[M.D. Holloway]

Not sure if any of you have met, talked to or know a prostitute. I have had the opportunity to meet several for a ghost writing project. I did have the opportunity to sample the goods but chickened out for fear of bugs or worse. After interviewing several and actually getting to know them on a level many do not there are several things that you must be made aware of:
1) there are different types of prostitutes;
- independents (escort / call girls) that may or may not have drivers to act as muscle when a John flakes. These are not pimps per se and in many cases are actually boy friends as weird as that may seem. They make the most money. These girls are very savvy and know exactly what they are doing. They typically have a circles of 2 to 5 other girls they know to watch out and help write copy for ad space as well as the occasional 3 some.
- massage spa workers that provide the 'happy ending', these are normally from other countries and make decent money taking a % of the fee. There are some from the US but use the facility for security of income rather then self marketing.
- strippers, similar to the spa worker but most often from the here. Some turn into escorts while others stick to the security and protection of the bar and manager. While not all stripers pull tricks, many eventually do for the income increase.
- street walkers, these are the saddest...some are run-aways, others drug addicts and still others were actually born into the business as bad as that sounds. When you find your self really hungry or strung out, turning a trick to get by is what you do to survive if you don't think there is a better way and can't (or won't) see the value of working at a fast food joint. The majority of these are protected by pimps, the independents do the stroll but can get the crap beat out of them by a pimp if they don't join the stable depending upon where they work.

2) There is also the human trafficking side of it and those come form all over. Some from really bad situations here in the states while many from central or south America and over seas. Not all are abducted like in the movies. Many are offered the opportunity (or so they think) to make serious money, hook up with a stupid American, get him to marry them then take him for all he is worth. The ones from eastern Europe or Russia or very very smart and very materialistic but so can the ones from Asia. These girls have a gift of brains, bodies and a seduction skill that is mind boggling. They can quickly figure out if you are a catch or if they should move on.

3) A few other things that many never seem to consider, there is a growing market for male prostitutes. Not the American Gigolo but homosexuals. With the rate of AIDS in control and decreasing the number of men turning trick has increased dramatically. Makes it even easier because now there is a reduced stigma to being gay so they can advertise more and actually the demand has increased do to the openness. I have interviewed a few gay escorts and frankly they are really freaky. Actually scary. Creeped me out to hear some of the stories and I don't creep out easy.

4) Another thing that many of you may assume is that all prostitutes were victims of a sexual abuse. This is not true. While many were there are a bunch I met that were not. They cross all socio-economic boundaries. Some of these girls are college educated, some from solid middle class back grounds, some from horrible lives, others were basically psychotic to put it bluntly. There doesn't seem to be a recipe save for one commonality: they all want to make money as easily as possible. And they do bank. Some make serious cash.

5) So, how do they do it? Well most become masters at disassociation. They simply turn off their ability to experience what is going on and seem to repress it. Booze and drugs help some to forget. The ties they form with other prostitutes allow them to develop this weird sort of brothers-in-arms mentality. The ones that actually survive for awhile have a network like this.

You may think that these women have low self esteem. While I did see some of that, the majority actually are pretty darn confident. You can't turn a trick and not have control of the situation. You would not last long.

They are not as different as many of us. One told me that I was a prostitute; I would basically use words to make money and she used what ever orifice worked at that time to do the same. I don't agree but a few things I learned on that project was 'don't think you can argue with a prostitute'. They have it all figured out, just ask them.