How do you feel about prostitution?

[BillieH]

Hello everyone, I have name changed for this(no sinister reason) but i do post on here from time to time.

Anyway, I would love to know what your thoughts are on prostitution. I don't mean political views and I dont really want to get into a discussion on whether girls are trafficked, pimped, druggies. Just what you think as a whole.

I am talking about girls who willing become escorts or work in massage parlours under the guise of 'masseuses' when really they provide extras.

What do you think of men who see them? Are that losers, sad and lonely, 'sex addicts'or what? Would you think your dp/dh was cheating if he saw a prostitute.

I ask just out of curiosity, I do not think my dp has ever visited a prostitute! Also, apparently 1 in 10 men see prostitutes. Do you agree with this. If this is true what hope do we all have eh?

My take is that i belive some girls use their looks to earn money an 'easy' way. By easy, I mean that they do not have to train for yrs to get a decent paid job, or they do not have to work 9 to 5 in an office when they can earn a wks wages in a day.

I have asked my own dp and he beleives that there is something missing from a relationship if a man sees a prostitute.Obviously its different with a single man. He also thinks that some men have issues sexually with their wives/partners and are inhibited. Therefore, that is why they pay for sex acts that they can't ask for at home. These are exactly my thoughts.Anyone agree or disagree?

I'd like your thoughts or experiences!

OFFS, have you read the review section on punternet?

All I keep thinking about is if a woman with an evil pimp read a bad review about her written by a creep of a punter

I think I quite like Fimbo, MIB !

Sabrina, I would argue that it's not an underbelly - it's the majority. I would liken it to working in Tesco - some people are store managers on vast sums but the vast majority shelf stack and work on the tills for minimum wage.

The problem with this thread is that a lot of "store managers" seem to be trying to deny the existence of the cashiers

Well fellow feminists I am off...early start and lots of fun to pack into the day tomorrow.

Sakura, I am a prostitute, I have not only seen reviews on PN, there are some there of/on me. Yes, some of them a pretty nasty and/or unneccesarily graphic, mine are pretty mild. Most pimped women are streetworkers and won't have reviews; PN won't accept discussion of the street scene in case it encourages punters to go that route.

Fibilou, you said yourself you can't remember the statistics, perhaps things have changed since the ones you saw were compiled? The advent of the internet (and sites like AW) pretty much negates anything over about 10 years old.

OFFS, I am genuinely interested - how do you get your business ? Do you run your own "workload" or does someone manage your bookings for you ? Do you tend to get the same people again and again ? Also, if you really don't like the look of someone or get a bad vibe, how do you deal with that ?

Sabrina, I would argue that it's not an underbelly - it's the majority.

You were never called out to Independent working flats though? Have you done a search on various forums to see how many are in that area? Or are the police aware of where all such places are even if there is no trouble?

Not arguing just interested, I would be interested to know if the police were aware of my existence over the years even though there has never been a call out.

Any police involvement is bound to centre mostly on work on street level and in conjunciton with illegal drug taking. Why would I be as a law abiding member of society have any dealings with the police other than a victim of potentially similar crimes we all could face? It is highly likely that the great majority of those working independently and pursuing a legal activity simply do not feature in police statistics. We have no reason to feature on those statistics.

Yes those were my thoughts Honey, as most statistics are complied on street work or illegal brothels that makes sense.

Thank you for your questions, Fibilou. I have my own website, and accept bookings mainly by email. (Most girls are happy to take phone calls, I'm phone-phobic!)

I choose who I see and who I don't, and I decide whether to work or not. I do have a lot of repeat custom; I am a middle-aged woman and my clients are mainly my age or more, so the social side is important. (Some would feel a bit "obvious" dining with a 20-something gorgeous blonde; I'm ordinary enough looking that no-one bats an eyelid.)

If I get a bad vibe I don't accept the booking. I've been doing this for nearly a decade and certain attitudes seep through even by email, and I won't see anyone I think will be disrespectful towards me. I have twice walked out on clients (I am outcall only, ie I visit them in hotels or their homes, they don't visit me) but that was because they were arseholes, not because they were in anyway dangerous or threatening.

I know this is totally different for a street worker, who has very little time to assess the "safety" or otherwise of the punter, in part due to anti kerb-crawling legislation. I know I reduce my business by not doing incall, not taking phonecalls, and even not showing my face on my website, but I make enough to keep a roof over my head (and the heads of several others) so that does me. :)

Those are the choices I have made.

OFFS, yes I know you are a prostitute.
I think that biologically women are choosier than men when it comes to partners because it's us that have the babies.

There was an experiment once where complete strangers would go up to people and offer sex. They said a lot of men said yes and a lot of women said no. WOmen are choosier because they can be, and because sex has massive biological consequences for women. IN other words, if you're going to end up pregnant, you want it to be with a good'un. Men don't work that way. They can have sex with lots of women without any biological consequences.

So when I read the reviews on punternet, I was literally cringing. There is a reason women don't want to have sex with these guys. They are inadequate. And instead of working on themselves, they are buying women instead. THe very fact that they think it's okay to buy women is a mark of their inadequacy.

And talks of buying women in bulk and getting more bang for your buck

I'm joining the discussion rather late but would like to point out a glaring oversight on the part of some of the posters.

You may feel that PN is a "mysoginistic cesspit", however as a mother and a prostitute I find the only cesspit to be present here in the attitudes of some of posters. The manner in which some of my fellow WGs have been spoken to is nothing short of appalling.

OFFS I will check out the book thanks hopefully the research is sound.

Anyway Sabrina and OFFS to be honest most of us that are concerned about prostitution are concerned about women's exploitation and just that. I certainly don't spend my time campaigning to 'save' women who are happy and richer than me that's for sure.

I am African and volunteer as an interpeter for various organisations and have worked with charities to get help for trafficked women. Most of the time these women have no right to live in the UK let alone get the help they need. My deep disgust at men who pay for sex stems from what I have seen and to be honest would be devastated if any male in my family would ever paid for sex.

Living in London, whilst I don't know if the numbers in terms of ratios of exploited vs not, there are thousands upon thousands of women that society should do better by.

Thanks offs. It's funny you mention about the age side - before I worked for the police I worked in a 5* hotel and we used to get ladies visiting men in the rooms sometimes. Often it was perfectly obvious what they were there for !

Morally I have no objection to prostitution - if the women chose to do it and aren't forced into it either through addictions or others then why not, if they earn good money ? However I know this is not the reality for many and that so many women are open to exploitation from men.

escort, you're not joining late. THroughout this thread you have upheld your misogynistic views towards women. Yes, women (even mothers) can be miogynists.And your contempt for women shines through your posts.

mustincreasebust Teela's research is very sound. You might also be interested in Men who buy sex by the same researcher. She doesn't claim an entirely representative sample, but it's a fascinating read if you really want to know, rather than bandy about accusations of dirty-mac-wearing-woman-haters and so on.

"to be honest most of us that are concerned about prostitution are concerned about women's exploitation".

As are we.

But the point is until it is accepted that there are many different layers to the sex industry and that it is wholly illogical to make broad sweeping statements, it's not going to get anyone anywhere.

A poster earlier spoke of the women who have been killed whilst working on the street. If we, as a country could finally move with the times and regulate prostitution, then perhaps those vulnerable women could have been protected by working in licensed brothels. As it stands they are sitting ducks for any psychopath because they are seen as a vulnerable group, and they are.

I'm not for a minute suggesting that every woman who enters prostitution does so with a beaming smile and flounces about like Belle de Jour, but there is a marked difference between a woman who chooses to work as an escort and a drug addicted street worker.

Sakura, you are confusing me with another poster, I have literally just had my membership approved.

"And talks of buying women in bulk and getting more bang for your buck "

I completely agree, and I think most of the sexworkers here feel the same way. As for people-trafficking and sexual slavery, I'm as opposed to that, and horrified by it, as any "self-respecting" non-whore here. If someone can suggest something practical we can all do, I'm happy to join in.

And if I said that on PN, someone would pop up and say, "That's because you're afraid of younger/cheaper competition" - yes, I agree, it can be a misogynistic place. But it's a lot better since most of the nasties took the huff at female moderators on Pn even existing, and buggered off to start their own forum. Now, that one is so vile I won't even link it.

Well said OFFS :)

I've only just clicked on this after seeing the last poster's name in Active Convos- escortsomething.

ROFL

A few of <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=farm3.static.flickr.com/2073/1764266506_3397548ab0.jpg&imgrefurl=swazzle.com/blogs/labels/sock%2520puppets.html&usg=__asp71OZwt748qyFHkAKuh15Yn0o=&h=267&w=500&sz=78&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=f75WwHW1M_ZuPM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=183&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsock%2Bpuppets%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1C1SKPC_enGB337%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D608%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divs&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=241&vpy=281&dur=2782&hovh=164&hovw=307&tx=176&ty=81&ei=F8bdTPTaE6qqhAeAqfTcDA&oei=F8bdTPTaE6qqhAeAqfTcDA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">them always pop up on threads like these, it's getting rather predictable.

...and I'm supposed to know who you are by a nic called "BitOfPom" ?

I am very real, I am an escort and a good friend of both Miss HM and OFFS.

I think escortandmum is someone I know. If she's who I think she is, she's nobody's sockpuppet.

Ah, xpost!