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” »

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” »

So, you ladies got any TCSS up in this AAMP?

Earlier this summer, FOX deciphered the secret sexting codes teens use to fuck each other on their cell phones. But teens aren’t the only ones who need to hide their sexual exploits with absurdly elaborate acronyms. Sex workers and their clients, too, are trained to use the whoooole alphabet.

If you plan to patronize sex workers—and obnoxiously detail your exploits on the Internet—you better be versed in these 31 common trade acronyms. While these sex codes are meant to help johns avoid law enforcement, they have the added benefit of making any guy who uses them sound super douchey.

Do you know the correct racial slur for your masseuse/prostitute? The right acronym to obscure your Holocaust survivor fetish? Can you describe a shitty blowjob in just four easy letters? Test yourself in our sex code quiz, below. Answers after the jump.

SEX CODE WORD:

1. AAMP
2. Aircon BBBJ + Hacks
3. Asian Cowgirl
4. Babyback
5. Baja Sur
6. Barracuda
7. BBBJ
8. BBBJTC
9. BBBJTCWS
10. Beret
11. Blue Steel
12. CCL
13. Civilian
14. CMD
15. Date
16. DFF
17. Ed Zachary disease
18. FOV
19. GFE
20. GF3
21. Hardwood Floors
22. HHHJ
23. Interpreter
24. LBFM
25. Man in a boat
26. NQNS
27. PRC
28. Russian
29. Sybian
30. TCSS
31. XOXO

Read More “Sex Codes: The Top 31 Acronyms For All Your Sexist, Racist Fetishes” »

Also not catching on as face of AIDS: Scorpions.

Some people believe that every human being has the right to a full and healthy life. Others believe that every human being has a right to a full and healthy life—as long as they aren’t gay, addicted to drugs, or a prostitute.

And then, there are those who believe that only pre-born babies are innocent enough to deserve a full and healthy life. These people are the reason that the campaign against AIDS has to focus on infected pregnant women—instead of infected pregnant women, infected drug users, infected prostitutes, and infected gay men.

Read More “Why the Face of AIDS Isn’t a Gay Prostitute on Drugs” »

“Sex Workers Are People Too” reveals that sex owners can own cats, oppose the war, talk to their parents, and love bacon. Sex workers: They’re just like us!

In an essay on San Francisco’s proposed measure to decriminalize prostitution,  Sienna Baskin and Melissa Ditmore for Reproductive Health Reality Check quote a 2008 report on prostitution in the District of Columbia. The study, conducted by Different Avenues, is dubbed a “Move Along Report,” and relates current trends in policing sex workers in D.C. Baskin and Ditmore quote the report as saying that “one in five actual or perceived sex workers surveyed who had been approached by police indicated that officers asked them for sex” and that “most indicated that this had been a negative or humiliating experience.”

Access the extensive report here [PDF].