This summer, I discovered the many ridiculous sexual euphemisms employed by johns who frequent online prostitution forums. On the Internet, dudes who pay women to have sex with them communicate in an absurd code in the hopes of eluding law enforcement officers (that’s “LEOs” to them). The code ranges from straight acronym (BBBJ is “Bareback Blow Job”) to schoolyard joke (Ed Zachary Disease is code for “A woman with an unattractive face”). My pick for the most offensive code-word? “CCL.” That means that your sex worker of choice has got the “Concentration Camp Look.”

Now, a study in this month’s Journal of Contemporary Ethnography has attempted to decipher these sex codes for real for real. The study, conducted by researchers Kristie R. Blevins and Thomas J. Holt, examines the “argot,” or coded language, of the prostitution enthusiast’s “virtual subculture” in order to discern what these communication strategies indicate about the men who engage in—and report on—prostitution. Here’s what they discovered about the language of johns:

Read More “The Secret Prostitution Code, and What It Says About Johns” »

Say, ladies. A couple of economists—Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics—have unearthed a most satisfying and lucrative career option for us all: Prostitution! There’s only one problem: even though our two Steves are really brilliant economists, they just can’t figure out why most of us women don’t want to have sex for tons and tons of money. Why aren’t more women successful prostitutes?, Levitt and Dubner ask. Is it because:

a) They don’t like sex;
b) They hate men;
c) They’re kind of dumb;
d) All of the above.

Read More “Sexist Beatdown: The Happy Hooker, Or Why Doesn’t Steven Levitt Suck Dick For a Living?” »

Now that we’ve all endured this FOX 5 story on “morning prostitution”—which deemed sex workers “too gross to describe,” much less speak to—I think it’s about time to begin the healing process. How might we, as journalists, begin to make local news reports on prostitution less insanely creepy?  Cyndee Clay, Executive Director of Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS), graciously agreed to help us reporters out with our sex work work. Hint: scrubbing your copy of a platform heel fetish, highly sensationalized “censored” antics, and use of Nelly’s “Pimp Juice” is a good start. “Well . . . I mean, it was a very interesting story,” Clay allows the FOX 5 story. “However, considering a less sensationalistic approach to the story might have let viewers understand the larger issues here.”

The Street-Walking Montage: “I think it’s unfortunate. I think there’s a larger human story there about who those women are and why they’re working the streets at six a.m. I think a lot of media tends to take the easy way out, go with the sensationalistic side, and it doesn’t help us as a community to get a dialog going about why this is happening in our city, and what an appropriate response would be. I don’t know. Maybe it was sweeps week.”

Read More “Journalists: How To Make Your Sex Work Stories Less Insanely Creepy” »

For two weeks, FOX 5 trained “secret cameras” on the intersection of 11th & K NW in an attempt to catch sex workers in the act. FOX 5’s investigation revealed “ladies of the night hitting the streets in broad daylight.” But while reporter Tisha Thompson’s work included the requisite indignant neighbors, official police commentary, and the money shots (sex workers adjusting their underwear), there was one thing FOX 5 couldn’t get: a comment from one single sex worker. How demeaning is this segment? Let me count the ways:

Read More “FOX 5: Prostitutes “Too Gross To Describe,” Speak To” »

According to the Maryland Gazette, “at least” 18 men have been arrested through the state’s undercover sex operation this year. The operation follows the typical “To Catch A Predator” model: “The men contacted Montgomery County Police officers posing as a 16-year-old high school sophomore on Craigslist.com, negotiated how much they would pay for specific sexual services and set up meetings in the Gaithersburg area, where they were arrested upon arrival.”

All this sex sting lacked was Chris Hansen hiding in a closet—who apparently has quite a following among underage prostitution enthusiasts!

Several men asked the girl if she was working for police, according to the documents, and a few said that they did not want to end up on Dateline’s “To Catch A Predator” television series.

They didn’t end up on “To Catch a Predator.” But the Gazette has stepped in to assume Hansen’s role of disseminating all the johns’ life-ruining details to the public. No cookies and lemonade, either:

Read More “18 Arrested In D.C. Sex Sting Don’t Make “To Catch A Predator”” »

Diane wants one more blowjob before she goes home. She had set a goal of making $100 for the night. She’d made $50 from one customer an hour earlier. She just needs one more dude to roll up and take an interest in her sales pitch.

Diane never fucks for money. She only sucks dick. If she’s going to suck dick, she’s going to insist that her customer’s dick wears a condom. This may severely limit her earning potential, but it keeps her relatively safe. Condoms can tear inside you. At least if she’s sucking dick, she can spot a broke condom right away.

Diane adjusts her hot pink shorts, pulling them down for a moment to reveal all of her fancy gray panties. She then poses against her white Mercedes SUV like she’s a calender model. By far, Diane has more going for her than most of the other girls. She doesn’t have a gut. The tattoo on her arm has almost faded away. Her eyes are bright. Her lipstick is perfect.

Read More “Dick Sucking Economics 101 @ 6th and K Streets NW” »

Onya, 23, is trying to divulge the great secrets of her trade. “Most of the time, I’m down on L around 14th–that’s the real female stroll,” she explains, leaning against her old Chrysler convertible at 6th and K Streets NW. She’d continue with her lesson. But there’s Diane.

Diane,25, is hovering in the background, laughing too loud under the lamp light, talking smack to the other women. She is good at smack talk. This gets the other women laughing too loud. The street is empty. There are no customers. Just Onya and Diane and their peanut gallery. “I invented prostitution,” Diane boasts, adding that she’s been tricking since birth. “I told the doctor don’t bill my mother, I’ll eat the meat!”

Read More “Bragging Rights: Meet The Woman Who Invented Prostitution” »

My first foray into Sexist Art History took a look at some sexist interpretations of Judith Leyster’s 400-year-old The Proposal (pictured).  Some historians saw the painting as “a powerful image of temptation and resistance.” I see it as “a rapey dude in a mustache and a fur hat who ain’t gettin’ anywhere.” What did you see, dear commenters?

kza says:

How is he rapey? Just becase he got turned down? Many women have declined my offers for money in exchange for sex but I never raped any of them. Stop being racist against johns!

Read More “Sexist Comments of the Week” »

It’s been a banner week for Sexist History! First, we revisited an 1893 New York Times piece which informed us why children are the sexiest swimmers of all. Then, we wrote some Sexist History of our own and discovered why male models may inhabit sexism’s final frontier. Now, for some Sexist Art History: Why we should give a shit about Judith Leyster, some painter lady who was born like 400 years ago.

Read More “This Week In Sexist Art History: Judith Leyster And the Rapiness of Yore” »

In an Observer piece on Nevada’s prostitution downturn, “Sex feels the credit squeeze in Nevada,” Andrew Clark presents few new details about the recession’s belt-tightening pimps. The “Sex feels the credit squeeze in [jurisdiction]” story has been written before in this recession, and the piece follows the familiar formula:

1. Declare that prostitution is a business “like any other.”

2. Detail how prostitution is hurting from the recession—like any other business.

3. Throw in some sex-work details in attempt to redeem the story from the boilerplate-recession-story grave you’ve just dug for it.

Read More “Why the Recession Hits Nevada Prostitues Harder” »