413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

dates she had with men while dancing. She began selling sex services on the street when she turned 29
years old, but continued to dance and establish dates at clubs (K2).
Other respondents worked with escort companies before selling sex on the street. A Seattle-based sex
worker, who began selling sex in the early 2000s, first started working with an escort service before going
“back to the street” to become, in her words, “a fulltime ho—a prostitute.” She described how the escort
service work operated:
The escort service would collect an agency fee. $300 total was paid by the date and $150
of that goes to me. Anything sexual was paid to me. The $150 was just for the date [to be]
set up. Ten times out of ten [the clients] would want sex, so [the client] paid about $100
more for sex usually. I’d make about $250 a date. I saw about three guys a day … The
escort service would pay for the hotel. The customer would call … and ask for a certain
girl and I’d get a [hotel] room somewhere and they’d tell the john where to go. (K1)
A substantial number of respondents began trading sex to support substance use and dependencies—a
trend that will be explored extensively in this chapter. Twenty-four individuals (67 percent) noted that
they sold sex for drugs (meaning that they received money and drugs or just drugs in exchange for
performing sex activities) at some point in their careers. A 41-year-old sex worker from Denver explained
that she started trading sex to support a drug habit. She noted, “I started a drug habit of my own. It got
expensive and I needed money. I found out that I could make a lot of money fast [by selling sex]” (J3). An
individual from Dallas was similarly drawn to sex work to finance a drug dependency. She described her
foray into the work: “One day we was out talking, we was out in a group, and this man asked me, did I
want a date, and I said yes. I was broke, and I wanted to continue smoking” (M2).
Despite their varying reasons for beginning sex work, many participants noted that sex work provided a
reliable source of income throughout their lives. Many stopped trading sex for both short and long periods
of time, returning to it for a number of reasons, including a desire to earn money. The following exchange
with a sex worker from Dallas, who worked on and off the streets between the 1990s and present day,
exemplifies this type of experience:
Interviewer: Can you tell me a little bit about how you started prostituting, how you got
involved
Respondent: First I started out with sugar daddies. I had like four or five sugar daddies.
And then the money was good; being paid big money at a young age.
Interviewer: How old were you
Respondent: I think I was like 16 or 17 years old. I was prostituting off and on. And
sometimes I wouldn’t have to do anything for money, they would give it to me. And on
down the line I started doing it off and on, off and on, off and on. I started having kids.
Interviewer: Was there a particular reason why you started doing this when you were 16
or 17
Respondent: Because of the money. Because of the money. Then I got into the drugs. I
was taking the money and buying drugs and clothes and had a baby. And I started doing
it for the money, and the drugs, and my baby. (M1)
Study respondents were drawn to the sex trade, and continued to trade sex for a number of years, for
varying reasons. They engaged in their work in a number of different locations (from cars to hotel and
motel rooms to homes) and in a range of venues (from clubs to escort services to pimp-sex worker
relationships) over the course of their careers. These locations and venues are the focus of the next
section.
Locations Worked and Venues Used Over the Years
Sex workers conducted their work in a variety of establishments throughout their careers. About half (19
of 36) of individuals specified that they had worked at some point in their lives on the streets or strolls.
Some had worked in strip clubs (19 percent) or escort services (11 percent). Dates took place in a
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