413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Interviewer: And was that in cash or crack
Respondent: It would be both. There would be a time that I was picking up a trick that
would pay a $1,000, and I would spend that much on dope. It was common to find a trick
that would pay $1,000. (J3)
The spending was, in their words, fast and excessive. Two individuals captured this:
I couldn’t even account for the money because a lot of it went into the fast life—partying
and drugs. I had to be in the mindset to deal with so many guys. You have to have
something to [be in the mindset.] (L1)
I spent more than enough on drugs. I should have a house, a car, a nice two to three
bedroom from all that money. Sometimes I was selling and buying drugs; sometimes I
would buy and use the drugs; sometimes I would buy then sell. (L4)
There is a clear correlation between increased crack use and a dramatic shift in the types and number of
dates, the johns, the pricing structure of street-based sex work, and the spending habits of sex workers.
The effects of these changes continue to pervade the market today and will be discussed at length below.
The current market has been affected by a number of other factors, including the use of the Internet for
sex work, a shift in the ages and expectations of johns, and law enforcement approaches to sex work.
These are the focus of the next few sections.
Internet-Based Sex Work
Since the rise of personal computer use in the mid-1980s (Cunningham and Kendall 2011), the Internet
has transformed the street-based sex market. The overall sex market has expanded; some sex workers are
able to solicit dates to a broader clientele and are displaced from the streets; johns are able to organize
dates more covertly; and law enforcement detection has been reduced (Cunningham and Kendall 2009,
2011; Kolker 2013; Scott 2002; Soothill and Sanders 2005).
Fourteen (39 percent) of the 36 sex workers in this study reported using the Internet to solicit clients. 76
These individuals represent many different age groups, ranging from 18 to 49 years old, with the majority
in their 20s. They also worked in different regional markets (Denver, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and
Seattle). Two of the 14 online users (14 percent) were younger than 20 years old, seven (50 percent) were
20–29, two (14 percent) were 30–39, and three (21 percent) were 40–49.
The 14 participants who worked online used a number of different websites to conduct sex work and meet
johns (figure 8.4). Websites included Craigslist.com, Backpage.com, Adam4Adam.com, Eros.com, Adult
Search.com, TheEroticReview.com, Cityvibe.com, Myspace.com, and a variety of chat lines, escort service
websites, and communities like Livelinks.com and LiveJasmin.com. Participants noted that dates
organized on these sites took place in locations similar to those used for dates solicited on the street.
Locations included: cars, clients’ homes, and hotel and motel rooms. Some dates took place entirely
online, through web cameras and chat lines.
76 It is possible that more than 15 of the 37 sex workers in this study used the Internet to conduct their work; however, only fifteen
disclosed that they posted ads online soliciting sex work.
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