Prostitution: The recession-proof career
Filed under: Sex Sells, Wealth, Relationships, Recession
.jpg)
It's interesting to see how an area, country, or society can change its morals almost at the drop of a hat. For example, Weimar Germany, devastated by the worldwide financial collapse of the 1930's and saddled with an insurmountable war debt, quickly became a moral wasteland. As fortunes crumbled and the future seemed hopeless, the basic rules governing social interaction evaporated and Berlin became a destination for sex tourists, not unlike today's Bankok.
Businessmen from around the world used their vastly inflated home currencies to buy the affections of "demi-castors," or upstanding middle-class women who turned to prostitution as a means of making ends meet. From matrons to schoolgirls, women from every walk of life and level of society demonstrated that, in the end, there is one commodity that never loses its value.
While Weimar Berlin is an outrageous example of the impact that a brutalized economy can have on society, recent events have demonstrated that the evaporation of social mores is not as unlikely as one might hope.
From young New York women seeking to sell themselves to wealthy businessmen, to people offering cheap rentals in return for "benefits," to rural Kentuckians trading sex for gas, the news over the last few months has been full of sordid tales of women deciding to turn to prostitution as a means of dealing with inflation. The definitive event in this trend was probably New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's dalliance with Ashlee Dupree. While the news was running in circles attempting to explain Spitzer's downfall, precious little attention was devoted to the woman who was willing to exchange her body for cash and an embarrassing moment in the spotlight. It's interesting to speculate on the reason for this lack of coverage: was the media uninterested in the forces that motivated Spitzer's Lolita, or was it simply convinced that it already knew them?
Recession Watch
An employee of the MICEX, Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, is seen at their offices in Moscow, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. Russia's stock markets opened lower Friday in reaction to a torrid trading session in the United States, where fears escalated over the likely success of a Washington bank bailout plan to stave off a recession in the U.S. and around the world. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
AP
An employee of the MICEX, Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, looks at a screen, in Moscow, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. Russia's stock markets opened lower Friday in reaction to a torrid trading session in the United States, where fears escalated over the likely success of a Washington bank bailout plan to stave off a recession in the U.S. and around the world. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
AP
People are seen inside the offices of the MICEX, Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, in Moscow, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. Russia's stock markets opened lower Friday in reaction to a torrid trading session in the United States, where fears escalated over the likely success of a Washington bank bailout plan to stave off a recession in the U.S. and around the world. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
AP
Employees of the MICEX, Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, are seen in Moscow, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. Russia's stock markets opened lower Friday in reaction to a torrid trading session in the United States, where fears escalated over the likely success of a Washington bank bailout plan to stave off a recession in the U.S. and around the world. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
AP
A man walks past a homeless man on the streets of Madrid October 2, 2008. The number of people out of work in Spain rose to an 11-year high, rising for the sixth consecutive month as a collapse in the construction sector and global credit woes pushed Spain towards recession. REUTERS/Susana Vera(SPAIN)
Reuters
Men watch a stock index board in Tokyo October 2, 2008. The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 1.9 percent to a three-year closing low on Thursday despite passage of a $700 billion financial bailout bill by the U.S. Senate, as growing fears about the global recession offset relief. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN)
Reuters
A man walks past a stock index board in Tokyo October 2, 2008. The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 1.9 percent to a three-year closing low on Thursday despite passage of a $700 billion financial bailout bill by the U.S. Senate, as growing fears about the global recession offset relief. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN)
Reuters
A man watches a stock index board in Tokyo, October 2, 2008. The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 1.9 percent to a three-year closing low on Thursday despite passage of a $700 billion financial bailout bill by the U.S. Senate, as growing fears about the global recession offset relief. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN)
Reuters
People stand outside a job centre in central Madrid October 2, 2008. The number of people out of work in Spain rose to an 11-year high, rising for the sixth consecutive month as a collapse in the construction sector and global credit woes pushed Spain towards recession. REUTERS/Sergio Perez (REUTERS)
Reuters
People talk outside a job centre in central Madrid October 2, 2008. The number of people out of work in Spain rose to an 11-year high, rising for the sixth consecutive month as a collapse in the construction sector and global credit woes pushed Spain towards recession. REUTERS/Sergio Perez (REUTERS)
Reuters
In a recent Radar magazine article, Jessica Pilot discussed the experiences of three acquaintances who have chosen to become high-priced call girls. It makes for some fascinating reading, as Pilot's friends, "Olivia," "Kelly" and "Heather," are neither undereducated waifs who have been consumed alive by the big bad city, nor intravenous drug users who have fallen to the bottom of the economic dogpile. As polished, well-educated, intelligent women who are working their way up in their chosen professions, they don't fit any of the traditional prostitution narratives. However, when they finish their "day jobs," these women claim to make between $800 and $2000 per hour by servicing the carnal desires of Wall Street tycoons.
What is particularly fascinating about Pilot's trio is that have chosen this profession. Pilot's article suggests that part of the seduction of "the life" is the easy money and the easy access to luxuries, but that doesn't seem to capture the heart of what compels these women to sell themselves. Perhaps the key lies in the huge sums of money. While I'm not willing to admit how little I make, it's fair to say that Pilot's trio can clear most of my yearly income in a decent weekend. When the sums are so high, it's not really surprising that buyers can easily find sellers!
Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He secretly wishes that there were more women on Wall Street.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 18)
10-02-2008 @ 10:26PM
dia said...
I can see the affects of the economy on my way home from work at 1 AM. I was recently approached for what at first I thought was a ride from a very attractive blond in a Cadillac Escalade. I've been approached before if I was interested in some company or a good time, but it was always on the sidewalk, not form a $60,000 ride. She was obviously a higher paid lady that, instead of answering her craigslist account, had to go out and hustle. Glad I didn't have $200 that night, she would have had it 20 minutes.
Reply
10-06-2008 @ 2:26PM
mike said...
Gives new meaning to Meals on wheels...............
10-06-2008 @ 1:44PM
Paula said...
Honestly, as high or as drunk as I have ever been, I could not imagine having sex with strangers for money.
10-06-2008 @ 10:51PM
carl bowman said...
Most Americans have become so soft now that if they missed more than three meals they would kill their own mother for gummy bear money.
10-06-2008 @ 11:17PM
James said...
The article does not appear to make the distinction between those people that are willing to have sex for food and rent money versus those that are just greedy. A young lady that is willing to grant sex for $2,000 per hour is not doing it for rent money , she is just greedy. I feel badly for those people that need the money to make ends meet and have to go against their principles , however shame on those few that do it solely for the money.
10-02-2008 @ 11:46PM
larry flynt said...
...yeah, um, well check out craigslist's erotic services listings: more and more new providers everyday and prices dropping accordingly...there are women who were making six figures selling real estate last year now trying to get $150 an hour for their figures these days...and by the end of the year there will be more cheap available than you can shake your dick at.
Reply
10-05-2008 @ 10:16AM
janette said...
Now that is funny
10-05-2008 @ 12:59PM
RedontheHead said...
YOU ARE SOOOOO CORRECT... I did escort a few years ago, as a side thing, to pay for frivoulous things for myself, like tattoos and vacations, but I have a good friend who has escorted out of Atlanta as a career for a decade, and she USED to make a few thousand a week, working a whole lot less than 40 hours. Now, she's struggling for new clients, and has lost most of her loyal clients simply because their firvoulous spending on escorts has stopped. The only thing that has not suffered losses in this economy is the alcoholic beverage trade. Also, the MOST recession proof job... FUNERAL SERVICES. And I'd rather escort than do that job.
10-03-2008 @ 7:15AM
diTesco said...
This is a relative issue and by all means I am no saint. There is a general rule that one must remember. There is no provider if there is no buyer. The buyers are almost all well educated people, big bank accounts and are the reason why the oldest profession in the world exists. You may notice that I said people, yep... let us not forget that this is no longer a benefit only for the female gender. As you may say, easy money has it's attraction...
Reply
10-05-2008 @ 1:19PM
Christi said...
Unless a person is completely disconnected, how could anyone not feel the affect it has emotionally and spiritually. At some moment when picking up the person or giving it up to someone there is a twinge that feels disgust or sense of it being wrong. Some people go for the pleasure anyways like any abuser or addict.
I have been tempted to provide this type of service a few times when in dire situations I didn't think I could make it out of. When I was 18 I stripped 3 times and after two parties and then a private showing where the guy pulled a gun, I quit. Getting $300 for 2 hours feels great. The next day, not so hot. Being with my boyfriend later not so hot either. Each time having to disconnect from the negative to do it again.
Now I have a child and there are very few circumstances where it warrents selling yourself when you have a child. Do you want your daughters doing this or even more your sons thinking that getting some this way is the way to feel that need? I want my child to know that deep spiritual and emotional connection with someone they solely share that with - not friends with benefits. Are we as a society so disconnected that we could end up like Bankok? Yeah women have done it since time began and men have looked for it. But putting that low of a price on something that is priceless is beyond me.
There are food banks and shelters and I've humbled myself to use them rather than do that to myself or my child! Survival looks different to everyone, but unless it means my child will not eat today unless I do this (which is rarely the case for anyone in the U.S.), I wont and I hope you wont either. Many women do horrible things to their children in the name of love! Ive known many who regret selling it years later.
10-03-2008 @ 8:50AM
anabangbang said...
omg like how do they sell their bodies ?
probably cuz the money is good but getting paid good money to let men please you and pleasing you is what they love to do.is FANTASTIC ( from what i could imagine )
oh joy
would i like 90 min of joy today or 2 hours of rush hour traffic and 8 hours in a boring office with a jackass boss at a fraction of the pay
hmmmm
but hey, the next time a woman offers you 200 bux to physically please you, i'm sure you'll say no because selling your body is so horrible
yeah its really hard for those girls to look at theirselves in the mirror, dont do it ever, it'll tear you apart and the piles of money will just make you feel worthless
you know all the clients are disgusting right ? they only show wall street guys as being good looking to sell an image in the press but in reality wall street is full of slovenly obese guys that cant attract women and they are the ones that calls these kinds of girls.
cept your husband of course
Reply
10-04-2008 @ 3:13PM
Crystal said...
Slovenly beasts need love too.
10-04-2008 @ 7:06PM
A said...
Does not change the fact that these people are disgusting in thier own right. Often only one side gets blamed, I say they can all go to hell :) whooo haha
10-06-2008 @ 11:30AM
Phildo said...
I've supplemented my income by performing cunnilingus on women. It's an enjoyable way to make the cash I need to support my family. I find that most women don't consider it sex since there's no intercourse so they leave satisfied and with a clear conscience!
10-23-2008 @ 10:47PM
Candy Cane said...
When the 'JOHN' makes you feel more of a women than any boyfriend you ever had, you think of it as a 'fringe beneifit'.
Free of taxes and guilt. Put a condom on it, think of the cash, and if a WOW E WOW WOW makes you happen, thank God that you can make money doing something other than waiting for the government to send you a check for squezing out another unwanted child that will increase your benefits.
SUCK ON THAT FOR A WHILE!
10-04-2008 @ 2:03PM
There all Ho;s said...
There is no difference between the Ho on the street and the ones that live with old men like Hugh Hefner or discusting ugly men with money.They just are their own pimps
Reply
10-04-2008 @ 4:23PM
Raffaele Zuccaro said...
Right ON--- IT was Hugh Hefner that created the "Beautiful WHORE syndrome--- He turned pretty girls into PIGS with his Playboy ventures!!!!! He is the King OF PIMPS-----who made million off the backs of 3rd Class women or -Hughs Whores!!!
10-05-2008 @ 9:53AM
Siffy40 said...
Yes there is a difference...several hundred dollars. We're ho's when we do it for money, so what are we when we do it for free. How typical to label women who decide what to do with their own bodies. Dont be a hater. Its the oldest profession in the world. And it is the law of supply and demand. No demand, no supply. What do you call the man who buys their services?
10-05-2008 @ 12:44PM
Justin said...
Hahaha many of you are just jealous because you couldn't make that much money, or aren't very good in the sack, or both. Let's stop calling them degrading things like "hos;" it's a legitimate business despite being illegal and it really does take skills; and those that are thier own pimps deserve extra reverence for thier business management abilities.
10-05-2008 @ 11:31AM
Sonney Dey said...
$40 for 1 1/2 hours, and I would want good sugar nuzzling and kissing for that, too.
Reply