n=10) of participants, all of whom were female.
201
Escorts as Exploitative
As mentioned in chapter one, (see p.11-12) the notion that sex-workers can also behave in an
exploitative manner is a dimension of exploitation that has received little academic attention.
Because I wanted to explore the prevalence and nature of this phenomenon, survey question
31 asked whether respondents ever felt that they were exploiting their clients in any way.
26.9% (n=76) of women reported that they did feel that they exploited their clients. The
figures for men were slightly higher at 31.3% (n=42), and for transgendered participants,
36.4% (n=8).
What several transsexual women explained, was that by exploitation, they
referred to their endeavours to minimise the amount of effort that they had to put into an
appointment; they just wanted to service the client as quickly as possible and get him out.
This was not something that the other participants, male or female, reported.
Altogether 130 survey respondents reported that they felt they sometimes exploited their
clients; however, the range of explanations provided was very narrow. The most frequently
reported explanation, by far, was that participants were aware, and concerned, that some
clients could not afford their services. Closely related to this, was an awareness that as an
escort, they were taking advantage of people‟s loneliness.
Many participants made reference to how they felt guilty for charging clients so much, perhaps
‘too much‟, money, especially for longer/overnight jobs, for something they considered to be
'so basic‟. However, certain other factors influenced how far this notion of concern went; for
example, participants felt that they were being more exploitative (or at least were party to
another‟s exploitation) in certain instances, such as when the client had children (who should
be benefiting from that money) or if they knew the client was unlikely to ever find a non-paid
sexual partner (for example if they were not conventionally attractive, or were painfully shy,
socially inept etc). This was worse if the client became too emotionally attached to the escort,
and many recounted stories of clients who had been „let down gently‟. Overall, however,
202
although many noted that men did appear, to the escort at least, vulnerable in many ways, it
was rare that this was taken advantage of. Knowing that they were being paid substantially for
what is commonly classed as unskilled work was something many escorts thought
exploitative. For example:
They are paying exorbitant prices for what are otherwise basic services. I earn
more per hour than most professionals. Truth be told, if the market rate were
much less, I would still work in this field.
(F11-April)
This was echoed by several participants, male and female; many indicated that they thought
escort rates were too high. Similarly, although some escorts drew attention to their own
financial success which they felt was something the sort of clients they met with would find
appealing, for others, there was a tendency to play it down, to make clients feel more
comfortable:
If they think a girl is spending it on drugs or she‟s got a load of debts or she‟s
got a child, I think they are ok with that..I think if they knew I was paying my
mortgage off and thrashing my car about, laughing….if they knew the things
that we said about them, which is nasty, well not nasty, but we do take the piss
out of them.
(F103-Bianca)
The „we‟ Bianca refers to are other escorts with whom she chats with via the Internet. They
often share the same clientele and swap stories among themselves. This is partly because there
are so few people with whom they can talk about their work, and also to compensate for the
isolation of working alone, something many would prefer not to have to do.
While Bianca did mock and laugh about many of her clients, she also talked about times when
it seemed inappropriate to take advantage of them. For example, when I asked her whether she
had any disabled clients:
I‟d feel like I was taking the piss out of them. I would feel like I was exploiting
them. I had an old man once; he used to come and just pay me for an hour to
show me his paintings? And I wouldn‟t see him again either, because it‟s so
sad, isn‟t it? I mean I‟d rather a bloke just wants to shag me and go, and sorry
to be crude, but if someone‟s just coming for company, I just feel like I‟m
exploiting them, cause that‟s wrong; I‟d rather take them down the local old
people‟s club or something and introduce them to people.
(F103-Bianca)
203
The notion that clients often see escorts as a way to ease loneliness was raised frequently.
Some went as far as to observe that for some of their clients, they thought the actual act of sex
was something that justified the arrangement when what they really wanted was affection or
company. Clearly, not having interviewed clients about this, I‟m unable to verify to what
extent this is true; however, many escorts said that their clients often seemed to be, or said that
they were, very lonely people. It was also suggested that this was one of the primary reasons
for female clients hiring male escorts. One male escort described his client base as including
several disabled women and many widows, as well as women who were obese, disabled, or
not conventionally attractive:
I would not choose to have sex with a lot of the clients that I meet, so the client
is exploiting the fact that they have something that I want (money), and I am
exploiting the fact that I have something that they want (sex or
companionship). Feelings are exploited, because there are an awful lot of
lonely people out there, and it's quite a sad reflection on society, that someone
has to pay for an escort because they are deemed by societies‟ norms to be
unsuitable for 'normal' dating.
(M107-Grant)
It is not clear how satisfactory an answer hiring an escort is in terms of addressing loneliness,
though many escorts, male and female, did develop very strong bonds with some of their
clients.
What did make many participants feel guilty, and somewhat exploitative, was when they
sensed that clients could ill-afford their services. This next excerpt, for example, explains how
Madeleine tried to prevent clients from neglecting their family obligations.
I knock back clients. I‟ve got clients that I know cannot afford to see me
month-in month-out and so if they ring and I know they‟re really, really
scraping pennies together, or if I know that they‟ve got their wedding
anniversary coming up–because they do talk, because they don‟t know what to
buy her and things like that–I know full well that the wife‟s going to get nextto-nothing…so I will actually say to them “look, I‟m really busy” or “I‟m
going away” or something like that…just sometimes.
(F502-Madeleine)
Although deliberately turning clients away on this basis wasn‟t common, it was reported by
several participants, male and female. Many others also reported that they often chided their
204
clients into paying more attention to, and spending more of their money on, their families,
rather than on escort services. In contrast, no transgendered participants reported likewise,
with some adopting a far less sympathetic attitude:
Some I feel that are poorer or working class and I know that they do not have a
lot of money, but they choose to ring me and book my time, I treat my work
like any other business, if they can't afford me, they shouldn't come.
(TG070-Tina)
Again, this attitude was more widespread among transgendered participants. Although it was
not unknown amongst other gender groups, it was far rarer; most escorts were very conscious
of the fine line between reciprocal business relations and exploiting someone‟s social or
emotional vulnerability.
Also, rather than encourage emotional vulnerability, many men and women talked about how
they keep a look out for warning signals that a client might be becoming emotionally
involved; such behaviour did lead them to feel as though they were taking advantage of the
client‟s emotional state. Rather than take advantage of the potential this situation offered
financially, most escorts were keen to terminate the relationship in order to protect both the
client, and the escort‟s own conscience.
I‟ve met a few men that have become addicted to me and at first I had the
feeling that they were affluent men, but then I realised that they were selling
stuff, and then I have to say, “Sorry, I cannot see you”. “I have really enjoyed
your company but I can‟t see you”…I don‟t know if they transfer and start
seeing somebody else, that‟s very possible, but at least I know that I can sleep
well. I don‟t exploit it. I could get a house, a car; I could get anything, but that
would be dirty money. I don‟t want to do that. That‟s no longer a consensual
thing; it‟s an abusive thing.
(M168-Martin)
Some women did report benefitting in terms of gifts such as cars, and even property. However,
this text, taken from the survey response of an Australian escort, was the only one who
described this as in any way exploitative:
They fall in love and yes I feel I have exploited that. I would have been given
quite literally in two years of working A$500,000 or £200,000 in gifts.
Including a Mercedes SLK, jewels etc
(F82-Demi)
205
Many others described benefitting financially through being given gifts, but they did not see
this as exploitative.
An additional point raised by 7 male sex-workers, was that of exploiting men who were
ostensibly heterosexual. Whether because they are married or due to a more general fear of
disapproval, the fact that they experience desires that they wish to hide from people around
them meant paying for privacy and discretion. In this sense, participants felt that some clients
were obliged to use the services of sex-workers, and that perhaps it was exploitative to take
advantage of this. However, even if social (homophobic) pressure does make it difficult for
gay men to express their sexuality, and if they then feel they have little option but to hire a
sex-worker, as long as such clients are not charged more than other clients, (constituting
exploitation as disparity of value), then it is not clear that the client is being taken unfair
advantage of.
Many participants expressed an awareness and reluctance to overstep the fine line between
meeting demands for a legitimate service and exploiting an individual‟s emotional
vulnerability. This awareness is central to understanding what appears to be a contradiction in
my findings. That is, while many participants reported that they did exploit their clients in
some way, there is little evidence in their narratives to suggest that their clients were taken
unfair advantage of. Instead, my analysis suggests that rather than true exploitation, what the
survey statistics more accurately reflect is just how aware participants are of their client‟s
emotional vulnerability. Being aware of vulnerability does not, I contend, constitute
exploitation in any substantive sense. It could be argued that clients can be rendered
economically vulnerable as a result of a dependency upon an escort‟s services, and there is a
fine line between what constitutes a „need‟ as opposed to a „mere desire‟, which in this sense
is open to interpretation; however, the explanations provided by participants indicate that their
206
services are provided in spite of clients‟ vulnerabilities rather than because of them, therefore
it is hard to see this as taking unfair advantage of their clients.
In view of the responsible approach adopted by most participants, overall, I would argue that
levels of truly exploitative behaviour towards clients were minimal.
Unlike the women
described by Gall (2006:.195 as described on p.10), the women in my sample rarely took
advantage of men‟s inadequacies and although they were very aware of their own personal
power vis-à-vis their client‟s, they did not actively take advantage of it. Instead, while clients
can be more vulnerable, the vast majority of participants endeavoured to protect their clients
from emotional harm. Also, it must be remembered that the majority at 65.9% (n=294), did
not feel that they were exploiting their clients in any way whatsoever. Therefore, although
client‟s vulnerabilities can, no doubt, be manipulated by sex-workers (Morrison, 2007:.301),
for the escorts in this study, whether for altruistic reasons or whether simply because it
constituted good business sense, most endeavoured to minimise any harm they posed to their
clients.
Chapter summary and Conclusions
In this chapter, I have presented data relating to what participants describe as actual
experiences of exploitation. I have examined the prevalence and the character of exploitation
in terms of the main sources of that exploitation: clients, third-parties, and participants
themselves. To summarise, the majority of participants, male and female, were unable to recall
many examples of where they had felt exploited by a client, and most were insistent that
assumptions about their victimisation were misguided. Moreover, many argued that the
misconception that they were exploited was one of the most frustrating and insulting aspects
of their work. For transgendered participants, a higher proportion of negative experiences were
reported, and although this is unsurprising given the lack of mutual respect and more variable
power relations (as discussed in chapters five, see p.151; p.166), these were still a minority.
Overall, men reported a slightly higher level of exploitation than did women; however, women
207
reported higher levels of violent or threatening victimisation by clients. Overall, participants
argued that their relationships with their clients were no more exploitative than any other
relationship and if anything, a mutuality and reciprocity strongly featured between the two
parties.
Although overall levels of exploitation were very low, those that were described were mainly
limited to incidents that occurred when the escort was new to the industry and most often
related to experiences that occurred when the escort was working for a third-party. This is not
always the result of bad agency practice and may also reflect an escort‟s inexperience.
However, in many cases, the feeling of exploitation or harm was exacerbated by a lack of
supportive action on the part of the third party.
According to many participants, especially women, while physical exploitation was rare,
attempts to take unfair advantage of them in a financial sense were a frequent and persistent
aspect of their work. As women more frequently relied upon third-parties, whose standards
varied greatly, they tended to experience more complex types of exploitation; sometimes they
were exploited simultaneously by clients and industry organisers as well as other peripheral
business associates.
Finally, in terms of clients being exploited by escorts, although a third of all participants said
they did, on occasion, exploit their clients, the type of behaviours that they described, were
relatively benign in nature. If anything, their explanations demonstrated that for the most part,
they were more likely to show sensitivity to, and in some ways protect, their clients from
harm. Their comments also illustrate how often, accounts of sex-work are couched,
discursively, in terms of loneliness and sociability. Therefore the survey statistics, in reality,
reflect the high level of awareness participants had of their clients‟ vulnerability to being
exploited. Few admitted to taking advantage of this vulnerability in any serious way.
208
In conclusion, I argue that exploitation is far from prevalent in escort work. However, women
are more likely to experience violent victimisation, and this is closely linked to their greater
dependency upon third-parties, some of whom fail to protect and support sex-workers.
Additionally, I argue that escorts are exploited in an economic sense; in particular, they
subject to discriminatory practices. This also affects female escorts more frequently than male
escorts, because of social stigma and assumptions about women‟s lack of choice to engage in
sex work. In the next chapter, I will move on to examine what role law plays in reinforcing
these assumptions, as well as, what role it plays in protecting sex-workers from exploitation.
209
Chapter 7. Law and Vulnerability to Exploitation
7. Law and Vulnerability to Exploitation
In chapters, four and five, I examined vulnerability to exploitation in terms of participants‟
motivations to work in the escort industry, and their level of vulnerability in the context of
their relationships with clients. In chapter six, I went on to consider participant‟s actual
experiences of exploitation. To complete my data analysis, I now look specifically at the data
that informs my third research question: What impact does law have in terms of sex-workers‟
vulnerability to exploitation? My interest here is in understanding to what extent law plays a
protective role for sex-workers, and conversely, whether, and if so how, law negatively
impacts upon their vulnerability to exploitation. I am also interested in understanding whether,
and in what ways, this differs by gender; however, as will become clear, female participants
were more frequently affected by the law, and this is reflected in the way that many of the
points raised, came from women.
As has been shown in previous chapters, few participants in this study see themselves as
vulnerable to exploitation. However, as discussed in chapter six, whilst experiences of
exploitation are low, some participants, male and female, do suffer some exploitation as a
result of their work. The nature of that exploitation varied, and the sources of exploitation
included a range of individuals that escorts come into contact with. Although my survey
didn‟t ask directly about the effect of law, it does still provide some indication of the influence
of law for respondents. For example, analysis of the responses to question 27 identifies that
the threat of law is one of the two main ways that participants felt threatened in escort work
(the other being the threat of having their work exposed publicly). However, predominantly,
the data I discuss in this chapter is taken from interview narratives.
All interviewees were asked what, if anything, the law, and the criminal justice system more
widely, meant to them, both in the context of their work and also whether, as a result of their
work, law affected them in their private lives. Although over half of the interviewees were
210
resident in the UK, and therefore much of the discussion will be most relevant to British
legislation, I did also interview escorts working in other countries, and their views offer a
valuable comparative contribution. During the period of data collection, proposals to redefine
brothels to allow women to work collectively,29 were being given much media attention, and
so this was discussed in most interviews, particularly with female escorts.
In organising my analysis, I have identified three themes that run through the data: law as
ambiguous; law as isolating; and law as a deterrent. I now take each of these themes in turn,
and in the final section, I will discuss what, collectively, these themes tell us about the role law
plays in the lives of escorts.
Law as Ambiguous
When I am explaining my research topic to people, whether in an academic setting or in a
social context, I am often asked: “is prostitution legal or not?” This is usually because, while
some people may suspect that selling sex is not illegal, frequently, media discourse, such as
references to „reform of the laws on prostitution‟ or someone „being held on prostitutionrelated charges‟, suggest that it is. Uncertainty is intensified by the linking of sex-work with
human trafficking. This aura of illegality is the context in which sex-workers go about their
work, and in this section, I use my research data to illustrate the impact this has on escorts. In
particular, I show how, for many, it is the lack of clarity about what is, and is not, legal, that
poses the greatest problem for them in their job.
Confusion about the technical detail of the law is unsurprising, given that many of the laws
relating to prostitution are aimed at either street-workers or at third-parties who profit from
prostitution. Frustration about the lack of clarity regarding the legality of prostitution was
mentioned by 21% (n=23) participants, with 12 making reference to how it was a „grey area‟.
Women who were new to the industry found it difficult to know how best to work without
29
The Strategy (Home Office 2006) discussed at p 68.
211
committing an offence. Joanna, for instance, lived in a rural part of Wales and with no parlours
in her area, she tried to set up as an independent escort:
I must admit when I first started I did something really silly; I went round all
the phone boxes and put my business cards out. I didn‟t know it was illegal.
But for a few weeks after, I had cop cars following me; everywhere I went,
there they were.
(F36-Joanna)
Having previously lived close to a red-light district in Birmingham during the nineties, at
which time it was common practice for sex-workers to advertise this way; Joanna hadn‟t
realised that this form of advertising had since been criminalised30. Many participants were
unsure about where they could safely advertise their services. Even though soliciting for
custom via a website is least likely to be problematic, as several participants cautioned,
advertising on the internet is still soliciting in a public space. Policing the internet is presumed
to be too difficult a task; however, several participants resident in the US reported that they
had been forced to take down their websites under threat from the police. Where prostitution
is totally prohibited this is more likely; however, it does show that the Internet is not
impossible to police. Furthermore, as Trish explains, policing priorities change and she tries to
advise new escorts not to be too specific about sex:
When it comes to using technology it‟s all a very grey area…and people in this
industry can be so ignorant. Like their websites, when they use acronyms and
they‟ve got it listed on the site, you know the different services, they don't
realise that they are putting things on their websites that are telling people
certain things…but you can‟t tell people this, they won‟t believe it….But
people will play on the fact that a lot of ladies in this industry are ignorant
about what their rights are, and of what the law is, and how it would affect
them. People play on that. You know, people prey on them and blackmail
them….and it‟s the same when it comes to working with other girls. “We can
have one girl we can have several girls we can have this and that - no we
can't”. But some people, no matter how many times you tell them it didn't go
through the common law, they will say something like, “well I saw somebody
who said it was”. And I think it's a change that would be welcomed [allowing
mini-brothels], because a lot of girls would find it safer.
(F600-Trish)
30
Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 Section 46 prohibits someone placing "on, or in the immediate
vicinity of, a public telephone an advertisement relating to prostitution".
212
Confusion about whether the definition of a brothel had been changed to allow small numbers
of prostitutes to work together was mentioned by many participants, and while some knew that
the proposals had not made it to the statute books (see p.67), others were not sure, and several
incorrectly thought that they were now allowed to work in small groups. Unlike many others,
Trish had thoroughly researched the legal status of prostitution before deciding to start escort
work, and she was very cautious when it came to advertising. She was very aware of the legal
status of working collectively as she would have preferred to do so herself. However, instead
she had worked with an agency initially and now, although independent, she minimised her
risks by only doing outcalls.
In contrast, Keira also researched the legalities of prostitution and preferred to minimise her
risks by working from her own home, which she shared with two men: her boyfriend, Markus,
and a friend, Peter, who handled telephone enquiries for her. Keira describes how frustrated
she felt about the dilemma between protecting herself by having other people on the premises,
and protecting those around her from risk of prosecution:
As far as I have found reading up on it, and they are always difficult to
interpret of course, because what is okay for one it seems like it's not okay for
another, but it seems to me like the maid is probably more at risk than the girl,
which is silly because for safety you are encouraged to have somebody else on
the premises and then when you get somebody else on the premises you put
yourself and that person at risk. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
(F204-Keira)
As Marcus played no part in organising her business, he should have been relatively safe from
prosecution. However, because of his involvement with Keira‟s sex-work-related duties, Peter
was potentially at risk of prosecution for „controlling for gain‟.31 Keira was not, as far as I
could possibly ascertain, controlled or coerced in any way; yet potentially she was putting her
friend at risk of prosecution. The fact that Keira‟s friend was male, I would argue, would have
31
Sexual Offences Act, 2003 s.53.
213
further reinforced the notion that she was being exploited because that scenario better fits with
media images of a pimp.
One of the problems mentioned by many participants was that references to prostitution as a
legal problem is reinforced by the media, particularly when someone of public interest has
been exposed for purchasing sex, or when there are stories in the press about trafficked women
being „rescued‟ from brothels. However, even documentaries and debates about reform can
cause confusion:
We are so unclear about the laws here. It is so contradictive. I mean we all
thought that selling sex was legal but buying sex was illegal. But then we
watched this Ann Widdecombe programme [see n.25, p.174] and she says that
buying sex was legal but selling sex was illegal…but we really don‟t know
where we stand with it. None of us actually know. However we try to comply
with the laws, which are very unclear and contradicting, we seem to always be
breaking one part of the law!
(F36-Joanna)
Media discourse about prostitution portrays, often very powerfully, an impression that selling
sex is illegal. Carl, an independent escort working in London, expressed his concern about
after having recently heard two radio debates about prostitution. He describes how a notion of
assumed criminality exacerbates sex-workers‟ vulnerability to exploitation:
Both programmes were really trying to focus on the criminal lives of
prostitution. I was really worried because of course they were focusing on
exploitation and non-consensuality, and I think that that‟s really dangerous
because if you criminalise things, they are going to get much worse, or much
harsher, for men and women, for both. And then there is going to be
exploitation because they are making out that they are already committing a
crime anyway.
(M069-Carl)
Carl‟s point was that the programmes were very biased, and gave the impression that all sexwork was criminal. Similarly, as several participants stressed, because there are specific laws
relating to prostitution, the impression is given that prostitution is illegal. For example:
It‟s like on the TV and that, every week, there they go, talking about
prostitution laws and they make it sound like it is already illegal so if they said
that they were getting rid of all laws to do with prostitution then maybe then
people would think “oh ok, so it is legal now then” - even though it always has
been anyway. Do you get what I mean? It would start to give people the
214
message then, not keep them thinking that we‟re breaking the law so I think we
should just get rid of all the prostitution laws and let people know that the law
doesn‟t have a problem with it.
(F504-Jordan)
Jordan is suggesting that if prostitution was decriminalised, the public announcement of that
change would make it clearer that the selling of sex is legal, despite that fact that it always has
been.
Recent discussions about proposals to criminalise clients have rekindled the idea that sex-work
is illegal. As this participant explains, clients are sometimes unsure about their legal position:
There are a lot of stereotypes about what I do, and perceptions that it is illegal,
which it isn't. No legal issues whatsoever. I am not street-walking. What I do
isn‟t actually illegal; but it‟s a common myth and many people belief that it is.
A lot of the men that come to see me think we‟re doing something illegal and
it‟s the first thing that I put them straight on “you are not”, “you‟re not
breaking the law by being here” and if you work on your own then that‟s ok,
what needs to happen is the law needs to be clarified. It doesn‟t necessarily
need to be changed but it needs to be clarified so that it is quite clear to
everybody. Then it‟s up to them which side of the law they choose to be on.
(F54-Ashley)
Several industry organisers commented similarly, that clients are not always sure of their
position.
I've had instances where clients have been attacked by girls, stalked, followed
home, threatened etc., and they don't feel there's anywhere to go either.
Because they feel it's illegal, that they‟re not meant to be doing it. So, what the
law actually does is it keeps everybody at a disadvantage.
(F187-Kathy)
As the owner of a brothel, Kathy had familiarised herself with the relevant legislation, and
confusion about the law is one of the reasons women gave for preferring to work through a
third-party rather than independently. However, even industry organisers can find the laws
confusing, and since the police can exercise much discretion in how those laws are applied,
many organisers said that they failed to see on what criteria decisions were reached. One
escort, who had worked in various ways and at different levels of organisation, had a good
relationship with her local vice team; still knew that she shouldn‟t push her luck:
215
My opinion is that at the moment, the law is a very grey area and they are
deliberately using that, because it is such a „can of worms‟. I ran flats around
south London…the vice squad, they would like to get to know us because they
like to know who we are, how we operate; who works with who….and they‟ve
been to a place of mine and left it open, and for whatever reason, shut the place
down up the road….I think it is such a can of worms.
(F103-Bianca)
The inconsistency in how prostitution is policed was noted by many participants, and it was
argued that there was little logic behind who is, and isn‟t, permitted to operate sex-work
venues:
It‟s like the law says that only one girl is allowed to work, and you go to
Manchester and there‟s parlours there that have got like 8 or 9 girls working all
at once. How do they get away with that then?
(F309-Gloria)
Many organisers confirmed that the women who worked for them were often confused about
their legal position, and that this renders them vulnerable to exploitation. Kathy explains how,
given the lack of clarity, escorts are easy to manipulate:
But the laws are so mental. I mean, officially, everybody thinks it‟s illegal in
Britain. So, you know, as far as the general public and girls who come from
foreign countries know, it's against the law, because officially, it kind of is.
Not per se, but it is…..It's all a setup; the only people that benefit from the laws
are the people who try to manipulate and control people…..you know if I go
out to my place and I say to the girls “right you lot, this is all illegal, you are all
going to do what I say or else I'm going to report you all”- well they are going
to do what I tell them, aren't they? And I would say that they are quite ignorant
of the law, and I think the way that it is now, well its encouraging exploitation;
because girls who are working, don't feel that they are meant to be working, or
that they are legally allowed to be working, and that the consequence of them
working is going to end in arrest. So, people who want to exploit women find
it really easy, because, they can say “you're not meant to be doing this, you'll
get arrested, your children will be taken into care, you have to do what you‟re
told or we're telling”. That's very, very common. They threaten to tell your
family or the police, tell social services, so they can control people using the
laws as they are now.
(F187-Kathy)
Although, like other industry organisers that I interviewed, Kathy was keen to ensure escorts
were not misled in respect of their work, there is no doubt that some organisers would take
advantage of sex-workers‟ ignorance. This was reinforced by several participants who said
that they had remained with unscrupulous third-parties when they first started sex-work
because they had been threatened with exposure to the authorities. In the UK, with pressure to
216
„disrupt‟ the indoor markets (Home Office 2006), it is becoming difficult for third-parties to
provide the right kind of working environment for sex-workers. As Kathy, who had recently
had her premises shut down twice (at a cost of £20,000, including a £12,000 security system
she had had installed) explains, there is little reason to be confident as police attitudes and
priorities are constantly changing:
The way the law is at the moment, it leads to an air of fear, and uncertainty,
you know, because nobody knows if they are going to be shut down, nobody
knows if we are going to be raided, what they're being raided for or what the
consequences of that might be. So, it means that girls are always concerned
about what they‟re doing and where they're going to go. It‟s completely
horrendous. And it lends itself to doing it badly and doing it on the cheap….to
have no security and just send customers in, you know, I would make so much
more money….but that‟s what the law lends itself to.
(F187-Kathy)
Confusion about the legal position of sex-work exacerbates escort‟s vulnerability to
exploitation for a number of reasons: first, unsure how to work legally, they are more likely to
start out by working for a third party, and some third-parties will take advantage of that
ignorance. Also, although some sources of advice exist, including websites aimed at sex
workers, many escorts didn‟t know who to seek advice from. Also, 8 participants said that
although they were fairly sure they were not breaking the law, it was generally better to „keep
your head down‟. The following excerpt shows how clarity presents difficulties for all parties:
I suppose I don‟t see the existing laws as doing anything wrong, but the main
thing is that people need to understand what the law says, so that people feel
and know that if anything does happen to them, whether they are an escort or a
client, or anybody else, that they can go to the police and not get locked up.
But people don't understand the laws, and if they understood it better, if
something does happen to them…I mean I understand that for other reasons
they may not want to go to the police, but if something happens to them, then
for God‟s sake….if they go and see someone who takes the money and doesn't
provide the service or whatever, you know it's a lot of money to be ripping
someone off of. So many people, women and clients, they don‟t understand
the law because it is such a grey area, or at least people think it is.
(F062-Sienna)
As Sienna points out, the confusion about legal rights is reflected in client‟s reluctance to go to
the police if they are victimised by a sex-worker. In this respect, the notion that law is
somehow „unavailable‟ to sex workers and their clients is a direct affect of the ambiguity in
law. Currently, in principle, both sex-workers and their clients should have the same rights to
217
police support as any other citizen; however, a sense of illegality leaves many feeling that
legal protection is not available to them when sex is being traded. The need to protect both
clients and sex-workers from exploitation was argued as equally important. For example, Fay
points out that allowing crime to go unprosecuted is bad for the industry generally and the sex
industry should be treated the same as any other:
Blackmail is blackmail, and crime harms the industry as a whole…..clients are
almost as badly defended as prostitutes can be! I don't think that seeing an
escort should be seen as a „no-man‟s land‟ with no legal protection.
(F71-Fay)
Most interviewees were asked about how confident they felt about using the police as a
resource in the event of being a victim of crime at work. Of the 44 with whom it was
discussed, 12 participants said that they would feel able to take their complaint up with the
police; however, 32 participants said that they would not feel that they could do so. There was
no noticeable difference by gender.
For organisers, being aware of their legal rights was part of running their business, and they
considered they had a right to support from the police, which was usually forthcoming:
In London, the police are not interested in busting escorts. If you are robbed or
beaten or given counterfeit money, any girl that this happens to, my advice is to
immediately ring the police. The police are far more interested in arresting a
violent man than arresting a sex-worker who is not on the street….the police on
the ground are not interested in giving escorts a hard time. They are interested
in people who genuinely break the law.
(F257-Kerri)
Kerri runs an escort agency in London, but her confidence in the police was echoed by other
organisers in various parts of the UK, so there is no reason to suggest it is only London.
However, not all London escorts had the same confidence in the police that Kerri had. I did
find though, that in major cities, women felt more able to call upon the police in the event of
being a victim of crime in work. This may, in part at least, be more to do with greater
anonymity as well as the higher prevalence of prostitution in cities. For example, Sienna,
speaking from another large UK city, says that she has always found her police force
completely supportive.
218
I know other women who‟ve got good relationships with the police. I mean I
know the nice ones that I can ring if I have any problem. I wouldn't have any
qualms about it. I think their attitude is “look it's not you lot that cause any
problems; you don't cause the problem whatsoever”, so they are completely
supportive.
(F062-Sienna)
I didn‟t clarify what Sienna thought the police had meant when they said „it‟s not you‟, though
I suspect it might be that they were referring to escorts in comparison with street workers, and
several participants did stress, as it was street workers who were working illegally, by
publically soliciting, it was only street workers who need be concerned about police attitudes.
I asked Melinda, a participant who said she would have no hesitation in calling on the police,
whether she would be honest about the context in which the crime had occurred.
Yes, I would, but then I think I'm a confident and articulate kind of person, and
if the police tried to put one over on me and offer me any less of a service than
anybody else, they would hear about it! They really would hear about it. So I
wouldn't hesitate. So I do think it depends upon your personality and whether
you're a timid kind of person, or you know….also, I just wouldn't let anything
get in the way of what I believe is right. I'm like that. Just because the
Government doesn't care to make it public knowledge that they take earnings
from taxes from prostitutes and that pays for services like that and God knows
what else, fine, that's their business, but it wouldn't stop me. No, I would
demand.
(F105-Melinda)
Melinda‟s point about being a confident and articulate person, and moreover, one who knows
her rights, is relevant here; not all participants were equally confident and not all pay tax on
their escort earnings. Furthermore, being honest about the sex-work context, particularly given
a loss of anonymity, is not always easy. For example, an escort based in rural England,
suggests that while she would exercise her right to legal recourse, she is less sure about
disclosing the nature of her work:
I would just go to the police. I would have no reservations. Now whether I'd be
totally honest or what, well I don't know how nice my local police force is, but
if there was a problem, that would be the first thing I would do, pretty much. I
think it is important to make „problem‟ men, who might think I'm an easy
target, make sure they know that it's not like that at all; that they don't muck
with me.....it wouldn't be getting lads out to break their legs or anything like
that–no, it would be the law. I pay my taxes.
(F101-Jane)
219
Again, Jane is a confident, educated woman; one who was familiar with her legal rights and
she was keen to distance herself from any kind of illegal cultures. However, later in the
interview, she explains that her confidence in the criminal justice system does have limits:
If I got raped at work, I would still….and that's the really tricky one though,
because how on earth do you say it was rape? I mean I wouldn't even attempt
that. I would…I don't know what I'd do. I think unless it was rape with some
sort of assault where it is obvious that I had been bashed about, then I would
probably more likely try to play the „he's beaten me up‟ card rather than the
rape card, because with the rape thing, I could just imagine I would get
annihilated in court.
(F101-Jane)
So in the event of rape, especially without evidence of force, Jane would be far less confident
about her legal position, as were several other female participants. However, one male
participant argued that the police would take a female escort far more seriously than they
would a gay male sex-worker:
Women have it so much easier- I‟ve had arguments with female escorts before
about this; although there‟s a huge injustice between women and men in
society, when it comes to escorting, women have it a hell of a lot easier. If they
get raped they go to the police and they go “look I‟ve seen a client and he‟s a
man” and they listen, for a gay guy it‟s not taken so seriously and if things get
violent, if you go to the police and you say “well he beat me up”, if a woman
does it, they're more likely to pay attention and give her sympathy, it sounds
horrible, but female sex-workers- people have sympathy for them, but males
sex-workers, they just think silly boy, scabhead.
(M300-Scott)
However, Scott‟s assumptions about police sympathy and support for female sex-workers are
overstated if the views of many of the female escorts in this study are any indication, including
some of those who spoke from experience; not one of the three escorts who had experienced
rape in the context of escort work had taken legal action. Sabrina explains how she took a very
fatalistic approach to the whole experience:
Once I was raped. This guy invited me to a place and then without money he
just pushed me onto the bed and just raped me. I didn‟t fight back. I thought if I
don‟t just let him, then he might hurt me. I could have reported him but I just
thought “no”, I wouldn‟t be reporting him because of the job that I was doing.
They would say that “it was your fault, you shouldn‟t get into this”. And so I
got over it.
(F288-Sabrina)
220
Uncertainty about police attitudes was common among many male and female participants,
but was particularly strong amongst the transsexual participants. For example, when asked
whether she would have confidence in going to the police in the event of being victimised by a
client, Chloe, a London-based escort was adamant that there was no point:
Oh no. No chance. I‟d have no chance….and I mean I‟ve been lucky, but there
is always the possibility that the next person you meet could be a nutter. But if
I went to the police and said “oh I‟ve been beaten up” I wouldn‟t feel able to do
that. It‟s about the social-stigma as much as anything, but not only that, the
burden of proof as well; if they come up with some kind of story like I went for
him or whatever, who are they going to believe? Don‟t forget, you‟re a hooker,
in somebody‟s hotel room, and he‟s somebody who‟s quite well monied and so
on, so who are they going to believe? Who‟s the judge going to believe? Who‟s
the jury going to believe? So what‟s in it for the police to arrest this guy?
(TG503-Chloe)
Chloe suggests that the police would have little incentive given that the case would probably
fall at the first hurdle. Although she didn‟t cite her transsexual status as relevant, 4 other
transsexual women did believe that this added to their stigmatisation and thus decreased the
likelihood of being treated fairly by the police.
Another point raised by participants was that sex-workers are considered by some to be
„undeserving victims‟. Gemma talked about how the media refers to the victimisation of
prostitutes as though their sex-worker identity explains everything, and adds:
And I think that is why, personally, one of my other objections about the law is
that that‟s the very reason people are being exploited half the time, because the
women don‟t get the protection that they need. I get the impression sometimes
that people think “well, if that‟s what you choose to do, you are an immoral
person and so you don‟t deserve any kind of protection”.
(F282-Gemma)
This is a prime example of the way, as observed by Kinnell (2006:.164), violence against sex
workers is allowed to serve as a deterrent; discouraged from taking legal recourse, sex
workers‟ vulnerability to violence is exacerbated. 7 participants reported that they had had
negative experiences of the police in the past in the course of their work, and as a result, didn‟t
feel they could rely on their support:
221
I have been present at a police raid on the agency I used to work for and felt
threatened by the police. I was belittled and disrespected by them. I didn‟t feel
like I was in a position to go to the police, no, if there was no stigma
surrounding authority and the police, lots more girls would be more likely to
use their rights instead of putting up and shutting up, like they do now.
(F017-Holly)
Many women, like Holly, felt that it wasn‟t worth drawing attention to themselves if their
complaint was not going to be taken seriously. As Holly also suggests, not only is the legal
status of prostitution a factor, but equally, the level of stigma attached to commercial sex has
implications for sex-worker‟s ability to draw on the criminal justice system. Similarly, Martin
an escort who had recently moved to the UK from Canada32 argues that the stigma in the UK
has the effect of denying escorts legal protection:
In Canada I would go to the police and you will get immediate help.
Immediately. I don't think I could feel like that here. Not only because of the
law, the way it is framed here, but also because of the class system and because
of the huge stigma that this profession has here. So I think here, escorts, male
or female, are completely unprotected. They are on their own.
(M168-Martin)
The idea that sex-workers are „on their own‟ in some way was an argument articulated by both
male and female participants. New Zealand- based participants in contrast reported having far
more confidence in their police system since a regulationist system was introduced in 200333.
They spoke positively about how they could not only work without fear of prosecution now,
but that they also felt more confident about drawing on police resources when they were
victims of crime.
Because sex-workers can now safely go to the police and press charges (and
have name suppression in the process) so they are a lot less vulnerable.
(F018-Britney)
32 The laws on prostitution in Canada are very similar the UK, insofar as the exchange of money for
sex is not in itself illegal. However, many Canadian cities license escorts to do outcalls; indoor
prostitution remains illegal under Bawdy House provision. For a full discussion on Canadian
prostitution, see Jeffrey and Macdonald (2006)
33
Prostitution was decriminalised in New Zealand and a regulationist system introduced in the
Prostitution Reform Act 2003. See Brooks-Gordon 2006: 52; Barnett, 2004 for further discussion.
222
Rather than female escorts being treated more sympathetically by the police than men, it may
be that fears of, or discomfort with, homosexuality, may offer men added protection from the
law. For example, Tabatha noticed how during a raid on the escort agency she worked for, the
police were only interested in the female sex-workers:
At the escort agency, the one I started work with, they had started an
investigation and as it happened, when the bust came, I wasn‟t there. But
everybody that was making their, well they call it their „drop‟, you know where
they pay in their commission to the agency. So at this bust, they said that they
were letting all the men go, but they were retaining the girls. Why was that? It
was never explained, but seeing as they were dealing with gay men….I didn't
think they wanted to deal with the issue of gay sex.
(F034-Tabatha)
Similarly, Connor, a retired escort who has worked in various countries and now runs an
escort agency, explains the way in which homophobia plays a protective role for male escorts:
I mean the problem is they do try to entrap male escorts, but the thing is, it's
uncomfortable for the police because of homophobia. Imagine the police
officer‟s mates, they are going to be joking “ah, you're pretending to be a fagot
to go bust this escort”, you know? “I hope he doesn't give you a blow job or
give you HIV”; you can imagine what the police would be like. So I think that
the homophobia actually kind of protects the gay community from being
busted as frequently as the girls.
(M87-Connor)
Not only does homophobia play a role in protecting male sex-workers, but while women tend
to be treated paternalistically, men are not seen as in need of protection in the same way.
Moreover, politically, the connection between homosexuality and male sex-work means that
the two issues are still conflated:
They would assume a man knows what he is doing and that he is responsible
for whatever happens to him, but these dainty little women need to be
protected….I mean it is prohibited here but with varying degrees of
enforcement….also, the big cities for escorting: New York, San Francisco, LA,
have such a vibrant, active gay political community that if any vice squad tried
to…..well I think it would cost votes. I think it would turn into a political
football that no one wants to touch. The gay vote is so coveted in those three
cities, and other large cities, that I think police and politicians stay well clear of
this…because it would come across as gay-bashing and therefore be verboten.
(M155-Bradley)
Although again, this is in the US context, as Bradley is pointing out, offending the male sex
work community could be seen as discriminating against homosexuals and in this respect there
223
may well be additional political sensitivity. This implies that not only are men less likely to be
arrested on prostitution-related charges, but it also suggests a greater likelihood that male
escort‟s own complaints would be given more attention.
As discussed in the previous chapter, sex-workers are also vulnerable to other types of
victimisation, such as blackmail, theft, and being stalked. 6 participants mentioned having had
at least one client whose behaviour had become worryingly intrusive and many had felt
threatened, but again, most had not sought legal protection. The general feeling among
participants was that sex-workers‟ vulnerability is heightened because of the quasi-legal status
of prostitution. That is, potential offenders know that sex-workers are unlikely to seek legal
recourse and that even if they did, the police would be unlikely to take it seriously or pursue it
with the same level of determination as they might if the victim was not a sex-worker:
Generally, you would just see it as a risk of the job, just one of those things,
one of those risks you run…and there is probably less hesitation in somebody
thinking of say robbing you, because they will be thinking “what she is going
to do about it? How is she ever going to trace me? Are the police going to find
me even if she did report it?”
(F282-Gemma)
The vast majority of participants, male and female, said that lack of police support was just
something that „went with the territory‟. The exceptions to this, i.e. the 12 participants who
said that they would feel able to take their complaint up with the police tended to be either
industry organisers or just generally more assertive, experienced and confident escorts who
were very aware of their legal rights.
To summarise this section, I have used my research data to illustrate that for many escorts, it is
the ambiguity and lack of clarity about what is, and what is not legal, in terms of selling sex,
which makes them more vulnerable to exploitation. Most participants knew that prostitution
was not illegal, however, many, particularly those who were new to sex-work, were confused
about how to work legally. This was particularly evident in two ways: in terms of how to
advertise their services and in knowing whether they could work with other escorts.
224
Confusion about the law was often why women preferred working for an agency or parlour;
however, this could also then be taken advantage of by unscrupulous third-parties.
Furthermore, ambiguity in law had an additional consequence insofar as it made sex-workers
(and their clients) feel that law in the form of police support, was unavailable. Consequently,
the majority of escorts felt that because of the quasi legal status of sex-work and the stigma
that was attached to prostitution, they were „on their own‟; because potential exploiters would,
rightly in many cases, assume that the sex-worker would not pursue legal recourse in the event
of being victimised, sex-workers appear to be, and so become, easy targets for exploitation.
Both the stigma and the confusion about the legalities of sex-work were thought to be
exacerbated by media stereotypes and to have been further rekindled by recent discussions
about further police reform. In this next section, I focus on the ways in which participants
reported that the laws surrounding prostitution also increased their vulnerability to
victimisation by pushing them into working alone.
Law as Isolating
The argument that escorts are „on their own‟ is not only relevant in explaining a lack of police
support, but was also the way that most of the escorts in this study worked. Some escorts said
that they would choose to work that way regardless of legal restrictions; these escorts were
typically older and more experienced. Their experience, and a full working knowledge of their
social and legal rights is reflected both in their confidence in dealing with any authorities they
needed to in the course of their work, and in their having little need for third-party services.
These escorts argued that hiring any third-party was neither necessary, nor the most profitable,
way to work. For example:
I think anybody that wants into this business and wants someone to take their
calls for them and organise their appointments shouldn't have a place in this
business anyway. It‟s a very personal thing, so, I think for their own health and
their own sort of the mental side of things, it would be better for them not to.
And if they can't take it upon themselves to speak to the guys directly to
225
arrange things, then they're not going to be very comfortable getting their kit
off in front of them.
(F102-Miranda)
Miranda‟s comment suggests that it is embarrassment or shyness that motivates people to
involve third-parties. However, while this may be the case for some sex-workers, others see it
quite differently. For some participants it is not nervousness about the direct physical
interaction that poses a problem. Instead, there are other aspects of being independent about
which they are disinclined. For example, Ashley explains it is about both privacy and
flexibility of time, and that having children can mean both are lacking:
I've got a family to take care of, and my son is only six years old. I can be
there for him and for parent-governor meetings. I can be there for anything at
all as required. The work is very flexible, which gives me what I need. What I
don't need is somebody turning into some sort of stalker ringing again and
again. Agencies are needed, especially when privacy is an issue, because some
people don‟t want their phone ringing night and day; certainly if they‟ve got
kids at home that are of an age where they will just pick up your phone and
say: “Hello?‟ Oh! Wait on - I‟ll get me mum” (sic).
(F054-Ashley)
Another aspect of working independently that doesn‟t always appeal is the business
organisation. The business aspects of working independently shouldn‟t, according to several
participants, be underestimated; successful independent escort work is not just about spending
time with clients. It can also involve many hours of work each day handling business-related
tasks. Sienna wasn‟t using an agent at the time of her interview, and she found the business
side of working independently very time consuming:
I mean you are running a business and it can be hard. You can spend so much
time organising the business side of things. For somebody like me, I do a lot of
touring and I spent my life organising my diary, booking hotels and all that
kind of stuff. There‟s an unbelievable amount of time spent on it. So I know
some women just can't deal with all that, and so in that case they might want
someone else to do that for them, and in that case I think as long as that person
isn't taking too much, as long as the woman gets a service that she wants then
it's got to be paid for somewhere.
(F062-Sienna)
Certainly, it is unlikely that anyone is going to invest that amount of time and effort in any
business without payment and the escort industry is no different:
226
When it comes to security checks and that sort of thing; I think its protecting
them. And realistically, if you want somebody to devote themselves to that sort
of job – and it‟s pretty much full time if you‟re running an agency like that,
why should anybody be expected to do that for nothing, so people have got to
be able to profit for it to work.
(F402-Donna)
Although some women had reservations about men‟s involvement in sex-work management,
most participants thought agencies and well-run parlours provided valuable services. Such
third-parties were thought to be very different from the traditional „pimp‟, who was seen as
someone setting out to control women. Few women had ever met a real pimp, so their
perceptions were based on media stereotypes. However, although less than a third of
participants had any experience of parlours, most had experience of escort agencies, which
they viewed as a valuable service they might elect to pay for:
Well an agency is just like a booking agency. They are handling the
advertising; they are handling the promotion; they are handling the enquiries on
the phone. They aren‟t telling anyone “you will use this agency”. And there
are a lot of women who wouldn't be able to cope answering their own
phone…they wouldn't be able to cope answering their own email. A lot of
them don't even have access to the Internet anyway….they prefer having the
agent do that and then just phone them or send them a text. You know a text
might just say, “Matthew at one o'clock for one hour”.
(F500-Trish)
Another reason participants cited for not going independent, is, as discussed in chapter six,
that advertising costs can be very high and can involve terms and condition, such as paying
contract periods in advance. Not all escorts are in a position, or want, to make those outlays:
Some girls don't want to become independent, because then they are not paying
advertising fees. I mean adult ads in the paper are a lot of money. And then
you don't want to be getting calls all day and night. Some don‟t even want to
talk to the clients over the phone. It's like with the agency, you text your
availability in the morning, and then she texts you when there is a booking.
Then you ring her when he arrives and text her when he leaves, so she makes
all the phone calls and she keeps the website up to date, and all you do is pay
£50 out of the £150.
(F399-Michelle)
The point Michelle makes about not wanting to talk to clients over the phone was not only
about privacy and discretion. Several women also said that out of modesty, they found it hard
to „sell‟ themselves over the phone; so rather than „blow their own trumpet‟, they would prefer
227
someone else describe them in the third-person. Furthermore, while they enjoyed the client
interaction, some escorts just didn‟t want to spend time on the more mundane business tasks:
There are girls out there that genuinely can‟t be arsed to find the work, do the
promotions stuff and so parlours suit them…it‟s all done for them, so someone
has to do that part for them and they pay them for that. What harm is there in
that? The reason [third-parties] get away with taking so much off the girls is
they‟re putting themselves on dodgy ground with the law so they earn it- so
they are not being exploitative necessarily.
(F227-Ingrid)
As well as needing agents, sometimes sex-workers also need working premises to be provided,
because for various reasons, it might not be feasible to work from their own home:
Some people don‟t have the premises to work from, like when I worked for a
parlour, and I was quite happy to pay for the security and all that, that was ok.
Someone would take photographs; I wouldn‟t have to pay for that, that‟s all
fine. That‟s what I needed then.
(F204-Keira)
Not only do some sex-workers not have the facilities to work from home or the option of
paying for separate premises themselves, some also want the company and the relative safety
that shared premises provides. Again though, confusion about what was and wasn‟t legal
meant that some women felt that although working alone compromised their physical safety,
working with others might compromise their legal status, therefore, their physical safety had to
be sacrificed. For example, I asked Monica if she ever worked with anybody else:
I do work with someone sometimes. But again, the law means that two girls
can't work together from the same premises, so again that's really dodgy
ground because….there is somebody I know who is in [neighbouring town],
and she wants to work from the same premises that I use, but I am really
reluctant because I don't want to get into a background where they can come
down on you and say "oh there is more than one woman working on these
premises". I know the law says you can have somebody as a receptionist as
long as they are not working, but surely it's safer if you are all working
together. God!
(F050-Monica)
The other point that several participants made about the benefit of being allowed to legally
work with other sex-workers is that it would, to some extent at least, decrease their reliance on
agencies and brothels. Instead, the cost of premises would be more affordable if shared with
others, and they could also share other costs such as utility bills, advertising, and security etc.
228
Women who felt that they didn‟t have the time, experience or skills to organise themselves
could choose to work with others without handing over too much control of their business.
Cooperatives of women are great- i.e., sharing the usage and rent of a work flat
and cost of ads split equally. There's no reason why even the most clueless
woman can't get into a cooperative flat if she doesn't want to have the hassle of
'managing' herself.
(F071-Fay)
Although this suggests that allowing mini-brothels could have a detrimental effect on agency
business, even the industry organisers who participated in the research believed that allowing
several sex-workers to work together legally would be a positive move:
But as far as the law is concerned, if you took away the rules, i.e. if you
allowed three women together, then basically, it could bring down - get rid of the wrong kind of agency. It would be more controlled by the women because
you would have three ladies working in one place and they could help out each
other and run it themselves. They would pool their resources between them,
you see.
(F296-Shelly)
The further point Shelly makes is that the reason women can end up in the hands of poor or
exploitative agencies is that they are often approaching them when they are at their least
experienced, i.e. when they are fairly new to the industry. With the option of working instead
with other escorts, they would be less likely to „blindly‟ seek out a third-party.
I think the amount of girls that can work together should be lifted totally; after
all if other people are about it would be less likely that we‟d get hurt or
something goes wrong. At the moment they are thinking of making it so 2 girls
can work from one place but it‟s just not enough. They always think along the
lines of a pimp. Why can‟t a group of girls just share a house - it‟s safer and
cheaper…..if it was legal to run then they wouldn‟t ask for so much because
more people would offer to run it.
(F227-Ingrid)
As Ingrid says, allowing two may not be sufficient, and besides, there seems to be little
reasoning behind any arbitrary number, other than those relevant to normal business
constraints such as licensing requirements, to ensure that the premises are suitably placed for
business purposes. In practice, while two women may be safer than one, as Trish, who only
does outcalls argues, there is far less potential for vetting a client who is visiting a sex-worker
at his or her own premises. Therefore, whilst outcalls are risky in terms of not being in
229
premises controlled by the escort, for an incall, there are additional risks which can be
minimised by the presence of other people:
I think it's a change that would be welcomed [collective working], because a lot
of girls would find it safer. I mean if you do incalls you don't know who is
coming to your door. And if there is somebody in the next room, the client
doesn't even need to know they are there. It is just that wee bit of extra
security, which most of us would benefit from, because I can't imagine
thinking, “oh someone is coming at two o'clock, who is it going to be?” “Are
there going to be two of them?” And if you're going to visit someone, there are
various checks you can do to make sure that they are who they say they are.
But when someone is coming to visit you, very few people do the same checks,
and the guys wouldn't want to give all that information anyway, if they are
coming to visit.
(F500-Trish)
Participants, familiar with the notion that all third-parties are seen as pimps and that brothel
owners were often portrayed in the media as the „lowest of the low‟ argued that not only are
the owners and managers of sex-work venues often retired sex-workers themselves, but many
organisers, male and female, are still active sex-workers too. Several participants were, or
have been, both active escorts and profited from the organisation of others themselves. Bianca
argues that the criticism they attract is not always justified:
Well, you can always sit there slagging them off because you‟re giving them
money, but you need to learn the ropes that way I think. You need to know
what you‟re dealing with and you might be really lucky if you set up on your
own straight away, especially if you‟re older and you know what you‟re doing,
but if you‟re 19 years old and you think all men are nice and you don‟t
realise…..you don‟t know what you‟re dealing with….you need to be talking to
other girls. And some of my friends are still doing parlour work now because
they‟re not very strong personalities, and I‟m not criticising them; that‟s what
they are, they like to be sitting with the receptionist and they don‟t want to man
their own phones, they want someone else doing the advertising, and a lot of
parlours will spend £600-£700 a week on it, which is good for the girls. People
slag off the parlours but it‟s not necessarily fair.
(F103-Bianca)
The kinds of benefits Bianca describes were things that many participants mentioned as
valuable and many said that they would be more likely to use third-parties or create their own
working group if there were no legal issues with doing so. Kathy, who employs many female
and male sex-workers, argues that the law as it stands now is harmful to both sex-workers and
organisers:
230
The girls need to be cared for and organised, because a lot of them, they don‟t
want to do that, you know that‟s not what they want, they don‟t want to be
running a business; they want to be an employee, they want to have no
responsibilities. And they want somebody to look after their security and their
safety and their well-being. The clients, they want to know that they are a
getting quality service at a sensible price. And they want to know that they are
safe and to know what to expect. Now without somebody in the middle of that,
that can‟t really happen. You know girls do try and go off and work on their
own, and they physically can‟t do it. The law is making it more difficult for
everybody though. Every single aspect of the law makes it more difficult and
dangerous for everybody.
(F187-Kathy)
As Kathy says, the opportunity to work with other escorts can be invaluable, and she said that
this went for male and female escorts alike. Although for some this was an option they wanted
only when first setting up as sex-workers, for others, there was no desire to work
independently. Instead, the company, the feeling of belonging, the shared knowledge and
expertise, and the lack of responsibility were all important; some simply felt happier that way:
I made a lot of friends there, and the receptionist, she was a good laugh. We sat
around and watched the soaps between clients and got take-outs if it was quiet.
I lived-in for a while and I used to go downstairs even when I wasn‟t on shift
because I just liked the company. And [parlour owner] looked after us girls, she
was like an agony aunt really, we were always moaning on to her….so if I
needed to go back, if things don‟t work out with [boyfriend] then I‟ll just move
back in, too right.
(F504-Jordan)
Like many women, Jordan misses the company of others. The subject of loneliness and
isolation were discussed in most interviews and although many escorts valued the social
aspects of their interaction with clients, many escorts, especially those who lived a „doublelife‟, still found working alone psychologically difficult.
Loneliness I think is the real drawback. It does get incredibly lonely and I
think most working-girls will say that. The internet has been a godsend in that
there are forums ….I think the real isolation comes from not being able to
openly discuss what you do.
(F428-Madeleine)
This was echoed by many other women, with many references to „sitting alone waiting for the
phone to ring‟, and „not having anyone to talk to‟. Altogether, 28% (n=31) of participants
described escort work as very lonely. As Madeleine points out, the Internet has provided new
opportunities for social networking which many do take advantage of, however, as this next
231
excerpt shows, some women still prefer to pay to work in a parlour with the company and
support of other women:
You can feel very isolated and down…it is a lot better working with somebody
else; especially when you get on well because you have a good laugh and that,
so….and it takes the monotony off it, especially if you‟ve had a day where you
haven‟t done many. If you‟re on your own that day will drag, whereas if there‟s
two of you, it‟s like, oh, is that the time already?
(F309-Gloria)
Many other women also reported positive experiences working in parlours and while
sometimes they may have less choice about whether to see someone, this wasn‟t always the
case; many said that while rejecting clients limited their earnings, they could decline to take a
client for any reason. Furthermore, in a situation where brothels can operate legally, as argued
by this Sydney-based sex-worker, where a regulated industry operates34, if the third-party does
not offer good value for money then they simply won‟t survive in the business:
Brothel owners take very good care of the girls, always friendly, have food and
drink available, will go out to the shops and get anything they need, because if
the girls aren‟t happy they will go elsewhere and they will have no business
left.
(F302-Jodi)
Similarly, Christina, an English woman who first worked in New Zealand soon after the
decriminalisation of prostitution there, (see n.33, p.224) says although she works
independently in the UK now, working for an agency was a good way to start up, not only for
practical reasons, but also in promoting a positive psychological approach to sex-work:
When I got to Wellington, I heard about this lovely place which was geared
towards the higher end of the market. I learned a lot about being proud about
what you do, not being used by men ….you know, it is an exchange at the end
of the day and you are in control. And so I learned a lot and I realised it was all
about having pride in yourself. And I mean, yes, people have a bad impression
of the industry, but they don't know the half of it.
(F075-Christina)
34
New South Wales adopted a partial policy of decriminalisation of prostitution in the 1995 Disorderly
Houses Amendment Act. For a critical account of the contemporary governance in New South Wales
see Scott, 2005:.254-272.
232
Christina thought the system in New Zealand worked well, and that having good, regulated
third-parties was an important feature of their system. A frequent argument, supported by
over 85% of interviewees (n=92) was that third parties should be able to operate legally:
If there was less low life running brothels or pimping girls…I wish brothels
were legal.....every time I see a new client I worry that he might be a psycho
and beat me up, and I‟ve had 3 lucky escapes....working with other girls with a
bouncer on the door would be much safer….the main thing is to make it
properly legal and then we could get protection.
(F197-Lisa)
In terms of protecting sex-workers from being taken on by the wrong kind of third-party, be
that a parlour or an escort agency, it was argued that in a system of licensing, it would be
easier to inform sex-workers who wanted to work for a third-party so that a decision could be
based on comparable, documented, licensing criteria.
Because, let's say they did shut somewhere down, if a girl could make an
informed decision, like “here's a register of all the places that are licensed, that
are police-checked, that conform to a standard of various things”, now I can
choose out of all these places and make that choice about what I want to do and
where I want to work, rather than take hit-and-miss.
(F187-Kathy)
Most of the women who I interviewed had, at some point in their escort career, worked either
for an agent or another third-party, and although, as described in chapter six, there are many
negative reports about exploitative practices or dangerous incidences that had occurred as the
result of poor practice on the part of a third-party, many others reported positive experience
while working for, or with, other people. Overall, the negative versus positive experiences
were fairly equal, and this was the same for male participants; it wasn‟t being female that
make the experience of working for a third-party more exploitative. However, more women
needed them more frequently than men.
I don't think there's any girl who didn't start with an agency first before
becoming an independent. Agencies are not a bad thing they just need
regulating in some way.
(F399-Michelle)
This was the feeling of the vast majority of participants who discussed this subject. Men also
reported that agencies could be beneficial in terms of learning the industry:
233
So after two months, I got a place of my own, and I stopped going through the
agency, and the agency was helpful to get to know the business, because there
are little nuances that I wasn't aware of. And the legality, I was not sure what to
do and what not to do, so it was pretty useful for that.
(M168-Martin)
However, like women, some men also chose to remain with agencies:
If we ever feel uncomfortable with a client we are free to leave the room at
anytime and not do the job. I am always in control and it is made clear to the
client via the agency I work for that some practices are degrading and
unacceptable. I am therefore booked on that basis.
(M193-Richie)
This male escort had no plans to go independent and like many other participants who had
experience of working for a third-party, he had found an arrangement that suited him.
However, situations can change, and several participants reported having worked in a variety
of ways depending upon their individual personal and domestic situations. For example:
I started independent and now work for an agency. I hate handing over my
schedule to someone else because sometimes I would prefer to not work even
though I gave them my available hours for that time. Otherwise, they are
respectful of us as escorts. So working for an agency, it doesn't feel full-time.
They handle all the calls. They handle all the advertising. I don‟t have to do
any of that, all I have to do is take a text message with the information and go
there. It's really nice but they do take a lot of the money, so….and the agency
owns four flats-that's what we use, they pay the rents and manage them. It's a
lot easier to have an agency, especially in this setting, where I'm not doing it
from home.
(F436-Christina)
For Christina, who lived with her husband in a rural location where having visitors would be
noticed, an agent that provided premises was the set up she needed, and she also mentioned
that there was a comradeship between her and the other escorts with whom she shared the
flats. Her comment about handing her schedule over to someone and then not wanting to work
that day was one of the biggest drawbacks mentioned by independent escorts about escort
agencies. Shelly, who started escorting when her children were young, now runs her own
agency as well, and she is very aware of the difficulties this poses as she has been in both
positions:
You see, an agency to me is for ladies who have families and can't answer their
phones all the time. So that's what an agency is for. And there is a lot of work
goes into it. And a lot of people think, „oh, right, you just phone a number and
234
a girl comes over and then you take some of the money‟. But you know it's not
like that at all. From an agent‟s point of view, a lot of agency ladies are
unreliable due to their situations. They give you availability through the week,
and then it gets to Friday, and they turn their phone off. Then you have
disappointed clients, and what have you. But that's because basically they
cannot run themselves, so you have to accept that they need an agent. I
remember the days when I couldn't answer every call, and I couldn't do
everything that I would have had to have done, or can do now.
(F296-Shelly)
Shelly knows from experience, that particularly in the early days, and especially if women
have children or partners at home, escorts cannot always meet their commitments. Having a
complicated or erratic home life is another reason women might need to depend on a third
party, whether that be purely as an agent or by paying someone a fee for also providing
premises and security. Essentially, the argument is that organisers in sex-work are no different
to organisers in any other business. They vary hugely and there are plenty of good ones as well
as poor or even blatantly exploitative ones. Organisers are needed for those who do not want
to undertake the responsibility and liability of running a business (and in that respect it is no
different to someone who chooses to work for an established business in any other industry).
Furthermore, agencies can provide certain services more easily than an individual can.
Although an independent escort can source most of these services on an individual basis, they
may involve a larger financial investment than a sole operator would want to make. For
example, employing security staff or having the facilities to accept credit card payments:
We have web site designers, photographers and a set of services that many
escorts do not have. My brothel also provides language translation services,
marketing, safety, security, credit card acceptance, etc., things that would be
very difficult for an independent escort to attain on their own.
(M087-Connor)
The benefit of taking credit card payments is not only that it reduces the amount of cash to
secure, or even just for client convenience; it also serves a security purpose in that if a client
has paid by credit card, he becomes traceable, and so would be unlikely to pose a threat. When
Connor worked as an escort himself for six years, he found some of the agencies that he
worked for to be disrespectful and exploitative. Although fewer male escorts used agencies,
235
there were usually similar reasons for doing so. For example, for Bradley, to pay a third party
is just not a good business strategy, and for this reason, he would not recommend doing so, but
he does recognise their value:
I think somebody is a fool to use their service, I think you can do better on your
own, but if what the agency is offering appeals to them that is fine. I think it's
a bad business decision but that doesn't mean it isn't fine for it to be there. It
just means that two hands that have to be fed instead of one, so…..I mean….I
did work with somebody through an agency, and he was wonderful, and he just
liked the fact that he just called up the agency and they would tell him where to
go that night and he doesn't have to deal with any of the websites or any of the
phone calls himself. So I do understand it, but he is making perhaps half of
what he could be making. But if it is convenient for him not to have to deal
with it then, that‟s great; he‟s outsourcing and that‟s fine, that‟s all it is, more
power to him.
(M155-Bradley)
The point is, the way the current law works, means that at present, although selling sexual
services is perfectly legal, sex-workers have very little choice about how to work, especially
when it come to working with other people. Participants in this research are assumed to be
privileged to work independently, and some enjoy that privilege. However, not all sex-workers
want to work independently. Although some escorts had no desire to work with others, the
need to be allowed to work collectively was supported by 89% (n=96) of interviewees, and
none said they were against the idea35.
According to the majority of participants in this study, many of whom have considerable
experience of the sex industry, there is a valid place for, and need for, third-parties to operate
in the sex industry providing services to sex-workers in both the form of agency and sex-work
venues such as parlours or brothels. Both kinds of sex industry organisers can provide services
that are valuable to male and female sex-workers. They are particularly useful for women
however, given their greater need for third parties in the first instance. The argument is that by
putting them at risk of being prosecuted, third-parties feel their risk must be compensated for.
This means the few services that are available are charged out at disproportionately high rates.
35
The subject of collective working did not arise with all interviewees
236
The result is that sex-workers, more often than not, feel that they have no choice but to go it
alone; by aiming to penalise those who organise prostitutes and make a living from their
earnings36 the law isolates sex-workers from those around her. In other words, as Keira (F204)
argues:
More often than not it boils down to the fact that the law aims to protect us but
it is actually doing us more harm. That‟s the problem.
However, law often succeeds in preventing sex-workers from working with others, because,
despite the misconception that sex-work is connected with illegality, and criminality more
generally, for the most part, escorts were, or at least endeavoured to be, law-abiding citizens.
Law as a Deterrent
Having discussed how the laws relating to prostitution are both ambiguous and isolating for
sex-workers, in this final analysis chapter, I want to illustrate how important it was to the
participants of this research to work within the law. Therefore, I finish this chapter by
discussing what participants had to say on the wider subject of the power of law as a deterrent,
and as a regulatory tool, in the context of sex-work.
Although not all participants were asked directly whether they worked within, or tried to work
within, the legalities of their particular country of residence, the indication that they did so
often emerged from discussion of other aspects of their work. For example, some participants
who, as adolescents, had aspirations to do sex-work had chosen to wait until they could do so
legally:
I decided when I was around 13-14 that I will do this occupation when
becoming of legal age
(F274-Madeleine)
Similarly, as the next extract shows, Britney, who had been thinking about taking up this
work, had waited until New Zealand decriminalised prostitution, and would only continue in
sex-work if that situation continued:
36
CPS 2008
237
Prostitution had been legalised in NZ 4-5 months earlier. I decided that if I
wanted to give it a go, now was as good a time as any… legalisation is
fantastic. I‟d certainly quit if they went back to the old ways.
(F18-Britney)
In this respect, criminalisation does act as a deterrent to men and women thinking of taking up
sex-work. Some participants also mentioned that an additional effect of legalising all aspects
of the sex industry would be an increase in the number of sex-workers. This, they argued,
would make it unprofitable because of the increase in competition; however, it also suggests
that criminalisation is an effective barrier for some people. Some participants were asked
directly whether they would continue working as escorts if there were no legal way of working
at all, and many said that it would deter them:
If I couldn‟t work legally I wouldn‟t work at all, no, and if they did make it
against the law then I‟d stop. But I hope they don‟t because I don‟t want to end
up working at Tesco‟s for six quid an hour or in some call-centre. But you see
they say women have little choice, but that would be their choice, not mine and
mine might not be the same as theirs...so yes, I would stop if they made it
illegal but it pee‟s me off because I don‟t want to work for a week just to get a
day‟s money.
(F440-Leanne)
Leanne argues that although it would deter her, the idea that women only work in prostitution
because they have no other choice is a false assumption; some women choose prostitution in
preference to other jobs and don‟t want to be „helped‟ back into „normal‟ work; what they did
want is provision to work legally.
A few participants travelled worldwide working as escorts; however, some participants
preferred not to work in jurisdictions where prostitution was prohibited outright, such as in the
United States37. This can simply be fear of arrest, although criminalisation can also have a
negative impact on relationships with clients:
It‟s a lot scarier to work in America and having done both I can safely say I
don‟t ever want to do it in America again. It's too scary. And because it's
illegal, because you have to worry about whether the guy is a cop, if he's going
to arrest you, or if it's a sting operation, because of that, nobody trusts each
37
With the exception of some counties in the state of Nevada, where a regulated system exists. For a
comprehensive discussion of US prostitution policy, see: Kuo (2005).
238
other, there's no trust going on at all. That means they can't trust you either
because you could be a cop…so it just makes it a very, very scary environment.
(F436-Christina)
Similarly, some participants turned down overseas bookings if it meant breaking the laws of
the country in question. Even though these types of trip can be very lucrative, it simply wasn‟t
worth the risk:
I have a guy who has said a number of times “let‟s go to the States” and I don‟t
want to go to the states because it is illegal there and I don‟t want to have to be
paranoid about doing it if it is illegal I just don‟t want to take that risk, it's a
kind of paranoia. I wouldn't do it if it was illegal.
(F62-Sienna)
Clients can also be deterred by the legal implications of commercial sex and so some
American clients for example come to the UK to see escorts purely because they know that to
do so in their own country would run the risk of criminal conviction:
I know a lot of American guys who come here solely to purchase sex. One guy
who lives in LA and I think, in January this year, he came over to London, so I
saw him most days for a few hours, so he spent a few thousand pounds, and he
literally comes over just for his supply of sex which to me is ridiculous. I can't
imagine planning my orgasms for weeks in advance, but some do, well they
have to really I suppose.
(F102-Miranda)
While participants who had worked in the US reported that the level of enforcement of
prostitution laws varied state-to-state, as Miranda says, if clients wanted to use escort services
legally, then their only choice is to travel to jurisdictions where they can do so without fear of
arrest.
The subject of government proposals to criminalise the purchase of sexual services (Home
Office, 2006) was not discussed with many participants. Such proposals were only just
emerging at the time of data collection, however towards the end of the interview period, some
participants were asked about this topic and they were all very much against the idea of clients
being penalised. The topic provoked exasperation at the naivety and ignorance of policymakers, saying it was a „stupid‟ idea, and that it would make life harder for both sex-workers
239
and their clients without any real gain. Moreover, some argued that as paying for sex already
often raises issues of inadequacy, and as sexual services are often sought out in times of
loneliness and emotional vulnerability, being made to feel „bad‟ as well as „sad‟ could
exacerbate negativity.
If they end up criminalising men it will cause all sorts of problems, and there
will always be ways round it, but men don‟t deserve to be criminalised. All
they want is love and attention, what is the big deal? They may be a little sad,
but they don‟t deserve to be criminalised.
(F75-Kristina)
As Kristina also says, some clients will inevitably ignore or circumnavigate the law. However,
those most likely to do so, will include those who are the least welcome as clients:
I just think it would be a terrible thing. Some of the clients I have met, if they
were made to feel….well if I chose to carry on doing it and I‟m not sure that I
could do that, but if I chose to, so then the only kind of customers I would get
would be the guys that don‟t actually care about whether they are breaking the
law and being nabbed for doing this, therefore they‟re going to be the real…the
kind of guys that I don‟t want. They would essentially be criminals and they
wouldn‟t care, so they would be the kind of people that believe themselves to
be beyond and above the law, so therefore they wouldn‟t care so they would
have no respect for me and what I do, so, you know … it would just create a
huge black hole… making customers at risk of becoming a criminal it is taking
the choice away from respectable women like me, which aggravates me no
end.
(F204-Keira)
As Keira points out, again, the question of how such a move would affect her own legal
position would probably prevent her from doing escort work. Furthermore, as Gracie, a
London-based independent worker points out, penalising the purchasing of sex would make
working alone even more perilous:
How will criminalising men help us? Who‟s it supposed to help then? They
don‟t get it, do they, because they think driving it more underground than it
already is will help, but I mean I‟ve got a regular who‟s a police officer and he
says they get fed up of having to bother with it when there‟s no harm being
done and he says they‟ll never bother with us girls as long as we work on our
own. But why should we have to work on our own? You make it dodgier for
clients by making them feel like criminals but you still make us work on our
own - well that‟s asking for trouble, isn‟t it? Don‟t you think?
(F511-Gracie)
I would argue that it does seem that the effect of criminalising the purchase of sexual services,
together with efforts to „disrupt the indoor markets‟ could have a very negative, and
240
potentially dangerous effect on sex-workers, many of whom have already been discouraged
from working with other escorts. Fear of arrest was also what prevented several participants
from becoming industry organisers themselves. Even if, as experienced escorts, they probably
could run a brothel successfully, knowing that they ran the risk of prosecution was too great a
deterrent: 6 women mentioned that they had thought about becoming organisers, but, had
abandoned their efforts to provide services for others, because it was too risky:
I‟d love to see changes; I‟d love to be able to run a brothel. I could do it, I
could run a good business, but I wouldn‟t do it; it‟s too risky. So if the law
changed that would be good. I could market it and I could do well, I know
how to run it, how to do good. But there are too many complications here; it‟s a
bit twisted all this stuff. It‟s too dodgy; I‟m not going to get involved.
(F288-Sabrina)
Even women who had already worked as organisers in the industry were being put off doing
so, despite the fact that they were under pressure to keep premises open so that friends would
work together more safely. For example, Bianca, who had thus far had a good relationship
with her local vice squad, said that she just couldn‟t risk it any longer.
That‟s why I‟m not doing it at the moment, because I‟ve had four [parlours] on
the go at a time, but lately, it‟s got a bit tight, the police are right on it, so that
made a difference to me, which it should do because I am a working girl just
trying to….well, I‟ve have my mates working there. But I can‟t take the risk they could nick me, though I don‟t think they would. I do have a tendency to
play with fire, but I think I'd better leave it alone for now.
(F103-Bianca)
Although many participants did insist that they wanted to work within the law, it was also
argued that law created and reinforced much of the social-stigma. In this way, it was suggested
that law has a responsibility to reduce exploitation by helping to change public attitudes
towards sex-work:
What is exploiting, and what is exploitative, is the way that society sees it, the
law, that‟s how we are exploited and that‟s what creates more exploitation
further down. That‟s what creates it because it shouldn‟t be criminalised, it
should be legal, it should be above board, it should be a proper profession. If
they dispensed with the laws it would still take a long time for social attitudes
to change, for sure, but if it is not against the law then surely that takes the
bottom bit away therefore the top will perhaps kind of disperse after a
while…with that bottom core there, as it is there now, it is always that fear of it
being against the law, if that goes, maybe the barriers of social attitudes would
be easier to cross.
(F204-Keira)
241
What Keira is suggesting is that even though changing the laws would not bring about
immediate success in changing public attitudes, the law underpins and reinforces social-stigma
and so with decriminalisation of prostitution, social-stigma would gradually subside.
Similarly, Gemma argues that people do, rightly or wrongly, look to the law to tell them what
is wrong. Therefore, morally, given the ambiguity about law as discussed, the moral status of
commercial sex also remains confusing and ambiguous.
I think a large part of society doesn‟t realise that selling sex is not illegal. They
think that it is illegal, so it gives them the impression that it must be wrong.
(F282-Gemma)
Furthermore, as Rachel argues, by having prostitution-related laws, the inference is that sex
work is somehow immoral as well as criminal:
I mean why do we have laws about prostitution anyway? What I find is that
lots of other things tend to be judged on what the law is; in a way, it's like with
drugs, with the law, because drugs are immoral, yeah? And everyone is against
drugs, but certain drugs, like alcohol, which is one of the biggest killers,
because they want to get their tax off it….and it seems to me that what they are
saying is, if it is within the law it is moral.
(F150-Rachel)
Rachel‟s is suggesting that the criteria for criminalising prostitution is probably politically
motivated, and many escorts do pay tax on their escort earnings. Another participant argues
that the Government are in a win-win situation, and therefore there would be little incentive
for them to make any changes:
The Government has got it all sewn up at the moment, it‟s totally sewn up their
way–they can manage to keep the criminal idea about prostitution and loads of
people don't know for instance that working the way I do it is legal; they think
that it is illegal. So the Government has got this perception about morals and
what's right and what's wrong which it can sell to the people that vote for them.
But at the same time…it still manages to extract tax. I don't think I'm naive
enough to believe that the Government will change. They‟ve got no reason to
because they can still sell this „holier than thou‟ attitude towards the electorate
but at the same time they get tax as well.
(F105-Melinda)
Whilst there is much validity in Melinda‟s observation, many participants insisted that the
people they spoke with were more fascinated and intrigued by the subject of sex-work than
horrified. This is also borne out by Kathy, an organiser who had had her sex-work premises
closed down several times. Having taken the time to consult with local people through
242
organised meetings etc., Kathy argued that whilst people didn‟t want sex-work venues on their
doorstep, the idea in principle of commercial sex posed few moral qualms for the majority of
people in her neighbourhood. Instead, the problem is simply that because of the illegality of
brothels, responsible organisers are deterred from openly discussing and agreeing with local
residents about what locations might be suitable.
It all comes back down to the laws and the stigma; you know the law is kind
of….well it creates a lot of the stigma, and the media creates quite a lot of the
stigma, because in many ways, the general public don‟t worry too much, but
the laws create most of it….but then the general public aren‟t really that
concerned about it, they just don‟t want it next door to them. So if the laws
were changed, so that you can go somewhere and be in commercial premises,
or be somewhere out of the way, then you start taking away the stigma a lot
because you haven‟t got that huge sort of public outcry that‟s making
everybody really cross.
(F187-Kathy)
As Kathy argues, the law, in this sense, helps to create and exacerbate the stigmatisation of
sex-work and she is adamant that legalising brothels would be in the interest of the general
public as well as sex-workers, and that if they were legalised, and normalised, the stigma
would dissipate. Neither Kathy, nor other proponents of this idea believed that this would be
immediately effective. However, as Eleanor argues:
Well it would take an attitude adjustment for sure, but if it were legalized and
normal employment standards put in place, much of the social-stigma would
disappear….but why should law enforcement care what goes on in a room
between me and a client anymore than what goes on in the bedroom between a
husband and wife?
(F341-Eleanor)
Many participants, including industry organisers, argued that the escort industry was largely
self–regulating, and that state interference added little value. One escort and organiser, Shelly,
observes that self-regulation was made easier by the use of the internet, which provides for the
publication of negative feedback on poor standards or bad practices. However, she argues that
because of the media and public conflation of street sex-work with all sex-work, all sex-work
needs to be legal.
It's really kind of self-regulating, like I was saying earlier. There are rules and
guidelines and I try to stick by them because I don't want to be brought up in
court and given a prison sentence. But all I'm saying is that if the Government
243
legalised the lesser end of the market it would have an effect on the market as a
whole.
(F296-Shelly)
The idea that stigma is directly affected by the legal status, and moreover, by the legal
ambiguity, of prostitution, is something that was argued by many participants. Although many
also thought that the negativity of social-stigma was declining, it was, in the views of some, a
slow process, one which was hampered by law‟s obstinacy:
Even though there is still too much stigma attached to it there is a lot less than
there was. People see that the way forward is for people to have better working
conditions in better environments….but a lot of these changes in attitudes have
been thwarted by the fact that the law is not catching up and so any progress
that is made, is thwarted by that, by the law and people‟s preconceived ideas
and stereotypes. It‟s all taking far too long and I think „why is there so little
protection in this industry? If it is the oldest industry in the book why isn‟t
there some protection for it in 2007?‟ There has to be a reason. There are newer
industries that have loads more protection. The workers have got more health
and safety rights, more legal rights, and all kinds of rights under the law, but
this still doesn‟t.
(F282-Gemma)
Gemma highlights how law has been an impediment to progression in terms of recognising
prostitution as legitimate work. In the meantime, the sex-workers who participated in this
research continue to strive to work within safe legal parameters insofar as they can ascertain
from within the complex and often contradictory set of laws that currently exist. Moreover,
they do this even when doing so compromises their own safety and welfare.
In this section, I have argued that law functions as a deterrent to men and women who
consider working in the sex industry, and that this is evident in a number of ways. Participants
were keen to work within legal parameters, whether by working only in jurisdictions which
permit prostitution and only when they are old enough to do so. Even then, many will work
alone if necessary, and many are wary of taking up organisational roles. Such roles are
valuable to many sex-workers, especially female sex-workers, and particularly those who are
new to sex-work. However, as it stands, only individuals who are prepared to risk legal
challenges are able to provide organisational functions, and/or premises from which to provide
244
sexual services. This renders sex-workers more vulnerable to exploitation than they would
otherwise be.
I have shown that clients can also see law as a deterrent, such as by preferring to travel to
countries where prostitution is not prohibited. However, if the purchasing of sex were
criminalised in the UK, the result would most likely be an increase in stigma for clients who
are often already in a vulnerable psychological position, whilst leaving sex-workers more
nervous both about legal interference and about the kind of clients that would readily flout the
law. I have argued further, that although social-stigma plays a part in deterring sex-work, law
has a crucial role to play in creating and reinforcing social-stigma; if law‟s function is to
protect sex workers from being exploited then law has a responsibility to help reduce socialstigma and to encourage safer working practices.
Chapter Summary and Conclusions
In this final data analysis chapter, I have used my research data to argue three themes: law as
ambiguous; law as isolating; and law as a deterrent. I have shown that many escorts find the
laws surrounding their work to be confusing and ambiguous; they find it hard to be sure what
is and isn‟t lawful in the context of sex-work. This makes them more vulnerable to
exploitation in two ways: first, being unsure how to work legally they run the risk of
unwittingly breaking the law; second, being unsure of their rights to work legally, they are
vulnerable to being exploited by other people with whom they come into contact with.
Confusion about the law was often why women preferred working for an agency or parlour.
However, doing so could heighten their vulnerability to exploitation by third-parties who then
take advantage of their inexperience. They are also vulnerable in terms of their lack of, or
perceived lack of, police protection, making them susceptible to criminal victimisation by
clients and others. Therefore, I argue that it is not only the details of any particular legislation
that increase escorts‟ level of vulnerability to exploitation (though some do, such as the
245
illegality of working with or for others), but the complexity and confusions that surround
prostitution law. This lack of clarity is exacerbated by incessant debates about prostitution
reform, leaving sex-workers with little confidence about what few rights they have.
In the second section, I argued that the laws surrounding sex-work increase escorts‟
vulnerability to victimisation by pushing them into working in isolation. That is, despite
prostitution being legal, sex-workers are compelled to work alone. Not all sex-workers want to
work alone; many felt it would be more beneficial if they could pool their resources.
Moreover, given that there is safety to be found in working with other people, participants felt
that the law was increasing their vulnerability to exploitation – especially violent
victimisation. Although this was not gendered in the sense that women were victimised
directly because of their gender, it was nevertheless women who had a greater dependency
upon third-parties. Therefore, women were more often exposed to the potential for
exploitation from more people and in more complex ways than men. The illegality, and hence
lack of regulation of brothels, increased the range of ways in which women were open to
exploitation.
In the final section, I argued that prostitution law does deter many men and women from
participating in commercial sex, be that as an escort or as a client. Few participants flouted the
law and few would continue to work in the event that they risked being criminalised.
Likewise, few would risk either working with other sex-workers or taking an organisational
role whilst it was illegal to do so, though they strongly argued for the right to do so legally.
Again, because it is women who display a greater need for hiring agents, working with other
escorts, or working in sex-work premises, it was women who constantly had to sacrifice their
convenience, psychological welfare and physical safety in order to comply with the law.
246
This completes my analysis of research data. In the final chapter of this thesis, I pull together
the points raised within my four analysis chapters, and directly address my key research
questions. Here I reintegrate my findings into the literature as discussed in chapter one.
247
Chapter 8. Conclusions
8. Conclusions
The purpose of my thesis, theoretically, has been to extend feminist analyses of prostitution beyond
the paradigm of women selling sex to men. Empirically, my aim has been to test the notion that
prostitution is inherently exploitative, and to examine what conditions create and exacerbate sexworkers‟ vulnerability to victimisation. In particular, my thesis is concerned with the role of law in
protecting sex-workers from exploitation. To achieve these objectives, I have examined the
comparative experiences of male, female and transgendered sex-workers‟ experiences of
exploitation, and I have focused specifically on the example of escort-work. In this final chapter, I
consider to what extent the aims and objectives of my research have been achieved. To do this, I
will take each of my key research questions in turn, and discuss what conclusions I have drawn
from my data analysis. In doing so, I will consider to what extent these conclusions correspond to
those documented in the existing research literature. After discussing my conclusions, I will also
highlight some of the limitations of my study and make some suggestions for further research.
Research Question One:
To what degree is vulnerability to exploitation a gendered phenomenon?
My aim here was to compare the relative features of vulnerability to exploitation as experienced by
male, female and transgendered participants. As outlined in chapter two (see p.54-55), I consider
vulnerability to be a defining feature of exploitation; to be exploited someone needs to have
exploitable circumstances. As criteria for vulnerability I therefore included situations or conditions
where sex-workers were in some way disadvantaged, whether that be economically, socially, or
psychologically, and where a recognisable „need‟ was established. As sex-workers are said to be
vulnerable to exploitation both in terms of being recruited into sex-work in the first instance and
then to being rendered more vulnerable as a consequence of working in prostitution, I considered
these two aspects of vulnerability separately.
248
In terms of vulnerability to being recruited into prostitution, my focus was on the economic, social
and psychological aspects of motivation. Understanding what motivates people to engage in sexwork is central to an analysis of exploitation because arguments that sex-work is inherently
exploitative tend to depend heavily on the assumption that prostitution is only ever undertaken by
those with little choice. This argument has been reinforced by studies of female prostitution which
have indicated that economic need is the primary justification for engaging in prostitution. While
for women, sex-work is thought to be financially-inspired, constituting economic vulnerability,
male sex-work is thought to be sexually-motivated, and men are thus not considered to be
vulnerable in any real sense.
To assess the extent to which participants of this research had been vulnerable to being recruited
into prostitution, I drew on Weinberg et al.’s (1999) „ties to sex-work‟ to identify what pre-existing
characteristics might predispose someone to resort to sex-work, or at least place them in a
disadvantaged position. In my analysis of these pre-existing characteristics, such as problematic
backgrounds, substance dependency and coercion, I found very low levels of vulnerability, social
or psychological, and little difference by gender. My findings contradict those of previous
researchers (e.g., McKeganey et al., 1990; Davies and Feldman, 1997; and Koken et al., 2004)
insofar as I found levels of drug use for both men and women to be very low. I also found little to
reinforce the notion that sex-workers tend to leave home and school early (as identified e.g., by
Browne and Minichiello, (1996a). Instead, my findings concur more with Kearins (2000) insofar as
the majority of participants appeared to have come from stable home environments, were well
educated, and had willingly entered sex-work.
I reject the notion that all sex-workers‟ lives are necessarily linked to problematic social factors; for
these escorts, there was very little evidence of vulnerability resulting from childhood abuse,
substance dependency or coercive influences. However, relational responsibilities did place some
women in a position of disadvantage. This does to some extent support the arguments forwarded by
249
the ECP, who argue that prostitution is usually a survival strategy for mothers experiencing
financial difficulties resulting from single parenthood. In this respect, my findings also concur with
Weinberg et al., (1999) who contend that in comparison with male sex-workers, women were more
likely to be supporting dependents. However, in the context of my study, the disadvantages of
relational responsibilities were only relevant for a very small proportion of women.
Instead, for most participants, rather than sex-work being a strategy for survival, it provided for a
more comfortable and sometimes luxurious lifestyle, and their reasons for starting sex work usually
involved a combination of factors. In many cases, money may have been one of those factors;
however, economic motivation can mean many things and in most cases, the type of economic
„need‟ described by participants would not constitute economic vulnerability. It was not a lack of
opportunity that drove men or women into entering sex-work, and few participants felt that their
range of choice was restricted by limited education or skills. Rather than extreme economic
dependency, male and female escorts were inspired to achieve a level of income that could support
a privileged lifestyle; this constituted a „desire‟ rather than a „need‟. Furthermore, most escorts had
remained in sex-work for many years and as documented in previous research (e.g., Thukral, 2006;
Day, 2007), the money sex-work provided was often frittered away. As noted by Prestage (1994),
Weinberg (1999) and Koken et al. (2004), the male participants in this study were also less likely
to depend upon sex-work as their sole source of income; however, this was a reflection of the
smaller demand for male services rather than an indication of women‟s greater economic need.
Having established, thus far, that recruitment into sex-work is not overwhelmingly the result of
economic vulnerability, I turned to the argument that for men, motivation to engage in sex work is
sexually-inspired. The assumption that runs through many arguments about sex work is that while
sex is the „real‟ reason why men work in the sex-industry, for women, in the commercial context at
least, sex is something that women simply tolerate. For example, according to Weinberg et al.,
(1999) female prostitutes were less likely to enjoy sex with clients than male sex-workers were.
250
Similarly, Prestage (1994) reports that although men were thought to be motivated more by the
opportunity prostitution provides in terms of sexual interactions, this was not the case for female
sex-workers.
For many participants, male and female, escort work had evolved from social activities, including,
sex-orientated ones, for example through involvement in the swinging scene or from using adult
chat lines. Furthermore, equal proportions of male and female participants reported having been
sexually promiscuous prior to working as escorts and like many male participants, women
engaging in sex-work often saw their work as something that paid them for something that they
enjoyed doing anyway; they certainly did not feel that they were in any way making difficult
choices. Rather, the instrumentality that Browne and Minichiello (1996) described as a feature of
male sex-work, was evident for the women in my study; women were equally, if not more, likely to
exhibit entrepreneurial approaches to the sale of sexual-services.
Compared to men, fewer women described sex as something they liked about their work. However,
sex was rarely described as anything other than „boring‟ or „routine‟; it was not particularly
negative or distressing for them. For men in contrast, although most indicated that sex was
something they liked about their work, of those that didn‟t, sex was often described in far more
negative terms. In comparison to women, men‟s higher aversion to the sexual aspect of their work
may be because, given the smaller demand for male escorts, they were not typically in a position to
be quite as selective about their clients as female escorts were.
Furthermore, for gay male escorts, although sex was often an enjoyable aspect of their work, the
notion that they were motivated primarily by sex was challenged by many gay male participants,
who argued, consistently, that such an argument made little sense, given that their sexual needs
were already satisfied via non-commercial partners. Male participants argued that men were
unlikely to engage in sex-work simply for sexual pleasure, because sex could be easily found by
251
almost, if not all men; a theory which, they pointed out, also explained, in part, the lesser demand
for male escorts. In this respect, my findings concur with Weinberg et al. (1990), insofar as the
male participants in this research did report having far more non-paid casual partners than did the
women.
Although money and sex often featured as part of male and female escorts‟ explanations for their
engagement in sex-work, neither money nor sex, as isolated factors, were the driving force for the
majority of participants. Instead, two other aspects of escort work emerged which participants
argued were more important to them: first, and for women in particular, it was the flexibility of
working hours that was described as most valuable. Although this was related, in part, to parenting,
it was also important to women more generally; it was equally about being able to pursue other
activities, such as other business, social, or recreational interests.
Second, many participants, male and female, made reference to the social aspects of their work;
they valued the companionship and conviviality that was often a facet of their relationships with
clients. This was evident in terms of explanations for why escort work was first considered, such as
in response to loneliness. It was also very much a feature of explanations for remaining in sexwork; moreover, when participants were asked about their plans to exit sex-work, they typically
tended to raise the issue of future personal partners. For example, for most female participants,
motivation to stop escort work was more likely to be inspired by meeting a future partner, and
perhaps the possibility of children. Although this was also a feature for some men, it seemed to
play a lesser role. This was most likely because rather than sex-work being incompatible with
personal relationships, for men, sex-work did not appear to compromise the stability of personal
relationships, which were often non-monogamous anyway.
On the basis of my data analysis, I therefore reject the hypothesis that for women, prostitution is
about money, whereas for men, prostitution is about sex; my findings indicate that neither side of
252
this argument holds true. Instead, both male and female participants were motivated by a
combination of factors, including, in particular, the flexibility of working hours, and the sociability
of their work.
In terms of vulnerability to exploitation, although loneliness could, arguably, constitute
psychological vulnerability, overcoming loneliness by engaging in sex-work was not something
that participants had a „need‟ to do; it was something that was desirable. I would argue therefore,
that it does not constitute vulnerability to exploitation, because no recognisable „need‟ was
established. Similarly, requiring flexible working hours, most often articulated as a desire to
pursue other activities, does not constitutive vulnerability. As a result of my analysis, the only
vulnerability established was economic, insofar as it resulted from relational responsibilities.
In terms of my research question, I would argue therefore, that in most respects, vulnerability to
exploitation was not a gendered phenomenon. However, there was a gendered aspect in terms of
motivation to engage in sex-work. That is, while neither men nor women were more vulnerable,
economically or otherwise, as a direct result of their gender - and indeed the vast majority were not
vulnerable in any way - a small number of women were more vulnerable to being exploited as a
result of an economic need associated with relational responsibilities. Although this was only a
very small proportion of participants, economic vulnerability was established and these women
could accurately be described as having „resorted‟ to sex-work.
Having established that there is a small but notable disadvantage for women in terms of
vulnerability to being recruited into prostitution, I will now consider the second aspect of
vulnerability to exploitation: that is, vulnerability to further exploitation as a direct consequence of
working in prostitution. I assessed this by using four analytical themes to identify how participants
experienced relationships within sex-work: power, respect, self-esteem and social-stigma.
253
In terms of the dynamics of power relationships that exist between sex-workers and their clients,
my findings show that women more frequently felt that they were in an equal, or superior, position
to their clients in terms of power. Similarly, for women, they, rather than their clients, usually took
control of the escort interaction. In contrast, men were more likely to experience power and control
as more variable. Using McKeganey et al.’s. (1990) theme of directiveness, I illustrated how
women are, if anything, more confident and controlling in their relationships with clients than male
sex-workers were. I argue that although the client‟s perspective cannot be verified, from the female
participants‟ point of view, they did not, in any way, feel vulnerable in their negotiations with
clients. Women did not see themselves as passive or submissive. Instead, where there was an
imbalance in the distribution of power, it was most often in the escort‟s favour; women, not their
clients, were in a position to assume, rather than concede, authority. The idea that being paid for
sex is a submissive act was challenged by many women, and in this respect, Marlowe (2006) is
right to argue that in some respects, the act of paying someone for sex can be viewed as
submissive. It is likely that, as Kuo (2002) argues, in some prostitution contexts the purchaser may
hold „an undue degree of power‟ over the prostitute; however, escort work may be an example of
how this power differential is reversed as the result of different organisational and individual
factors.
In my analysis of power in terms of choice, most participants, male and female, argued that they
engaged in sex-work from a position of choice: both about whether to engage in sex work, and
under what conditions. Female escorts in particular reported experiencing an advantage, insofar as,
with a larger pool of clients to draw from, they often had more choice about who to accept as
clients. Like Weinberg et al. (1999), I found that women did typically earn more per hour than
male sex-workers, due to the higher demand for their services. This demand enabled women to be
selective, which placed them in what they felt was a more powerful position. For male escorts,
although they often felt that they had ample choice, power relationships were reported as more
variable. For example, men more frequently acquiesced to sexual acts with which they were less
254
than comfortable; for women this was rare. The assumption that only the paying party has the
power to dictate what sexual acts take place (O‟Connell Davidson, 1998), is not supported by my
findings; these participants, especially female escorts, had a great deal of choice about what acts
they participated in and with whom. This notion of choice was part of what gave them a sense of
power rather than vulnerability.
I argue further, that Highleyman (1997) is right in arguing that the sexual power and agency
demonstrated by professional dominatrices can carry over to other types of sex-work. Whether she
is also right to assert that all types of sex-workers also have such power is uncertain; however, for
my participants, especially the women, the balance of power resided with the escort. For male sexworkers, Alexander‟s (1998) „equation of sex with power‟ was more evident, though in many
cases, they too experienced their sex-worker role as one of dominance rather than submission; the
difference is only that where there is an imbalance of power, the imbalance was not quite as
frequently in the male escorts‟ favour as it was for female escorts. However, overall, very few
participants reported feeling in any way dominated or oppressed. In terms of power relationships
then, there was little to suggest that these participants were vulnerable, either socially or
psychologically. In answer to my research question, I conclude that vulnerability to exploitation is
not a gendered phenomenon, but if anything, in terms of power, male participants were, in relative
terms, slightly disadvantaged.
The second theme of vulnerability that I examined concerned respect. Here, the intention was to
assess the level of mutuality and respect in terms of its impact on participants‟ emotional
vulnerability. Overall, both male and female participants reported that in general, they had respect
for, and felt respected by, the majority of their clients. Although some women pointed out that
married (or otherwise committed) men could be less worthy of respect, this was based on a
judgement about their supposed infidelity, not their status as a consumer of sexual services.
Overall, male and female participants were adamant that for the most part, sex-work was carried
255
out within a mutually respectful relationship. There is no justification in my findings, therefore, for
the argument that male sex-work is any more respectful or reciprocal in nature than is female sexwork.
Although interactions between male sex-workers and their clients has been described as being
“fairly civilized and mutually accepting” (Prestage, 1994:.186), my analysis shows that similar
characteristics feature just as frequently in interactions between female sex-workers and their
clients. There is also little in my data to support Persky‟s (1997) notion that relationships in male
sex-work are “more reciprocal and equal than those between men and women”. Similarly, the
“certain mutual equality” that Altman (1999) identified as evident for male sex-workers, was a
consistent feature for both male and female participants in this study. It was rare for any
participants to report feeling intimidated or threatened in any way. There is no justification in my
findings, for suggesting that women were in any way more psychologically vulnerable as the result
of a lack of respect in the context of their relationships with clients.
The third theme that I used to assess sex-workers‟ vulnerability in terms of their relationships with
clients, was that of self-esteem. The relevance of self-esteem lies in how low self-esteem could be
considered to constitute psychological vulnerability. Given that female sex-workers are thought to
suffer from low self-esteem as a consequence of being paid for sex, I assessed to what extent their
psychological vulnerability was heightened by low self-esteem. My findings show that far from
experiencing low self-esteem as a consequence of sex-work, the majority of escorts, male and
female, reported high self-esteem. Many insisted that this was not only the result of sex-work; they
had always had high self esteem; however, to the extent that sex-work had an effect on them, it was
a positive one. Almost all of the female participants contested the notion that sex-work had lowered
their self esteem and in this respect my findings concur with both Nagle (1997) and O‟Connell
Davidson (1998). Furthermore, many of the female participants in this study challenged the logic of
assuming that low self-esteem was a consequence of being paid for sex; instead, like male sex-
256
workers, as described by Marlowe (1997), they maintained that the very opposite was experienced.
However, there was one way in which participants, especially female participants, were negatively
impacted as a result of their work: their self-confidence, and thus self-esteem, could be reduced by
harmful media and societal assumptions about commercial sex. In this sense, my findings concur
with Weinberg et al. (1999), insofar as rather than suffering emotional damage as the result of
being paid for sex, any damage was more the result of negative social attitudes. However, in terms
of my research question, self esteem did not, in itself, result in vulnerability, psychological or
otherwise; again, vulnerability was not a gendered phenomenon.
The impact of social-stigma on self-esteem is not only important in terms of its effect on selfesteem, but it is also cited as having a detrimental effect on participants‟ levels of vulnerability. As
the final analytical theme in terms of gendered vulnerability to exploitation, my concern was with
the way that social-stigma can affect not just how sex-workers feel about themselves, but also how
they are regarded by others. The effects of negative social stigma were evident for most
participants, regardless of gender; however, while social-stigma could differ for males, particularly
gay males, both men and women were adversely affected by social-stigma. For women, this
appeared to have a greater impact and was mostly associated with the notion that women only
resorted to sex-work because they had little choice.
As previous researchers have identified, social-stigma can have a very negative effect on female
sex-workers (e.g., Pheterson, 1996; Phoenix, 1999; Sanders, 2005). For example, they may be
assumed to be morally inferior (and by extension, more likely to be open to criminality). They are
also assumed to be drug dependent or controlled by pimps. The result is that they are treated
differently by people with whom they come into contact with, both in the context of their work and
in life more generally. The strength of this social-stigma is such that, sometimes, even male clients
and male sex-workers assume female sex-workers to be in a position of disadvantage, and
therefore, vulnerable to exploitation.
257
This places sex-workers, especially female sex-workers, in an inferior position in terms of
negotiating with people around them, whether in their (escort) working life, such as in the context
of renting property or securing advertising contracts, or being discriminated against in the
(mainstream) workplace. In this respect, vulnerability can be economic if unfavourable terms are
offered as a result of sex-workers‟ weaker bargaining position. Because sex-workers‟ requirement
to secure work-related goods and services, constitutes a „need‟ rather than a „desire‟, sex-workers
are placed in an economically vulnerable position as a result of the stigma associated with
prostitution. However, being discriminated against could also constitute psychological
vulnerability; by being socially excluded, social-stigma may be detrimental to sex-worker‟s selfconfidence, further reducing their assertiveness in negotiating with third-parties and rendering them
susceptible to being threatened with public exposure. In answer to my research question therefore, I
would argue that there are some subtle gendered differences in terms of vulnerability to
exploitation. While neither male nor female escorts are particularly vulnerable as the result of
unequal power relations, lack of respect, or low self-esteem per se, social-stigma does render
women more vulnerable to exploitation.
Research Question Two:
What behaviours do sex workers experience as exploitative?
Few participants, male or female, reported experiencing high levels of exploitation by clients or
others. Whereas Marlowe (1998:.142) argued that in the context of male prostitution, the question
of who, if anyone, is the „victim‟ is “far from determined”, I contend that it is also undetermined in
female sex-work; experiences of victimhood were very few and far between. Furthermore, Bell and
Couture (2000)‟s view that male prostitution is arguably less exploitative and more „sociable‟ than
female sex-work may be misleading in terms of escort work, where the interaction is, I would
argue, experienced as just as sociable for women, if not more so. As the relationships between
258
female escorts and their clients is often just as reciprocal and equal as it is in the context of male
sex-work (Persky, 1997), notions of exploitation are therefore similarly compromised in the way
that they are for male sex-workers.
However, this does not detract from how instances of physical exploitation reported by women
were more frequently of a violent or threatening nature. My findings do, in this respect, concur
with Weinberg et al., (1999) insofar as women appear to be more prone to violent occupational
hazards. I also found that for women, incidences of physical exploitation were typically more
complex in nature, which parallels what Kinnell (2008) found in her study of violence in sex-work.
My analysis indicates that for escorts, this complexity results from three factors: first, inexperience;
second, a weaker physical position vis-à-vis male clients which entailed adopting more intricate
methods of dealing with the threat of violence; and third, the involvement of a third-party.
The vast majority of violent or potentially violent incidences had occurred, for example, at a time
when the escort was new to sex-work, and in the majority of cases, had taken place when the
participants had worked in a parlour situation or for an escort agency. A combination of
inexperience on the sex-worker‟s part, and poor or neglectful business practice on the part of thirdparty industry organisers accounted for the majority of violent experiences that were reported by
participants. Men were less likely to work for third-party organisers and so were less vulnerable to
violent victimisation.
Third-party organisers were not only associated with sex-worker‟s victimisation by clients, but they
were the next most frequently cited source of direct exploitation. Sometimes this could be the result
of behaviour by the third-party towards the escort, such as expecting free sexual services or making
other unreasonable demands. However, although physical exploitation was rare; financial
exploitation, such as charging unfair fees, was reported to be a frequent and persistent aspect of
259
escort work. This included exploitation not only by parlours and escort agencies, but also by
peripheral service providers, such as taxi drivers and providers of advertising space or premises.
Exploitation in the form of discrimination on account of the stigma associated with prostitution was
experienced in several ways.
For example, a small number of participants had lost their
mainstream jobs as a result of their employers finding out about their escort work; as Della Giusta
(2008) describes, social-stigma can reduce access to other earning opportunities. It also deters sexworkers from fighting their case against being discriminated against.
Another, more commonly experienced example of this discrimination, is the purchasing of
advertising space; participants frequently reported having being charged discriminatory rates and
conditions. This again, I argue, constitutes exploitation in the form of discrimination, insofar as the
media companies gain disproportionately by virtue of the stigma associated with prostitution. This
constitutes a prime example of what Sample (2003:.82) describes as “taking advantage of a prior
injustice”. The same occurred in situations where sex-workers were charged discriminatory rates
by landlords for hiring premises, simply because the landlord knew about their work.
In terms of the clients being exploited by escorts, although many escorts report what they
experienced as the exploitation of clients, my analysis of their description of such incidences leads
me to conclude that few participants behaved exploitatively. This seemed, in part at least, to be
because of the mutually respectful relationships that exist between most escorts and their clients;
therefore it may be different in other sex-worker-client relationships where mutuality and respect
may be less widespread. For example, in the context of street-sex-work, where transactions are
conducted more hastily, there is probably less opportunity for relationships to develop to the same
extent.
260
However, although notions of mutuality and respect were widespread among the male and female
participants of this study, which was reflected in the consistently low levels of exploitation they
experienced, this was less evident in the case of transgendered participants. For transgendered
participants, there was a small, yet notable increase, in the levels of exploitation reported.
Additionally, unlike other escorts, where there is a correlation between working for a third-party
and being physically exploited by clients, this was not evident in the case of transgendered
participants; they did not did not typically use third-parties to facilitate their work, yet they were
overrepresented in terms of violent victimisation. Overall, although exploitation in general was still
low for transgendered escorts and is far from intrinsic to sex-work, reports of victimisation were
nevertheless more frequent. Exploitation also tended to be more physical and unpredictable in
nature. In this respect, my findings concur with Weitzer (2005:.221) insofar as he argues:
“transgenders generally face greater difficulties than female or male prostitutes”. I would suggest
that, in light of my analysis, this increased level of exploitation is related to the more contentious
and less mutually respectful relationships that transgendered sex-workers tend to have with their
clients.
It is important to remember, however, that these observations only applied to a minority of escorts,
and overall, the vast majority of participants argued that their relationships with their clients were
no more exploitative than any other relationship between people. This remains true whether in the
context of male, female or transgendered sex-work; prostitution is not, I argue, inherently
exploitative.
Research Question Three:
What impact does law have in terms on sex-workers’ vulnerability to exploitation?
One of my primary concerns in this thesis was to illustrate how law impacts upon sex-workers in
terms of their vulnerability to exploitation. As discussed in chapter two, (see p.60-61) both CPS
guidelines and government papers such as The Strategy (Home Office 2006), state that one of the
261
law‟s objectives is to protect prostitutes from exploitation. However, I sought to assess whether, in
order to achieve this objective, the current legal approach serves instead to exacerbate sex-workers‟
vulnerability to exploitation.
In the absence of comparable data, it is difficult to gauge how effective the law has been in terms of
protecting sex-workers from exploitation. As we have seen, for this sample of sex workers, levels
of exploitation were reported to be very low; this could suggest that the current legal status and
strategy on prostitution does offer some protection. For example, because the selling of sex is not in
itself illegal, sex-workers can, technically at least, work within the law and draw upon the police
for protection the same as any other citizen can.
However, while the law may provide “important defensive and protective elements” (Matthews
2003:.195), my research data leads me to conclude that there are a number of consequences of the
current legal approach which have the opposite effect; in some instances, exploitation of sexworkers was the direct result of particular legislation, and in others, increased vulnerability to
exploitation resulted indirectly, as the result of the relationships between law and social-stigma.
Matthew‟s (2003) appears to be correct in his assertion that the law does act as a general deterrent.
Although critical of certain aspect of law, the sex-workers who took part in this study stressed the
importance of working within legal parameters. This was not only fear of prosecution; for most, it
was equally important to distance sex-work from illegality and criminality by having their work
recognised and legitimised; it was about being seen as respectable members of their communities.
While they may sometimes have been cynical about the motives behind legal strategy, or thought
the law misguided, sex-workers were nevertheless aware that law has the power to influence the
way their work is publicly perceived. As Sanders (2008) contends, by disallowing a regulated
system of prostitution, the cultural message that sex-work is unacceptable is reinforced.
Furthermore, because the current legal status of prostitution is ambiguous, lacks consistency and is
262
contradictory in the way that it aims to both protect and penalise sex-workers, a notion of quasilegality is perpetuated; consequently, the stigma attached to sex-work means that sex-workers are
treated with pity and sympathy, but also with distrust and suspicion.
Despite the fact that, in accordance with The Wolfenden Committee‟s principles, (Home Office
1957) private sexual practice is not a matter for the criminal law, the most recent government
strategy is nevertheless clearly sympathetic to the abolition of prostitution (Munro and Della
Giusta, 2008). By supporting an abolitionist strategy, the Government perpetuates the argument
that no-one would sell sex if they had other options. Many participants in this study confirmed
that, as argued by Day (2008), the Government‟s current „moral panic‟ surrounding prostitution
and trafficking (and conflation of these two topics) has intensified social-stigma. This, as I have
argued, exacerbates sex-workers‟ vulnerability to exploitation. Although male sex-work is also
stigmatised to some degree, because the law doesn‟t see male sex-work as equally as exploitative
as female sex-work, it is women who are most affected by the law‟s portrayal of female sexworkers as victims; the rearticulation of feminine vulnerability, as suggested by Campbell (2005),
generates an impression of vulnerability by identifying women as suitable vulnerable targets.
Accepting that the law might want to protect women „for their own good‟, as Madriz (1997:.162)
argues, this just perpetuates stereotypical notions about “women as vulnerable and passive and men
as strong, forceful and aggressive”. Gavey (1997) is right to be concerned about the overuse of the
language of victimisation because the risk is that it perpetuates a notion of vulnerability. In this
way, because law has a crucial role to play in creating and reinforcing -stigma, it exacerbates
vulnerability; if law‟s function is to protect sex workers from being exploited then law should aim
to reduce social-stigma. To do this it needs to be very sure that prostitution-related laws are
necessary, and help to protect prostitutes.
263
I now move on from a more general discussion about the role of law in regulating prostitution to
consider the effect of particular legislation, including, as discussed in chapter two, (see p.62) two
proposals introduced in The Strategy (Home Office 2006): „tackling demand‟ and „tackling offstreet prostitution‟. The first proposal, to - „tackle the demand‟ - is an abolitionist approach to
prostitution; here the strategy is to criminalise the clients of sex-workers. The subject of
criminalising clients was only discussed with a small number of participants; however, those that
did express a view on this proposal, indicated that if the purchasing of sex were criminalised, they
would, as suggested by Day (2007) and Sanders (2008), be more nervous about the kind of clients
that would continue, despite the law, to purchase sex. Not only would escorts not have any legal
clients, as suggested by Sanders and Campbell (2008), but it would also serve to increase the
stigmatisation of clients, which is not in the interest of sex-workers; the result would be, as
contended by Kulick (2005), Brooks-Gordon (2006), and Sanders (2008), that this would only serve
to further endanger their safety. Again, it must be questioned why, if private sexual practices are not
a matter for the criminal law (Wolfenden Committee, Home Office 1957), the Government is
concerned with tackling the demand for prostitution. By aiming to abolish prostitution, the
Government is making the moral judgement that when it is commercialised, sex between
consenting adults is the law‟s business.
With regard to disrupting indoor sex markets, as discussed in chapter two (see p.63), currently, the
only way to work legally, is to work alone. Even then, many associated activities are criminalised,
including many of the practices that enable prostitutes to advertise and organise their sexual
services. In particular, the law seeks to penalise “those who organise prostitutes and make a living
from their earnings” (CPS, 2008). This is justified as being a necessary part of minimising the
opportunities for exploitation. However, as Sanders (2008) argues, relationships between sexworkers and third-parties are not necessarily exploitative. Although most of the escorts who
participated in this study worked alone from private premises, some worked for agencies and
several spent part of their week working in parlour situations. Most women had utilised some kind
264
of third-party when they had first entered the escort industry, and although some had experienced
exploitative conditions, many were keen to highlight that others offered very valuable services.
Many exploitative experiences were caused by poor practice on behalf of the agency or parlour,
and the hierarchy between parlours that practiced good management and those that were “more
concerned with profit than the rights and conditions of work for sex-workers” (Sanders, 2008:.56)
was evident in the testimonies of many participants.
As has been raised at various points throughout my thesis, there are several reasons why sex
workers might choose to work in a parlour or other communal manner. For example, the sex
worker may not have suitable premises to work from; they may not want to see clients in their own
home for security reasons or because they have children or live with other people; they may prefer
the company and support of fellow workers; or they may want to maximise their own physical
safety by working in shared premises. There are similar reasons why some people may prefer
paying an agent or other third-party to perform some of the tasks relating to their sex-work. For
example, some may not want the responsibility of being self-employed; to spend time arranging
advertising or handling vetting and security procedures, and sometimes, especially when sexworkers have dependents at home, they may not want the intrusion of clients contacting them
directly. Although this can apply for male sex-workers, women more frequently argued for the
right to source third-party service-providers. This is because they are more likely to value the safety
of working collectively, are more likely to have relational responsibilities, and women also placed a
higher value on having free time to devote to other, non-sex-work, business- related activities.
Also, in view of the higher demand for female sex services, they can, by hiring someone else to
carry out work-related tasks for them, spend more time directly with clients; this is less likely for
male participants for whom the demand is smaller.
The vast majority of participants supported the argument that third-parties should be able to operate
legally as a service that sex-workers can elect if it suits them to do so. Although many would not
265
choose to share their profits with a third-party, most accepted that there could be disadvantages to
working independently. Almost all agreed that sex-workers should have the choice to work with or
for others. However, many participants said that they would prefer to work for someone of the
same gender, and moreover, someone who had experienced sex-work. Yet, experienced sexworkers who wanted to try the organisational side of the industry were put off from doing so
because of the risk of being prosecuted38. Instead, only those who are less fearful of prosecution are
likely to do so, and this encourages unscrupulous business managers into the industry. Of course
industry organisers who are more concerned with profit than the rights of sex workers are less
likely to have any incentive to participate in academic research; this was reflected by the organisers
who did contribute to my research, who were all concerned with promoting good practise, such as
fair working conditions and labour rights for sex-workers. However, of the six organisers that did
participate, 4 had, at various times, experienced the threat of legal action. As Sanders and Campbell
(2008) highlight, this discouraged them from investing properly in suitable premises, with better
security and working conditions, because of a fear of, and experience of, being closed down.
Likewise, despite the fact that the demand for parlours and escort agencies might be reduced if the
Government were to allow for the redefinition of a brothel to allow small groups of sex workers to
work collectively, all my participants, including industry organisers, supported such as proposal.
There is little doubt that vulnerability to violence is strongly associated with working environment,
and my research data reinforces that notion. Yet, as Brooks-Gordon (2006) argues, sex-workers are
discouraged from working collectively, which exposes them to greater violence. Furthermore, as
Kinnell (2008) asserts, current legislation and law enforcement jeopardises indoor workers‟ safety
by penalising the safest indoor method – working with others, an irony that many of my research
participants commented upon. It is hard to understand why plans to redefine brothels were
38 E.g., Brothel-keeping, (Sexual Offences Act, 1956 s.33) Procuration,( Sexual Offences Act, 1956 s.22) or
Controlling for gain (Sexual Offences Act, 2003 s. 53)
266
abandoned39. It could be argued that encouraging sex-workers to work in isolation is strategic in
the sense that, having failed to protect themselves by continuing to work in prostitution, sexworkers become „undeserving‟ victims. In this way they would be equivalent to what Cahill
(2001:.160) identifies as: “not just a pre-victim but a guilty pre-victim”. „Inviting‟ victimisation in
this way, sex-workers‟ are then easily viewed as attracting the inevitable. Thus in this sense, as
suggested by Kinnell (2006:.164), “violence against sex-workers is viewed as an important
deterrent to discourage the sale of sex, and a punishment for those who do”.
Another way that the law impacts on sex-workers‟ vulnerability to exploitation is in the way that
sex-workers are discriminated against when they try to hire or purchase goods or services. As
explained above (see p.261), discrimination occurs in various ways, for example when sex-workers
and industry organisers are being charged disproportionately high charges for advertising space.
This is an example of what Sample (2008) refers to as other forms of exploitation that go
unnoticed. Although such discrimination has been acknowledged in other jurisdictions (e.g.,
Banach and Metzenrath, 1999), it is not a form of exploitation that the UK government strategy
recognises; rather, by putting pressure on media organisations to stop providing advertising space
for sex-workers, the impact is to heighten their vulnerability to being financially exploited.
Even escorts who work independently may wish to outsource particular services at times, such as
website management, negotiating with webmasters for inclusion on „escort listings‟ and perhaps for
transport or security services, and many participants suggested that combating attempted financial
exploitation was a permanent feature of their working lives. It is unsurprising that sex-worker‟s
overheads are increased by illegality (Day, 2007). This is largely the result of legislation that
threatens to criminalise third-parties and other peripheral actors in the sex industry, but it is
exacerbated by the stigmatisation of prostitution, which the law contributes to, particularly in the
39 As proposed in The Strategy (Home Office 2006) (see my p.67)
267
case of female sex-workers. I argue therefore, that although legal strategy aims to protect sexworkers from exploitation, in practice, sex-workers are made more vulnerable as a result of the law.
Finally, another implication of the quasi-legal status of sex-work was that participants did not
always feel that the law was „available‟ to them. For example, many were reluctant to legally
pursue those who committed crimes against them, especially in the context of their work. Although
some participants said that they would feel perfectly confident about using the police as a resource,
others had misgivings about doing so. Most participants who had experienced victimisation had not
reported it. Scepticism about police support further exacerbates sex-workers‟ vulnerability to
victimisation by clients and others connected to the sex industry, because they are assumed to be
easy targets. In this respect my findings concur with previous research (e.g., Childs, 2000; BrooksGordon, 2006).
Allowing perpetrators to go unprosecuted, can only, ultimately, render sex-workers more
vulnerable to exploitation. I argue that this is important both in terms of sex-workers and clients
being victimised; both should have the full support of the law. In this respect, the current proposal
to criminalise the purchasing of sex40 will discourage both clients and sex workers from reporting
crime that takes place in the context of commercial sex, further reinforcing the argument that such
a move will make sex-workers‟ lives more difficult and dangerous (as argued e.g., by Kulick, 2005
and Brooks-Gordon, 2006). Furthermore, although I agree with Brooks-Gordon (2006), that sexworkers who work in groups are reluctant to risk their own criminalisation, I would add that even
as independent escorts, many sex workers are still inhibited from seeking legal recourse because, as
posited by Childs (2000), they believed they would be discriminated against within the criminal
justice system.
40
As proposed in The Strategy, Home Office 2006 (See my p.62.)
268
Although male sex-workers were equally reluctant to pursue legal recourse in the event of
victimisation, it was conceded that in some respects, gay male sex-workers did have an advantage
over female sex-workers; it was recognised that both homophobia and political motivation to avoid
offending gay communities, acted as protective forces that deterred male sex-workers from being
challenged. This was borne out in the comparative experiences of male and female participants.
Overall however, many participants, male and female, believed they would be treated differently
from other citizens, simply on account of the stigma associated with sex-work.
In terms of answering my third research question then, I argue that the current legal approach
towards prostitution does increase sex-worker‟s vulnerability to exploitation. It does this in four
ways: first, by isolating sex-workers from working with other people, their safety is compromised;
second; by penalising third-parties, sex-workers are prevented from accessing services that would
help them to facilitate and organise their work more safely, responsible organisers are discouraged
from operating and sex-workers have no way of knowing who to trust; third, the ambiguous legal
status of prostitution and the negative effect this ambiguity has on social-stigma renders sexworkers at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating with other people in the course of their
work; fourth, sex-workers are often perceived (both by themselves and by exploiters) to be
unprotected legally and are characterised therefore as „easy targets‟ for exploitation.
As I stated in chapter two (see p.71), it is not my intention to promote the case for any particular
method of regulation. However, the most problematic aspect of the current legal approach is in how
it prevents sex-workers from working more safely, and deprives those who work alone of the right
to enter into “consensual working partnerships” with others (Sanders 2006:.96). I would argue
therefore, that it makes little sense to penalise those who profit from another‟s sex-work. However,
rather than allowing third-parties to operate “without any system that checks or monitors the
standard of working conditions” (Sanders and Campbell, 2008:.56), some kind of system for
regulating third-parties, such as a licensing system is essential.
269
Moves to further disrupt the indoor sex markets by blocking (and further criminalising) third party
industry organisers will be a potentially dangerous move. Instead, it makes far more sense, as
demonstrated by Brents and Hausbeck (2005), to subject sex-work establishments to scrutiny
through regulation so as to effectively reduce violence. I would also argue that if prostitution is to
be considered a legitimate form of labour, then there must be a case for allowing - indeed insisting
that - sex-work businesses are managed in a scrupulous and professional manner. Research into
various indoor sex markets has shown that vulnerability to violence is closely associated with
working in isolation (Whittaker and Hart, 1996; Sanders, 2005; Brooks-Gordon, 2006; Kinnell,
2006). My research reinforces this correlation, and I argue that many women working as escorts
would prefer to have the choice of working collaboratively.
In the absence of any valid
justification for prohibiting this, they should be permitted to do so. By decriminalising brothelkeeping and by seeking to criminalise and penalise only those third-parties who do exploit sexworkers, sex-workers could then work collectively, whether in small self-organised groups or for
regulated and monitored third-parties.
Furthermore, the stigma and confusion about the legalities of sex-work are exacerbated by media
stereotypes and have been rekindled by recent discussions about the criminalisation of purchasing
sex. Further criminalisation, either of clients or of sex industry organisers, would not only make
sex-workers more directly vulnerable to exploitation, but would also add to what Williams et al.
(2008:.24) describe as “the ambiguity as to what exactly constitutes legal behaviour within sexwork”. In other words, even if further punitive measures were not directed at sex-workers
themselves, the effect would be to add to an already complex set of laws that surround their work.
If sex-workers are to be protected then the law should be clarified and simplified, and any
legislation that is retained or introduced should focus only on identifiable exploitative behaviours
rather than assumptions about the relationships between sex-workers and other people.
270
Research Question Four:
What implication does a gender-inclusive examination of sex-work have for feminist theories
of prostitution?
As outlined in the introduction to my thesis, feminists have been responsible for much of the
analytical literature on prostitution, and the „problem‟ of prostitution has thus come to be perceived
as a women‟s issue. The assumption is that male prostitution is not only less prevalent than female
prostitution but that it is more benign in character and so raises fewer social or legal issues.
Feminist critiques of prostitution have therefore tended to overlook issues relating to male and
transgendered experiences of prostitution, and this has led to a gender bias in terms of sex-work
research.
In particular, there has been very little research that has compared the experiences of sex workers
by gender. However, I contend that the existence of male prostitution presents us with an
opportunity to examine and expose some of the ways in which gender complicates power
relationships and how these may compromise or reinforce existing feminist theories of prostitution.
Specifically, the inclusion of male and transgendered sex-workers allows us to more adequately
assess whether prostitution is inherently exploitative. My research aimed, theoretically, to extend
feminist analysis of prostitution beyond female prostitution by juxtaposing the experiences of male,
female and transgendered sex-workers.
Prostitution has always been a difficult issue for feminists and the most divisive distinction in
feminist thinking is between those who aim for the abolition of prostitution and those who see
prostitution as legitimate work for women given their weaker socio-economic position. Although
there is variance among and between these two perspectives, both abolitionist and sex-work
approaches have a tendency to portray women as victims to some degree, albeit that they do so in
very different ways. In this section of my conclusions, I discuss, in light of my data analysis, the
implications of my research findings for these two positions on prostitution.
271
Prostitution as Sexual Exploitation
As discussed in chapter one (see p.5), the most consistently-represented argument by radical
feminists sees prostitution as the epitome of men‟s exploitative power and dominance over women.
As victims of sexual domination, women are necessarily exploited by men, both by male clients
and by those who manage and organise the sex industry; prostitution is an institution that underpins
and reinforces women‟s subordination under a system of male supremacy. In other words, in
defining prostitution as an institution of male domination, radical feminist theory assumes that
prostitutes are female and men are little thought about, other than as clients or pimps. From this
position, prostitution is inherently exploitative, for women at least.
However, in light of my data analysis, I would challenge this argument on two accounts: First, not
only do men work as prostitutes, but women also purchase sexual services; sex industry organisers
are also, frequently, female. Second, exploitation was not found to be inherently exploitative for
any gender group in this study. When the existence of male prostitutes and female clients has been
acknowledged in radical feminist perspectives on prostitution, they are dismissed on the basis of
differential power relationships between the sexes (Jeffreys 1997). Yet just because male sexworkers and female clients don‟t fit with arguments that perpetuate the notion of women as victims,
this does not mean that they can be safely excluded from further consideration.
Second, in terms of the inherent nature of exploitation in prostitution, my findings do not support
this notion; very little exploitation was reported by male, female, or transgendered participants.
Furthermore, there is little to support the notion that women are victims of sexual domination by
men. Not only did women not identify as victims of male domination, but their position of strength
was illustrated in various ways, (as discussed in chapter five), and assumptions about women‟s
subordination are simply not applicable. Furthermore, like Marlowe (1997), I argue that feminist
assumptions that women‟s part in commercial sexual exchange is necessarily passive and
submissive in nature is mistaken and that, as McNay (1992) argues, such an assumption
oversimplifies the complexities of women‟s subordination.
272
Taken together, my analyses of power, control, respect and self-esteem, show that far from being
dominated, women argued that interpersonal power and control resided with them rather than their
clients, and they were very aware of their clients‟ vulnerable status. Furthermore, rather than
prostitution being: “a condition forced upon individuals by third parties” (Alexander 1998:.198),
the vast majority of my participants, male and female, entered sex-work without coercion or
oppression.
While my analysis is not the only way participants‟ testimonies could be interpreted, this was how
participants consistently described their experiences. Far from feeling exploited by clients, they
were mostly insistent that any assumptions about their victimisation were misguided and made
little sense to them. Although it could be argued that participants were in some sort of denial of
their domination, or were experiencing a „false consciousness‟ (Overs, 1998), I would argue that
unless one is prepared to believe research participants‟ personal accounts, then there is little point
in conducting social research.
I contend also, that the assumption that clients only have their own sexual gratification in mind
when they hire a sex-worker is inaccurate: for the most part, the sex-worker‟s pleasure appeared to
be central to client‟s own pleasure. The argument that sexual pleasure is only an aspect of male
sex-work is unsupported; many women also enjoy the sexual aspects of their escort work and far
from feeling „used‟, they reported very positive relationships with their clients.
The radical perspective of prostitutes as the „ultimate female victims‟ is not supported by my thesis.
Although escort work is only a subsection of a large industry, far from being atypical, escort work
is a substantial and growing sector of prostitution; the views of escorts should be given due
recognition. That radical feminists base their arguments more from the perspective of streetprostitution may indicate a need to reinforce notions of victimhood. This discourse of victimhood
stigmatises women and ultimately, “makes them appear more vulnerable and indefensible”
273
(Campbell, 2005). In this sense, a discourse of female prostitution as male domination heightens
women‟s vulnerability, by portraying them as „easy targets‟. In other words, in the same way that
abolitionist-inspired laws serve to exacerbate social stigma by portraying women as vulnerable
victims, abolitionist feminist perspectives do likewise.
In view of my analysis I argue, as Weitzer (2005) does, that radical feminism has distorted
understandings of prostitution. This distortion is exacerbated by a narrow focus on those women
who most convincingly fit the stereotype of victims. As Kinnell (2008:.262) observes, the current
abolitionist strategy “remains in place, legitimated by a radical feminist ideology obsessed with the
supposedly damaging effects of being paid for sex”. Such damage was far from apparent for the
participants in this study; instead, sex-workers were, for the most part, men and women who had
positively elected to work in prostitution for various reasons and who had no need, or desire, to be
„rescued‟.
Prostitution as Sex Work
As outlined in chapter one, a liberal viewpoint shifts the emphasis away from the issue of sexual
domination and patriarchal oppression, to the more general debates about women‟s unequal social
and economic position. Although many women‟s lives are no doubt still circumscribed by
inequality (Phoenix, 2006), I argue that this does not suffice as a blanket explanation for sex-work.
In light of my analysis, I reject the argument that sex-work is only carried out by disadvantaged
individuals, male or female. The majority of participants in this research were not economic
victims; economics may be part of the appeal of sex-work, but this does not translate to a notion of
victimhood.
If we understand women‟s motivation to undertake sex-work to be exclusively or overwhelmingly
economic in nature, then it would be logical to argue that prostitution will be eradicated when that
economic vulnerability is addressed. In other words, proponents of this perspective assume that in
the absence of economic disadvantage, women would not work in prostitution. My thesis does not
274
support that argument. My data analysis indicates that very few participants were economically or
socially vulnerable and most men and women had access to a range of earning opportunities.
Although for many participants, male and female, their involvement in the sex industry was „work‟,
insofar as it was how they made their living, it was not something that they had „resorted‟ to.
Instead, for the vast majority, it was something that they chose to do in preference to, rather than in
the absence of, other more mainstream opportunities.
Therefore, unlike Overall (1992), Satz (1995), and the ECP, analysis of my data does not support
the notion that economic or labour market inequalities always play a part in explaining why women
work in prostitution. Instead, I agree with Ericsson (1980) and Kuo (2002) insofar as I do not
believe that prostitution will disappear if all women become economically solvent. On this point
specifically, I disagree with the ECP‟s assertion that if women had better opportunities then they
would not work in prostitution; not only would some women still choose to do so, but removing
financial constraints would not always prompt women to move out of sex-work; for many women,
the prospect of pursuing personal relationships was more likely to do this.
„Sex-work‟ approaches to prostitution, by maintaining that prostitution persists due to social and
economic disadvantages suffered by women, also perpetuate gendered assumptions. As McMullen
(1988) points out, such arguments fail to recognise male prostitution. As more women than men
work in the sex industry, it might appear logical to assume that this must be because women have a
greater financial need, or at least fewer financial options available to them. However, it is more
likely that a lesser demand for male sex-workers better explains why fewer men work as
prostitutes.
Male sex-workers are assumed to be less vulnerable to exploitation than female sex-workers. The
key assumptions underlying the notion that female prostitution is inherently more exploitative than
male prostitution, is that for men, prostitution is about sex, and recreation, whereas for women,
275
prostitution is about work; more specifically, it is about money. This has been the specific
conclusion of studies on street sex-work in Australia and in the United States (Perkins and Bennett,
1985, and Weinberger et al., 1999 respectively). It is also an underlying assumption evident in the
sex work literature more generally. However, analysis of my research data leads me to reject this
hypothesis; for the men and women who took part in this study, motivation to engage in sex-work
was very similar regardless of gender. It is not that I reject the argument that male sex-work can be
benign, or reciprocal in character; rather, I would argue that such characteristics can equally be
applied to female sex-work.
What I would suggest, however, is that the difference between my findings and those indentified in
previous research is more likely to be linked to the type of sex markets and working environment
rather than gender. That is, men and women working as street sex workers are likely to have
different motivations to work in prostitution. Just as violence and exploitation are closely
associated with working environment, so too, I would argue, is motivation; sometimes, sex-work
environment, and conditions pertinent to that environment, explain things that gender alone cannot.
Like Bernstein (2007), I believe that women‟s sexual labour cannot be reduced to socio-economic
deprivation and sex-workers should be credited with far more agency than is often assumed.
Although „sex-work‟ arguments do not deny women‟s agency, they see sex worker‟s agency
specifically as a response or resistance to oppression (O‟Neill, 2001), yet the female participants in
this study were not oppressed, economically or otherwise. Instead, they chose sex-work for a
variety of reasons, and although sex-work represented many things to them, it was rarely a form of
resistance to economic disadvantage. I argue therefore that for many women, sex-work was not
only a resistance to oppression but that they acted as agents by using their sexuality instrumentally.
The problems with relying on notions of economic victimhood are threefold: first, by forging an
inextricable link between all sex-work and economic victimhood, the focus is on solving the
276
„problem‟ of prostitution instead of solving the problem of inequality. Second, it portrays all sexworkers as susceptible victims, which further reinforces stigmatisation. Third, the danger of
arguing that women would not work in prostitution if they had other choices perpetuates the notion
that those who profit from their work are exploiting them - when this is not always so; this limits
the way sex-workers can choose to carry out their work and discourages them from working
collectively, and thus more safely. Although this is not peculiar to women by any means, given
their greater reliance upon third parties to facilitate their work, it is women who are
disproportionally disadvantaged. Therefore, I argue that while sex-work perspectives offer a far
more persuasive explanation for prostitution than radical feminist perspectives do, their tendency to
focus on economic inequality is misguided and unhelpful.
Concluding Comments and Recommendations
I have argued that both abolitionist and sex-work feminist perspectives portray women as victims,
reinforcing notions of feminine vulnerability, and that in doing so, they heighten sex-worker‟s
vulnerability to exploitation by making them appear more vulnerable. As more sex-workers are
women and as more female sex-workers rely upon third parties to organise their-work, they are
disproportionately disadvantaged by this stigmatisation and an over-emphasis on notions of
vulnerability.
I reject Alexander‟s (1998:.198) contention that prostitution is almost always “a condition either
forced upon individuals by third parties or selected as the best of a bad bunch of economic
options”. This may be the case for some sex-workers; however to suggest that it applies to “all
except a small minority of people” is inaccurate. The escorts who participated in this study are part
of a rapidly growing sector of the sex industry and therefore it is important that any comprehensive
analysis of prostitution not only includes male and transgendered sex workers, but also, that it
includes escorting, and other less stereotypical examples of prostitution.
277
Davies and Simpson‟s (1990:.104) contention that “male homosexual prostitution confounds those
who regard (female) prostitution as a simple rehearsal of gender inequality” is valid; it does so,
both in the context of sexual and economic inequality. Although the example of male sex-work
provides a particularly indisputable illustration of how sex-work is not necessarily the result of
gendered inequalities, my research shows that the weakness of both abolitionist and sex-work
arguments could have been made simply using the example of female escorts; inequality and
oppression do not always explain female prostitution. Furthermore, although the idea of women
paying for sex may, intuitively, be hard to accept because it thwarts the notion that prostitution is
the blatant sexual abuse of women, by men, as my research has illustrated, women have, and do,
purchase sexual services.
By “bringing men back in” (Letherby, 2003:.137), I have met my theoretical aim to extend feminist
analysis beyond female prostitution. The value of this has been that by understanding the
similarities as well as the differences between male and female prostitution, I have been able to
identify, and draw attention to, a weakness in current feminist theory; one that feminists can
respond to and use to empower women and advocate for social change that would improve the
reality of women‟s lives (Cosgrove and McHugh, 2000). By focusing on male as well as female
sex-workers, and by addressing escort sex-workers, I have met my empirical aim to test the notion
that prostitution is inherently exploitative; analysis of my data confirms that exploitation in not an
inherent part of either male or female prostitution.
Assumptions, such as that female prostitution is exploitative or that it is any more exploitative than
male prostitution, are not only overly-simplistic, but they have the potential to promote policies
that are harmful for female sex-workers and harmful to men, who on this basis, are excluded from
consideration in policy reform. If, as described by Edwards (1993:.183), the most important feature
of feminist research is to “provide explanations of women‟s lives that are useful to them as an
instrument to improve their situations”, then I contend that we must empower women by providing
278
them with support should they choose to engage in sex-work. Whether we understand that choice
or not, as long as their work does not cause harm to others, they should be permitted, and
encouraged, to work as safely as possible. The most effective way of reducing exploitation in
prostitution would be to encourage more transparency and better communication between all
parties involved in sex-work, including third parties. This is unlikely to happen unless sex industry
organisers are legitimised and supported, by having their work decriminalised and regulated. By
decriminalising brothels, sex-workers who prefer not to work independently could choose to either
work collectively with other escorts, or to work for a business whose practices are subject to
scrutiny. Rather than simply explaining exploitation in gendered terms, I contend that the
environmental context in which sex-work takes place may have a far greater bearing on levels of
sex-workers‟ victimisation.
As I stated in my introduction, I am persuaded by Sullivan‟s (1995:.8) contention, that “feminist
arguments against prostitution can reinforce the stigmatisation of sex-workers”. I would add in
light of my findings, that this is evident even in the context of liberal sex-work approaches to
prostitution, and that it is crucial that feminist approaches recognise and promote the reality that,
like men, women can and sometimes do choose to sell their sexual services and that their rationale
for doing so need not be dependent upon notions of victimhood.
While this thesis has contributed to knowledge on prostitution in a way that both feminist
researchers and those concerned with reforming the laws on prostitution can draw on, there were a
number of limitations to my research and it is important to highlight these and to make suggestions
for further research. For example, as acknowledged above, the implications of Government
proposals to tackle the demand by criminalising the purchasing of sex were not fully explored in
my research and given that this possibility is likely to affect most, if not all, sex-workers, the
implications of doing so would be very valuable.
279
Additionally, the findings relative to transgendered participants of this study highlight that although
in certain aspects transgendered participants could be likened to either male or other female
participants, overall, they were consistently different from either; they are in a unique position.
Although not sufficient to compromise my overall thesis, one of the anomalies that was identified
as a result of my analysis, is that the experiences of transgendered participants are somewhat more
complex. As transgendered prostitutes are also the most under-researched group of sex-workers, I
would suggest that there is a need to prioritise research that would seek to understand more about
transgendered sex-workers and their clients.
Finally, although I was able to include the views of a small number of sex industry organisers, this
was not a deliberate part of my sampling strategy and therefore the comparative data this has
produced, while useful, is limited. Given that one of my arguments is that third-parties are not
necessarily exploitative, and that there is a need to differentiate between exploitative and nonexploitative sex-industry organisers, Weitzer‟s (2005) argument that more research is needed into
the management of prostitution, is compelling. At present, the management of prostitution remains
understudied, despite the attention that has been paid to the individual workers and their clients.
This is probably due, in part, to problems of access, given their criminalised status. It may also be
that stereotypical images of what constitutes either a „pimp‟ or a „madam‟ deem such individuals to
be unworthy of academic discussion; within what is presumed to be an inherently exploitative
industry, those who make profit from individual sex workers are considered to be the „lowest of the
low‟. However, it cannot be presumed that the power relationships in prostitution management are
any more exploitative than the management and profiteering from any other type of business.
Although prostitution can no longer be described as an under-researched subject, still, little
empirical or theoretical work incorporates, let alone focuses on, the views of the many men and
women whose business is the facilitation, or organisation, of sex-work for others. Their inclusion
and representation would herald a positive move forward in advancing the rights and safety of sexworkers.
280
Appendix A
9. Appendix A: Consent Form
Participant Research Information sheet
Project title: Sex work and gender: An examination of the gendered nature of exploitation in
prostitution
About the Research
This research seeks to examine the interaction of gender, sexuality and sex work. By
examining the particular experiences of male, female and transsexual escorts, the intention is
to provide a better understanding of any differences that might occur as a result of gender and/or
sexual orientation. In doing so, my intention is to provide a better understanding of whether law
has a valid role to play in protecting sex workers and their clients from exploitation. This research
is aimed at men and women who are aged 18 years and over, who work in off-street environments
and who would describe their involvement in sex work as voluntary.
Following the first phase of this research, where data was collected by means of an online survey, I
am now extending this research by undertaking a number of online, telephone and personal
interviews. The aim is to develop a deeper understanding of particular issues raised by working as
an escort in the sex industry and how they are influenced by gender. The topics that are likely to be
discussed include subjects such as work-relationships, work practices, experiences of exploitation
and how escorting work is experienced and rationalised. Whilst the aim is to further develop
matters raised by the survey data, if there are other issues that you feel are relevant to the study and
that you would like to raise for discussion, this will be most welcome.
The data collected will form part of my PhD thesis. It is hoped that through dissemination of this
thesis, your views on working in the sex industry can be genuinely represented and that academic
analysis of the data will contribute to the wider debate about the role of the law in the regulation of
commercialised sexual activity.
About the researcher
Suzanne Jenkins BA (Keele) 2004, LLM (Keele) 2005, PhD Candidate
Institutional address
Suzanne Jenkins
Institute of Law, Politics and Justice
Keele University
Staffs, UK
ST5 5BG
Email address [email protected] Telephone 01782-583218
Law School Website: http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/la/
Academic Supervisory Team
Professor Marie Fox [email protected]
Dr. Matthew Weait [email protected]
281
Appendix A
Participant Consent Form
Thank you for taking part in this phase of the work. Your contribution to the research will take the
form of a personal interview. With your consent, this will be tape-recorded and transcribed. All
material gathered from this research will be treated as confidential and the tape-recordings will be
securely stored. If external transcription services are employed, any details that might make
participants identifiable will be removed first. The transcriptions (excluding names and any other
identifying details) will then be retained by the researcher and analysed as part of the study.
The findings of the research will be written up as part of my PhD thesis. These findings may be
published, and they may also be used for teaching and research training. The written work may
include quotations from the interviews, but individuals will never be identified in any way and all
communications between the researcher and the participants will remain completely confidential
and anonymous.
It is possible that this interview raises issues that are sensitive and /or very personal to you. If you
are disturbed in any way by participation in this interview, please do let me know so that I can offer
appropriate support and pause or discontinue the interview as you wish. Your contribution is
immensely valuable to me. However, if, at any point during the course of the interview you wish to
withdraw from the study, your decision will be respected immediately.
_________________________________________________________________________
Having read the information sheet and the above statements concerning the collection and use of
the research data, I feel that I have adequate information to enable me to make an informed
decision to participate in this study. I have been briefed on what this involves and I agree to the use
of the findings as described above.
________________________________________________________________________
Your signature confirms that you are happy to participate in this interview.
Participant signature: _____________________________________________________
Name: __________________ _________________
Date: _____________________
I confirm, as the researcher, that I agree to keep the undertakings in this contract.
Researcher signature: _____________________________________________________
Name: ___________________________________
Date: ______________________
282
Appendix B
10. Appendix B: Summary of all Survey Responses
283
Appendix B
284
Appendix B
285
Appendix B
286
Appendix B
287
Appendix B
288
Appendix B
289
Appendix B
290
Appendix B
291
Appendix B
292
Appendix B
293
Bibliographic References
11. Bibliographic References
Aggleton, P. (Ed) (1999) Men who sell sex: International perspectives on male prostitution and
HIV/AIDS London: UCL Press.
Agustin, L. (2003) „Sex, Gender and Migrations: Facing Up to Ambiguous Realities.‟ Soundings
2003 (23).
Agustin, L. (2007) Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry.
London: Zed Books.
Alexander, P. (1996) „Bathhouses and Brothels: Symbolic Sites in Discourse and Practice‟, in
Ephen Glenn Colter (Ed). Policing public sex; queer politics and the future of AIDS activism, pp
221-249 Boston, MA: Dangerous Bedfellows.
Alexander, P. (1998) „Prostitution, still a difficult issue for Feminists.‟ in Delacoste and Alexander
(1998) Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry, (2nd edition pp184-230) San Francisco:
Cleis Press.
Allman, D. (1999) „M is for Mutual A is for Acts: Male sex work and HIV/AIDS in Canada.’ Copublished by Health Canada ISBN 1-895922-123-7 pp61-82.
Allman, D. and Myers, T. (1999) „Male Sex Work and HIV/AIDS in Canada.‟ pp 61-82 in Peter
Aggleton, (Ed) Men Who Sell Sex: International perspectives on male prostitution and HIV/AIDS,
London: Taylor and Francis.
Almodovar, N. J. (2006) „Porn stars, Radical feminists, Cops, and Outlaw Whores: The Battle
Between Feminist Theory and Reality, Free Speech, and Free Spirits‟, pp 149-174 in Jessica
Spector (Ed) Prostitution and Pornography: Philosophical Debate about the Sex Industry.
California: Stanford University Press.
Altman, D. (1999) foreword to Peter Aggleton (Ed) Men Who Sell Sex: International perspectives
on male prostitution and HIV/AIDS, pp xiii-xix London: Taylor and Francis
Anderson, S. A. (2002) „Prostitution and Sexual Autonomy: Making Sense of the Prohibition of
Prostitution‟, Ethics (112) pp748-780.
Archard, D. (1998) Sexual Consent. Oxford: Westview Press.
Banach, L and Metzenrath, S. (Eds) (1999) ‘Unjust and Counter-Productive: The Failures of
Governments to Protect Sex Workers from Discrimination’ A paper produced in a joint project by
the Scarlet Alliance and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisation in September 1999.
Available online at: http://www.scarletalliance.org.au/pub/ (Accessed 31st March 2009).
Bargh, J. A., McKenna, K. and Fitzsimons, G. (2002) „Can You See the Real Me? Activation and
Expression of the "True Self" on the Internet‟. Journal of Social Issues 2002 (58) pp 1-33.
Barnett, T. (2004) The Prostitution Reform Act: What is the story one year on? Available from UK
Network of Sex Work Projects http://www.uknswp.org/ (Accessed 4th April 2009).
Barrett, D (1998) „Young People and Prostitution: Perpetrators in Our Midst‟. International Review
of Law Computers & Technology, Vol. 12 (3) pp 475-486.
294
Barry, K. (1979) Female Sexual Slavery. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Bell, L. (Ed) (1987) Good Girls, Bad Girls: Sex Trade Workers and Feminists Face to Face,
Toronto: The Women‟s Press.
Bell, S. and Couture, J. (2000) „Justice and Law: Passion, Power, prejudice and So-called
Pedophilia‟, pp 40-59 in Dorothy Chunn and Danny Lacombe (Eds), Law as a Gendering Practice,
Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.
Bernstein, E. (2007) „Sex Work for the Middle Classes‟, Sexualities, Volume 10 (4) pp473-488.
Bimbi, D. S. and Parsons, J. T. (2005) „Barebacking among Internet-based Male Sex Workers‟, in
Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, Volume 9 (3/4) pp 85-105.
Bloor, M. and McKeganey, N. (1990) „An ethnographic study of HIV-related practices among
Glasgow rent boys and their clients: Report of a pilot study‟, in AIDS Care, Jan 1990, Vol.2 (1) pp
274-292.
Bockting, W. O., Robinson, B. E. and Rosser, B. R. S. (1998) „Transgender HIV prevention: a
qualitative needs assessment‟. AIDS Care, 10, pp 505–526.
Brents, B. G. and Hausbeck, K. (2005) „Violence and Legalized Brothel Prostitution in Nevada:
Examining safety, Risk, and Prostitution Policy‟. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 20 (3) pp
270-295.
Brock, D. (2000) „Victim, Nuisance, Fallen Woman, Outlaw, Worker?: Making the Identity
„Prostitute‟ in Canadian Criminal Law‟, pp 79-99 in Dorothy Chunn and Dany Lacombe (Eds) Law
as a Gendering Practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bromberg, S. (1998) „Feminist issues in prostitution‟, pp 294-320 in Elias, Bullough, Elias, and
Brewer (Eds) (1998) Prostitution: On Whores, Hustlers, and Johns, New York: Prometheus Books.
Brooks, A. and Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2007) „An invitation to feminist research‟. pp 1-24 in S. N
Hesse-Biber and P. L. Leavy (Eds) Feminist Research Practice: A Primer. London: Sage.
Brooks-Gordon, B. (2003) „Gendered Provisions in The Sexual Offences Bill 2003: Prostitution‟.
pp 28-33 in Criminal Justice Matters, (53)
Brooks-Gordon, B. (2006) The Price of Sex. Devon: Willan Publishing.
Browne, J. and Minichiello, V. (1995) „The social meanings behind male sex work: implications
for sexual interactions‟, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 46 (4) pp598-622.
Browne, J. and Minichiello, V. (1996) „The social and work context of commercial sex between
men‟. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, Vol.32 (1) pp 86-92.
Browne, J. and Minichiello, V. (1996a) „Research Directions in Male Sex Work‟. Journal of
Homosexuality, Volume 31(4) pp29-56.
Bryman, A. (2001) „Social research methods’ 2nd Edition, Oxford: OUP
Bryman, A. (2004) „Social research methods’ 2nd Edition, Oxford: OUP
295
Bullough, B. and Bullough, V. L. (1998) Introductory chapter, pp36-41 in Elias, Bullough, Elias,
and Brewer (Eds) (1998) Prostitution: On Whores, Hustlers, and Johns, New York: Prometheus
Books;
Cahill, A. J. (2001) Rethinking Rape. New York: Cornell University Press.
Califia, P. (1994) Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex. San Francisco: Cleis Press Inc.
Cameron, S. Collins, A. and Thew, N. (1999) „Prostitution services: an exploratory empirical
analysis‟. Applied economics, 31 pp 1523-1529.
Campbell, A. (2005) „Keeping the „Lady‟ safe: The Regulations of Femininity Through Crime
Prevention Literature‟. Critical Criminology, (13) pp 119-140.
Campbell, R. and Wasco, S. (2000) Feminist Approaches to Social Science: Epistemological and
Methodological Tenets‟. American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 28 (6) pp773-791.
Chapkis, W. (1997) Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor, New York: Routledge.
Chiasson, M.A., Hirshfield, S., Humberstone, M. DiFilippi, J., Koblin, B. A. and Remien, R. H.
(2005) „Increased High Risk Sexual Behavior After September 11 in Men Who Have Sex with
men: An Internet Survey‟. Archives of Sexual Behavior Vol. 34 pp 527-535.
Childs, M. (2000) „Commercial Sex and Criminal Law‟. Pp 205-229 in Nicolson and Bibbings
(Eds) „Feminist Perspectives on Criminal Law. London: Cavendish.
Church, S., Henderson, M., Barnard, M. and Hart, G. (2001) „Violence by clients towards female
prostitutes in different work settings: questionnaire survey‟, BMJ Vol. 322 pp524-525
Collier, R. (1995) Masculinity, Law and the Family. London: Routledge
Cosgrove, L. and McHugh, M. (2000) „Speaking for Ourselves: Feminist Methods and community
Psychology‟. American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 28, No. 6 pp815-838
CPS (2008) Crown Prosecution Service, Legal Guidance on Prostitution and related offences:
Public Interest Considerations. Available online: (Accessed 31st March 2009).
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/prostitution_and_offences_against_public_morals/index.html
Darch, T. (2004) „Terrence Higgins Trust West Street Team; Working with young men‟. Melrose,
M. and Barrett, D. (Eds) (2004) „Anchors in Floating Lives: Interventions with young people
sexually abused through prostitution’, Lyme Regis, Dorset: Russell House Publishing.
Davies, P. and Feldman, R. (1997) „Prostitute Men Now‟ pp 29-56 in Graham Scambler and
Annette Scambler (Eds) Rethinking Prostitution: Purchasing sex in the 1990s, London: Routledge.
Davies, P. and Feldman, R. (1999) „Selling Sex in Cardiff and London‟, pp 1-22 in Peter Aggleton
(Ed) Men Who Sell Sex: International perspectives on male prostitution and HIV/AIDS, London:
Taylor and Francis.
Davies, P. and Simpson, P. (1990) „On Male Homosexual Prostitution and HIV‟. In Aggleton,
Peter, Hart, Graham and Davies, Peter. (Eds). AIDS: Individual, Cultural and Policy Dimensions.
London: Falmer Press. pp103-119
Day, S. (2007) On the Game: Women and Sex Work. London: Pluto Press
296
Delacoste, F. and Alexander, P, (Eds) (1998) Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry,
(2nd edition) San Francisco: Cleis Press.
Della Giusta, M. (2008) „Stimulating the Impact of Regulation Changes on the Market for
Prostitution Services‟. pp 121-135 in Vanessa Munro and Marina Della Giusta (Eds) (2008)
Demanding Sex: Critical Reflections on the Regulation of Prostitution. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Dennis (2008) „Women are Victims, Men Make Choices: The Invisibility of Men and Boys in the
Global Sex Trade‟, Gender Issues No. 25 pp 11-25.
De Vaus, D. (2002) „Surveys in Social Research’, 5th Edition, London, Routledge
DiMarco, A. and DiMarco, H. (2003) „Investigating cybersociety: a consideration of the ethical and
practical issues surrounding online research in chat rooms‟, pp 164-179 in Yvonne Jewkes (Ed)
Dot. Cons: Crime, deviance and identity on the Internet, Devon: Willan.
Doezema, J. (2000) „Loose Women or Lost Women? The Re-emergence of the Myth of White
Slavery in Contemporary Discourses of trafficking in Women‟. Gender Issues, Vol.18 (1) pp 2350.
Dorais, M. (2005) Rent: The World of Male Sex Workers. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen‟s
University Press
Dottridge, M. (2003) Deserving Trust: Issues of Accountability for Human Right NGO’s.
International Council on Human Rights Policy, Switzerland.
Drinkwater, S. and Greenwood, H. with Melrose, R. (2004) „A literature review‟, in Melrose, M.
and Barrett, D. (Eds) (2004) „Anchors in Floating Lives: Interventions with young people sexually
abused through prostitution’, Lyme Regis, Dorset: Russell House Publishing.
Duncan, S. (1996) „The Mirror Tells Its Tale: Constructions of gender in criminal law‟ pp 173-187
in Anne Bottomley, Feminist Perspectives on the foundational Subjects of Law. London:
Cavendish.
Dworkin, A. (1981) „Prostitution and male Supremacy‟, speech delivered at a symposium entitled
Prostitution: from Academia to Activism, sponsored by Michigan Journal of Gender and Law at
The University of Michigan law school, October 31, 1992, available online (Accessed 29 th March
2009).
http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/dworkin/MichLawJourI.html.
ECP (English Collective of Prostitutes) (1997) „Campaigning for legal change‟, pp 83-104 in
Scambler, G. and Scambler, A. (Eds) Rethinking Prostitution: Purchasing sex in the 1990s’
London: Routledge.
ECP (English Collective of Prostitutes) (2004) „Paying the price of criminalisation: A response to
the government consultation paper on prostitution’. Available online
WWW.prostitutescollective.net
(Accessed 31st March 2009).
Edwards, R. (1993) „An Education in Interviewing: Placing the Researcher and the Research‟, pp
3-14 in Lee, R. and Renzetti, C. (Eds.) (1993) Researching Sensitive Topics, London: Sage.
297
ENMP (2002) „Tips, Tricks and Models of Good Practice for Service Provides Considering,
Planning or Implementing Services For male Sex Workers’. Manual complied by European
Network Male Prostitution. Available online
www.wmplondon.org.uk/documents/wmp_rw_report.pdf (Accessed 31st March 2009)
ENMP (2003) Activity Report December 2003 Edited by Katrin Schiffer & Markus Giesbers
available online at: www.wmplondon.org.uk/documents/wmp_rw_report.pdf: (last access 31st
March 2009)
Epele, M. A. (2001) „Excess, Scarcity and Desire among Drug-Using Sex Workers‟. Body and
Society, Vol. 7 (203) pp 161-179.
Ericsson, L. O. (1980) „Charges against Prostitution: An Attempt at a Philosophical Assessment‟,
Ethics, Vol. 90 (3) pp 335-366.
Erikkson, N. (2004) “HIDDEN STORIES” MALE SEX WORK IN NORTHERN EUROPE
Report. Stockholm Hearing, 23-24th of May 2004. Available online: (Accessed 31st March 2009)
http://www.correlation-net.org/enmp/downloads/19-64_Stockholm.pdf.
Escoffier, J. (2007) Porn Star/Stripper/Escort: Economic and Sexual Dynamics in a Sex WORK
Career‟. In Morrison, T. G. and Whitehead, B. W. (Eds) (2007) Male Sex Work: A Business Doing
Pleasure, New York: Harrington Park Press.
Fineman, M. (2008) „The Vulnerable subject: Anchoring Equality in the Human Condition‟. Yale
Journal of Law and Feminism; 20 (1) pp 8-40.
Gaffney, J. (2007) „A co-ordinated prostitution strategy and response to Paying the price – but
what about the men?’Community Safety Journal, Vol. 6 (1). pp 27-33 Special edition: „The
prostitution strategy: implications for community safety‟.
Gall, G. (2006) Sex Worker Union Organising: An International Study. Basingstoke: Palgrave:
Macmillan.
Gavey, N. (1999) „I wasn‟t raped, but . . . . . : Revisiting Definitional Problems in Sexual
Victimisation‟. pp57-81 in Sharon Lamb (Ed) New Versions of Victims: Feminists Struggle with the
Concept. New York: New York University Press.
Gies, L. (2008) „How material are cyberbodies? Broadband Internet and embodies subjectivity. In
Crime, Media, Culture, Vol. 4 (3) pp 311-330.
Glendinning, C. and Millar, J. (1992) Women and poverty in Britain: The 1990s. London:
Harvester.
Goodin, R. E. (1987) „Exploiting a situation and exploiting a person‟. pp 166-200 in Andrew Reeve
(Ed) Modern Theories of Exploitation. London: Sage.
Goodley, S. (1994) „A Male Sex Worker‟s View‟. pp 126-131 in Perkins et al (Eds) (1994) „Sex
Work and Sex Workers in Australia’, Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales Press.
Gorelick, S. (1989) „The Changer and the Changed: Methodological Reflections on Studying
Jewish Feminists‟. pp336-358 in Alison Jaggar and Susan Bordo (Eds), Gender, Body, Knowledge,
New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.
Gunn, H. (2002) „Web-based Surveys: Changing the Survey Process‟, First Monday Issue 7 (12).
Available online at http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_12/gunn/
298
Hankins, K. (1996) Human Rights, Women and HIV, Canadian HIV/AIDS Policy and Law
newsletter, Vol.2 (4) 4 July 1996.
Harris, J. (1985) The Value of Life: An introduction to medical ethics. London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul Ltd.
Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2007) „Putting it Together.‟ Pp 329-352 in S .N. Hesse-Biber & P. L. Leavy
(Eds.) Feminist Research Practice: A Primer. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hewson, C., Yule, P., Laurent, D. and Vogel, C. (2003) ‘Internet Research Methods’: a practical
guide for the social and behavioural sciences’ London, Sage Publications.
Highleyman, L. (aka Mistress Veronica Frost) (1997) „Power, money and identity‟, pp 145-155 in
Nagle, J. (Ed) ‘Whores and other feminists’ London: Routledge.
Hill, J. L. (1994) „Exploitation‟. Cornell Law Review 1993-19942: pp 631- 699.
Hoigard, C. and Finstad, L. (1996) „Prostitutes and their clients‟, chapter 4.9 p358/9 in Feminism
and Sexuality: A Reader by Sue Scott and Stevi Jackson (Eds) (1996) Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press
Hoigard, C. and Finstad, L. (2003) „The Fight against Prostitution‟. pp 589-219 in Roger Matthews
and Maggie O‟Neill (Eds) Prostitution: An International Library of Criminology, Criminal Justice
and Penology, Aldershot, Hants: Dartmouth Publishing Company.
Hollander, J. (2001) „Vulnerability and Dangerousness: The Construction of Gender through
Conversation about Violence‟. Gender and Society, Vol.15(1) pp 83-109.
Home Office (1957) Wolfenden Committee Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and
Prostitution. London: HMSO.
Home Office (2006) „A Co-ordinated Prostitution Strategy and a Summary of Responses to Paying
the Price (ref.272136), January 2006. London: COI on behalf of Home Office.
Hughes, D. (1999) New Technologies and the Sex Industry: Prostitution and the EU The coalition
against trafficking in women http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/ppsi.htm (Accessed 31st March
2009)
Hughes, D. (2000) Men create the demand; women are the supply Lecture on sexual exploitation,
Queen Sofia centre, Valencia, Spain November 2000. Available online: (Accessed 31 st March
2009) http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/demand.htm
Hunter, A. (1992) „The development of theoretical approaches to sex work in Australian sexworker rights groups‟. Sex industry and public policy: proceedings of a conference held 6-8 May
1991 Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 1992, on behalf of the National Organiser
Scarlet Alliance, Victoria. (AIC Conference Proceedings; no. 14 Available online (Accessed 31st
March 2009). http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/proceedings/14/hunter.html
Illingworth, N. (2001) „The Internet Matters: Exploring the Use of the Internet as a research tool‟,
in Sociological review Online, Vol. 6 (2) Available online (Accessed 31st March 2009)
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/6/2/illingworth.html
Itiel, J. (1998) „A Consumer’s Guide to Male Hustlers’, New York: Harrington Park Press
299
Jayaratne, T. and Stewart, A. J. (1991) „Quantitative and Qualitative methods in the social sciences:
Current Feminist issues and practice strategies‟. Pp 85-105 in M.M. Fonow and J. A. Cook (Eds).
Beyond methodology: Feminist scholarship as lived research. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press.
Jeffrey, A. and MacDonald, G. (2006) Talk back: Sec Work in the Maritimes. Vancouver: UBC
Press
Jeffreys, S. (1997) The idea of prostitution, Melbourne: Spinifex Press Pty. Ltd.
Jeffreys, S. (2000) „Challenging the Child/Adult Distinction in Theory and Practice on
Prostitution‟, International Feminist Journal of Politics, Vol. 2(3) pp 359-379.
Jeffreys, S. (2002) „Trafficking in Women versus Prostitution: A false distinction, Keynote address
at Townsville International Women‟s Conference, Australia. Available online (Accessed 31 st
March 2009) http://www.nswp.org/pdf/JEFFREYS-WINTER.PDF
Jeffreys, S. (2009) The industrial vagina: the political economy of the global sex trade. Oxford:
Routledge.
Joinson, A. (2005) „Internet Behaviour and the Design of Virtual methods‟, pp 21-24 in Christine
Hine (Ed) Virtual methods: issues in Social research on the Internet’, Oxford: Berg.
Jolin, A. (1994) „On the Backs of Working Prostitutes: Feminist Theory and Prostitution Policy‟,
Crime & delinquency, Vol. 40 (1) pp 69-82.
Kaye, K. (2003) „Male Prostitution in the Twentieth Century: Pseudohomosexuals, Hoodlum
Homosexuals, and Exploited Teens‟, Journal of Homosexuality, Vol. 46 (1/2) pp1-77.
Kearins, E. (2000) Rent: The untold story of Male Prostitution in Dublin, Dublin: Marino Books
Keller, E. F. (1985) Reflection on Gender and Science. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Kesler, K. (2002) „Is a Feminist Stance in Support of Prostitution Possible? An Exploration of
Current Trends‟, Sexualities Vol. 5 (2) pp 219-235.
Kinnell (2002) Why Feminists Should Rethink On Sex Workers’ Rights. Beyond Contract Seminar
Series. UK Network of Sex Work Projects. Available online: (Accessed 31st March 2009)
http://www.nswp.org/pdf/KINNELL-FEMINISTS.PDF
Kinnell, H. (2006) Murder made easy: the final solution to prostitution? pp 141-168 in Rosie
Campbell and Maggie O‟Neill (Eds), Sex Work Now. Cullompton, Devon: Willan Publishing.
Kinnell, H. (2008) Violence and Sex Work in Britain. Devon: Willan
Kirk, J. and Miller, D (1986) Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research. London: Sage.
Letherby, G. (2003) Feminist research in theory and practice. Philadelphia, PA Open University
Press
Koken, J. A., Bimbi, D. S., Parsons, J. T. and Halkitis, P. N. (2004) „The Experience of Stigma in
the Lives of Male Internet Escorts‟, Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, Vol.16 (1) pp1332.
300
Kulick, D. (1998) Travesty: Sex, Gender and culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes,
Chicago: Chicago University press
Kulick, D. (2004) „Sex in the new Europe: the criminalization of clients and Swedish fear of
penetration‟. Pp 215-257 in H. Ward & S. Day (Eds.), Sex work, Mobility and Health in Europe,
London: Kegal Paul Limited.
Kulick, D. (2005) „Four Hundred Thousand Perverts‟, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies,
11 (2) pp 205-235
Kuo, L. (2002) Prostitution Policy: Revolutionizing Practice Through a Gendered Perspective,
New York: New York University Press
Lamb, S. (Ed) (1999) New Versions of Victims: Feminists struggle with the concept, New York:
New York University Press
Lazarus, M. (1994) „On a Street Beat with the Police‟. Pp 100-110 in Perkins et al. (Eds) (1994)
„Sex Work and Sex Workers in Australia’, Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales
Press.
Leichtentritt and Davidson Arad (2004) „Adolescent and Young Adult Male–to-Female
Transsexuals: Pathways to Prostitution‟, British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 34 (3) pp 349-374.
Letherby, G. (2003) Feminist Research in Theory and Practice. Buckingham: Open University
Press.
Lever, J. and Dolnick, D. (2000) „Clients and Call Girls: Seeking Sex and Intimacy‟, pp 85-100 in
Weitzer, R. (Ed) (2000) Sex for sale: Prostitution, pornography and the sex industry London:
Routledge.
Mackinnon, C. (1987) Feminism unmodified. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
MacKinnon, C. (1993) „Prostitution and Civil Rights‟, Michigan Journal of Gender and Law,
1993, Vol.1: pp 13-31.
Madriz, E. (1997) Nothing bad happens to good girls: fear of crime in women’s lives. London:
University of California Press.
Mansson, S. A. and Hedin, U. (1999) „Breaking the Matthew effect – On woman leaving
prostitution‟. International Journal of Social Welfare (8) pp 67-77
Marlowe, J. (1997) „It‟s different for Boys‟, pp141-144 in Jill Nagle (Ed) Whores and other
feminists, London: Routledge.
Marlowe, J. (2006) „Thinking Outside the Box: men in the Sex Industry.‟ pp349-357 in Jessica
Spector (Ed) Prostitution and Pornography: Philosophical Debate about the Sex Industry.
California: Stanford University Press.
Mason, J. (2002) Qualitative researching, 2nd Edition, London: Sage
Matthews, R. (2003) „Beyond Wolfenden? Prostitution, politics and the law‟, pp 188-280 in Roger
Matthews and Maggie O‟Neill (Eds) (2003) Prostitution (The International Library of
Criminology, Criminal Justice & penology) Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
301
Matthews, R. (2008) Prostitution, Politics and Policy. Oxford: Routledge Cavendish.
McKeganey, N., Barnard, M. and Bloor, M. (1990) „A comparison of HIV-related risk behaviour
and risk reduction between female street working prostitutes and male rent boys in Glasgow‟, in
Sociology of Health and Illness Vol. 12 (3) pp 274-292.
McKeganey, N. and Barnard, M. (1996) Sex Work on the streets: Prostitutes and their clients,
Buckingham: Open University Press.
McMullen, R. (1988) „Boys involved in prostitution‟, in Youth and Policy, No: 23 (198).
McNay, L. (1992) Foucault and Feminism: Power, Gender and the Self. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Mehta and Sivadas (1995) „Comparing response rates and response content in mail versus
electronic mail surveys‟ in Journal of the Market Research Society, Vol.37 (1-4).
Mies, M. (1983) „Towards a Methodology for Feminist Research‟, pp 64-81 in Martyn
Hammersley (Ed) Social research: philosophy, politics and practice London: Sage Publications.
Millett, K. (1975) The Prostitution Papers St. Albans: Paladin Books
Mills, J. (1997) „Throwing in the towel’ paper for The Christian Institute, available online at
http://www.christian.org.uk/html-publications/prost.htm (Last accessed 21st March 2009)
Miner-Rubio, K. & Jayaratne, T. E. (2007) „Feminist survey research‟, pp293-328 in S .N. HesseBiber & P. L. Leavy (Ed.) Feminist Research Practice: A Primer. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Minichiello, V., Harvey, P. G. and Marino, R. (2008) „The sexual intentions of male sex workers:
an international study of escorts who advertise on the web‟. pp 156-171 in Gayle Letherby, Kate
Williams, Philip Birch and Maureen Cain (Eds) Sex As Crime M. Cullompton: Willan.
Montgomery, H. (1998) „Children, Prostitution, and Identity: A case Study from a Tourist Resort in
Thailand‟. pp 139-150 in Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition. Edited by
kamala Kempadoo and Jo Doezema, London: Routledge.
Morrison, T. (2007) Conclusion pp 301-302 in Todd Morrison and Bruce Whitehead (Eds) Male
Sex Work: A Business Doing Pleasure, New York: Harrington Park Press.
Morrison, T. G. and Whitehead, B. W. (EDS) (2007) Male Sex Work: A Business Doing Pleasure,
New York: Harrington Park Press.
Munro, V. (2008) Exploring Exploitation: „Trafficking in Sex, Work and Sex Work‟, pp 83-97 in
Munro, V. and Della Giusta, M. (Eds) (2008) Demanding Sex: Critical Reflections on the
Regulation of Prostitution. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Munro, V. and Della Giusta, M. (Eds) (2008) Demanding Sex: Critical Reflections on the
Regulation of Prostitution. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Nagle, J. (Ed) (1997) Whores and other feminists. London: Routledge.
Nemoto, T., Operario, D., Keatley, J and Villegas, D. (2004) „Social context of HIV risk
behaviours among male-to-female transgenders of colour‟, AIDS CARE, Vol. 16 (6) pp724-735.
O‟Connell Davidson, J. (1998) Prostitution, Power and Freedom. Cambridge: Polity Press.
302
O‟Neill, M. (1997) „Prostitute Women Now‟, pp 3-29 in Scambler, G. and Scambler, A. (1997)
Rethinking Prostitution: Purchasing sex in the 1990s’, London: Routledge.
O‟ Neill, M (1999) Literature review of Research on Sexual Exploitation. (Appendix D3 of Setting
the Boundaries: Reforming the law on sex offences Volume 1 July 2000) available online:
http://alternate.com/downloads/SettingTheBoundariesApxD3.pdf
O‟Neill (2001) Prostitution and Feminism: Towards a Politics of Feeling. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Overall, C. (1992) „What‟s Wrong with Prostitution?: Evaluating Sex Work‟, Signs Summer Issue:
pp 705-724
Overs, C. (1998) „Interactional Activism‟, an interview with Jo Doezema, pp 204-209 in Kamala
Kempadoo and Jo Doezema (Eds) Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance and Redefinition,
London: Routledge.
Paglia, C. (1994) „Woman as Goddess: Camille Paglia Tours Strip Clubs‟, Reported by Melanie
Wells, for Penthouse October p. 132. Available online: (Accessed 31st March 2008)
http://www.nakedtruth.ca/bb_womanasgoddess.htm
Parsons, J. T., Koken, J. A. and Bimbi, D.S. (2004) „The Use of the Internet by gay and bisexual
male escorts: sex workers as sex educators‟, AIDS CARE Vol. 16 (8) pp 1021-1035.
Pateman, C. (1983) Defending Prostitution: Charges Against Ericsson, Ethics, Vol. 93 (3) pp. 61565.
Pateman, C. (1988) The Sexual Contract Cambridge: Polity Press.
Pedersen, W. and Hegna, K. (2003) „Children and adolescents who sell sex: a community study‟
Social Science & Medicine No. 56, pp135-147.
Perkins. R. and Bennett, G. (1985) Being a Prostitute: Prostitute Women and Prostitute Men, Allen
and Unwin: Sydney.
Perkins, R. and Lovejoy, F. (2007) Call Girls: Private Sex Workers in Australia. Crawley WA:
University of Western Australia Press.
Perkins, R., Prestage, G., Sharp, R. and Lovejoy, F. (Eds) (1994) „Sex Work and Sex Workers in
Australia’, Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales Press.
Persky, S. (1997) Autobiography of a Tattoo, Vancouver: New Star Books.
Pettersson, T. and Tiby, E. (2003) „The production and reproduction of prostitution‟, Journal of
Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, Vol. 3 pp154-172.
Pheterson, G (1996) The Prostitution Prism Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam Press.
Phillips, J. (1999) „Tourist-oriented Prostitution in Barbados: The Case of the Beach Boy and the
White Female Tourist” in Kamala Kempadoo (Ed), Sun, Sex and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in
the Caribbean. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.
Phoenix, J. (1999) „Making Sense of prostitution’, Basingstoke: Palgrave Publishers Ltd.
303
Phoenix, J, (2006) „Regulating prostitution: controlling women‟s lives‟, pp 76-95 in Frances
Heidensohn (Ed) Gender and Justice: new concepts and approaches. Cullompton, Devon: Willan
Publishing.
Phoenix, J. (2007) „Regulating prostitution: Difference problems, different solutions, same old
story‟, Community Safety Journal, Vol. 6 (1) special edition:‟ The prostitution strategy:
implications for community safety‟. pp 7-10.
Phoenix, J, (2008) „Be Helped or Else! Economic Exploitation, Male Violence and Prostitution
Policy in the UK‟. pp 34-50 in Vanessa Munro and Marina Della Giusta (Eds) (2008) Demanding
Sex: Critical Reflections on the Regulation of Prostitution. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Prestage, G. (1994) Male and Transsexual Prostitution‟. pp 174-190 in Perkins et al. (Eds) (1994)
„Sex Work and Sex Workers in Australia’, Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales
Press.
Prieur, A. (1998) Mema’s House, Mexico City: On Transvestites, Queens and Madios, Chicago:
Chicago University press
Pryce, A. (2003) „Flesh: The Historical Construction of Male Sex Work’ Oral paper presented at
„Hidden Stories‟ ENMP Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, May 23rd 2003.
Ramazanoglu, C. with Holland, J. (2002) Feminist Methodology: Challenges and Choices, London:
Sage.
Renzetti, C. (1999) „The Challenge to feminism posed by Women‟s use of Violence in Intimate
Relationships‟, pp 42-56 in Sharon Lamb (Ed) New Versions of Victims: Feminists Struggle with
the Concept. New York: New York University Press.
Rickard, W. (2001) „Been There, Seen it, Done it, I‟ve Got the T-shirt‟: British Sex Worker‟s
Reflect on Jobs, Hopes, the Future and Retirement‟, Feminist Review No. 67pp 111-131.
Rubin, G. (1984) „Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality‟, pp 237319 in Carole S. Vance (Ed) Pleasure and Danger: Exploring female Sexuality, Boston: Routledge
& Kegan Paul.
Sample, R. J. (2003) Exploitation: What It Is and Why It’s Wrong. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and
Littlefield.
Sanchez Taylor, J. (2006) Female sex Tourism: a contradiction in terms? In Feminist Review No.
83 pp42-59
Sanders, T. (2004) „Researching the Online sex Work Community” pp 67-80 in Christine Hine
(ED) Virtual Methods in Social Research on the Internet, Oxford: Berg.
Sanders, T. (2005) Sex Work: A risky business’, Devon: Willan Publishing.
Sanders (2005a) „It‟s Just Acting‟: Sex Workers‟ Strategies for Capitalizing on Sexuality‟. Gender,
Work and Organisation Vol. 12 (4) pp 319-342.
Sanders, T. (2006) „Behind the personal ads: the indoor sex markets in Britain‟, pp 92-115 Rosie
Campbell and Maggie O‟Neill (Eds) Sex Work Now, Cullompton, Devon: Willan Publishing.
Sanders, T. (2007) ‘No room for a regulated market? The implications of the co-ordinated
prostitution strategy for the indoor sex industries‟, Community Safety Journal Vol. 6 (1) pp 34-44
special edition: „The prostitution strategy: implications for community safety‟.
304
Sanders, T. (2007a) „Becoming an Ex-Sex Worker: Making Transitions Out of a Deviant Career‟.
Feminist Criminology, 2 (1) pp 74-95.
Sanders, T. (2008) Paying for Pleasure: men who Buy Sex, Devon: Willan Publishing.
Sanders, T. and Campbell, R. (2008) „What‟s criminal about female indoor sex work? Pp 47-62 in
Gayle Letherby, Kate Williams, Philip Birch and Maureen Cain (Eds) Sex As Crime? Devon:
Willan Publishing.
Satz, D. (1995) „Markets in Women‟s Sexual Labor‟, Ethics 106 (October 1995) pp 63-85.
Scambler, G. (2007) „Sex Work Stigma: Opportunist Migrants in London‟, Sociology Vol.4 (6) pp
1079-1096
Scambler, G. and Scambler, A. (1997) Rethinking Prostitution: Purchasing sex in the 1990s’,
London: Routledge.
Scott, J. (2003) „A Prostitute‟s Progress: Male Prostitution in Scientific Discourse‟, Social
Semiotics, Vol. 13 (2) pp 320-342.
Scoular, J. (2004) „The „subject‟ of prostitution: interpreting the discursive, symbolic and material
position of sex/work in feminist theory‟, Feminist Theory, Vol. 5 (3) pp 343-355.
Selwyn, N. and Robson, K. (1998) „Using email as a research tool‟, Social research update issue
21 (published quarterly by the Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2
7XH, England). Available online (Accessed 31st March 2009)
http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU21.html
Sharpe, K. (1998) Red Light, Blue Light: prostitutes, punters and the police, Aldershot: Ashgate
Publishing.
Sharp, K. and Earle, S. (2003) „Cyberpunters and cyberwhores: prostitution on the Internet‟, pp3652 in Yvonne Jewkes (2003) Dot. cons: Crime, Deviance and identity on the Internet. Cullompton,
Devon: Willan.
Shrage, L. (1989) Should Feminists Oppose Prostitution, Ethics, Vol. 99 (2) pp 347-361.
Shrage, L (1994) ‘Moral Dilemmas of Feminism: Prostitution, adultery and abortion, London:
Routledge.
Silverman, D. (2001) Interpreting Qualitative data: Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and
Interaction. 2nd Edition. London: Sage Publications.
Smart, C. (1976) Women, crime and Criminology: A Feminist Critique, London: Routledge &
Kegan Paul Ltd.
Spears, R. and Lea, M. (1992) „Social Influence and the Influence of the Social in ComputerMediated Communication‟, pp 30-64 in Martin Lea (Ed) ‘Contexts in Computer-Mediated
Communication’, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Spears, R., Postmes, T., Lea, M. and Wolbert, A. (2002) „Are Net Effects Gross Products? The
Power of Influence and of Power in Computer-Mediated Communication, Journal of Social Issues,
Vol. 58 (1), pp 91-107.
305
Sullivan, B. (1994) „Feminism and Female Prostitution‟, pp 253-268 in Perkins et al., (1999) (Eds)
(1994) „Sex Work and Sex Workers in Australia’, Sydney, Australia: University of New South
Wales Press.
Sullivan, B. (1995) Rethinking Prostitution, for W.I.S.E (Women‟s Issues and Social
Empowerment) available online (Accessed 31st March 2008)
http://www.atc.org.yu/data/File/Prostitucija/feminism%20and%20prostitution.pdf
Sullivan, B. (1999) „Buying/Selling Sex‟, in Social Alternatives July 1999, Vol.18 (3)
Sweney, M (2008) Guardian newspaper Tuesday 25 November 2008 (Accessed 31st March 2009)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/25/wi-local-papers-sex-ads
SW5 (2005) formerly Streetwise Youth, part of the Terrence Higgins Trust - Safety tip No.2 http://www.sw5.info/ (Accessed 31st March 2009).
Thukral, J. (2006) „Sex workers and finances: a case study of New York City‟, in Research for sex
work 9: Sex Work and Money. Available online (Accessed 31st March 2009)
http://www.researchforsexwork.org/editions/r4sw09.html
Tyldum, G. and Brunovskis, A. (2005) „Describing the Unobserved: Methodological Challenges in
Empirical Studies on Human trafficking‟. International Migration Vol.43 (1/2) pp17-33.
Vanwesenbeeck, I. (2001) Another decade of social scientific work on sex work: A review of
research 1990-2000, Netherlands Institute of Social Sexological Research, Utrecht, The
Netherlands.
Vir, J. (2003) „Qualitative research and the Internet: friends or foes?‟ In Qualitative Market
Research: An International Journal Year: Vol. 6 (3).
Ward, H., Day, S. and Weber, J. (1999). „Risky business: health and safety in the sex industry over
a 9 year period‟. Sex Transmitted Infections, Vol. 75 (5) pp 340-343.
Weeks, J. (1991) „Inverts, perverts, and mary-annes, Against Nature, Rivers Oram pp56-67.
Weinberg, M., Shaver, F. M., and Williams, C. J. (1999) „Gendered Sex Work in the San Francisco
Tenderloin‟, Archives of sexual Behavior, Vol. 28 (6) pp 503-521.
Weinberg, M.S., Worth, H. and Williams, C. J. (2001) „Men sex workers and other men who have
sex with men: How do their HIV risks compare in New Zealand?‟ Archives of Sexual Behavior,
Issue 30, pp 273-286
Weisberg, K. (1985) Children of the night: A study of adolescent prostitution. Lexington Books
(Lexington, Mass.
Weitzer, R. (Ed) (2000) Sex for sale: Prostitution, pornography and the sex industry. London:
Routledge.
Weitzer, R. (2005) „New directions in research on prostitution‟, Crime, Law and Social Change’,
No: 43, pp 211-235.
Weitzer, R. (2007) „The Social Construction of Sex Trafficking: Ideology and Institutionalization
of a Moral Crusade‟, Politics and Society, Vol. 35 (3) pp 447-475.
306
West, D. J. (1992) „Male Prostitution’, London: Duckworth.
West, J. and, Austrin, T. (2002) „From Work as Sex to Sex as Work: Networks, „Others‟ and
Occupations in the Analysis of Work‟, Gender, Work and Organisation, Vol. 9 (5) pp 482-503.
Whittaker, D. and Hart, G. (1996) „Organisation of indoor sex work‟, in Sociology of Health and
Illness, Vol. 18 (3) pp 399-414.
Wilcox, A. and Christmann, K. (2008) „Getting paid for sex is my kick‟: a qualitative study of male
sex work. pp 118-136 in Gayle Letherby, Kate Williams, Philip Birch and Maureen Cain (Eds) Sex
As Crime M. Cullompton, Devon: Willan.
Wilkinson, S. (2003) Bodies for Sale: ethics and exploitation in the human body trade. London:
Routledge.
Williams, K., Cain, M., Birch, P. and Letherby, G. (2008) „Sex for Sale‟. pp19-25 in Gayle
Letherby, Kate Williams, Philip Birch and Maureen Cain (Eds) Sex As Crime M. Cullompton,
Devon: Willan.
WMP (2002) „The Working Men‟s Project‟ „Making the difference‟ Review report
Available online (Accessed 31st March 2009) http://www.wmplondon.org.uk/
Wolff, J. (1999) „Marx and Exploitation‟. The Journal of Ethics, Vol. 3 pp 105-120.
Zatz, N. (1997) „Sex Work/Sex Act: Law, Labor, and Desire in constructions of Prostitution, Signs;
Vol. 22 (2) pp277-308.
Zuilhof, W. (1999) ‟Sex for Money between men and Boys in the Netherlands: Implications for
HIV Prevention‟, pp 23-40 in Peter Aggleton, (Ed) Men Who Sell Sex: International perspectives
on male prostitution and HIV/AIDS, London: Taylor and Francis.
Legislation
Sexual Offences Act 1956
Crime and Disorder Act 1998
Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001
Sexual Offences Act 2003
307

Beyond gender Jenkins PhD 2009

Transcription

Similar documents

Training Outline

Newsletter 105

Prostitution Notes from a visit to Sweden

Shocking Facts.pub

Human Trafficking: Black Girls Are Still Enslaved

14 Sexuality

IIT Delhi For Society

Advocate - Summer 2015

THE HIDDEN FACE OF PROSPERITy

Sex, Secrets and Lies