413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Mutual Dependency
We are going to take over the world, the world is ours. No one can stop us. (D7)
Pimps also recruited women into sex work by emphasizing the mutual benefits of a pimp/sex worker
relationship. Respondents expressed the sentiment that they shared a lifestyle, with its accompanying
challenges, with the women who worked for them. One respondent explained how this mentality
supported business relationships between a pimp and a woman who was already engaged in prostitution:
“It was more people who were already a part of the lifestyle, and you come to an understanding or
agreement to do whatever it was you need to do. It’s never that easy. It is more, ‘You are a part of it, this is
what I am missing in my life. You can fulfill it’” (E3). A 22-year-old respondent explained, “As far as
recruiting, I wouldn’t use that. It’s more that I had female friends and [prostitution] is something they do.
I know they do it. A lot of the time, they’re already doing it and need protection. You come across another
female who needs protection. Then you’re partners” (G11).
Emphasizing a relationship of mutual dependency to recruit women was particularly effective when
recruiting individuals who had concrete and immediate subsistence needs. Discussing his initial
interactions with possible recruits, one pimp explained: “Basically [women] always come with a story. ‘I
am living from house to house, my mom is tripping.’ I say, ‘Hey, here is what I do, you can take your kids
here, they can watch your kid, you can work.’ I always lay it on the table, never lie to them. Never take
them out and buy them nice things then say you owe me. Never like that” (E2).
The concept of a shared, day-to-day subsistence also helped pimps compel their employees to continue to
engage in prostitution. One pimp explained he would ask his employees: “How are we going to make
money Where are we going to sleep tonight I’m hungry, I’m cold, and I need somewhere to lay my head
tonight. How are we going to get the funds to do that” (E5).
Monetizing Sex
They wasn’t into making money, they was just giving themselves away but not getting
paid for it. (D17)
Pimps also recruited women by discouraging them from “having sex for free.” One pimp explained, “Some
girls were already doing it. I was basically telling females that they were having sex or unprotected sex
with men. I would just tell them that they were already doing it like that without even knowing it, like for
alcohol or to hang out with certain people. And it went like that” (A7). Another pimp offered the following
description of women who engaged in prostitution:
See, these girls go through a phase. They start off just [having sex with] everyone in the
community. At these parties, [they are having sex with] everyone. Then they get tired like
that and run into someone like me. I might ask them, “Hey, you ever thought about
making money doing this” Say she did it once but didn’t know where to go. And that is
where I come in. I wouldn’t say I turned anyone out. Some of the girls might have gone to
a location, didn’t know what to do, who to look for, what to wear. They might have
already been with a guy and then ran into me. (B4)
The same interviewee noted that this tactic often made women feel embarrassed or angry, which he
suggested was ultimately effective to convince women. Another pimp described how women responded to
his recruitment tactics:
I kind of got them into doing it for money. They were just sleeping around and stuff. Like
with new girls if I go to a club, I’ll go from there to my house. If they will sleep with me
that first night, try not to tell them my name or nothing. I ask them if they know my
name. ‘What if I sleep with you, never talk to you again’ Next week, go to a club. She say
she attracted to me, I say, “You could sleep with this person for three minutes. What you
doing right now, that is more of a ho than you sleeping with that person and getting some
money.” They be embarrassed and mad at first, then be like whatever. I used to rent out
clubs, get [them] used to being around me. I’d say “I don’t want to be around you.” They’d
say “What do I have to do to be around you again” (E10)
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