Reply #113: I'm used to it

[LadyHawkAZ]

There's a subset of people who only want to hear from prostitutes when they have stories of pimps, beatings and rapes. They get a shot of titillation AND self-righteousness all in one dose. Someone saying "It's just a job, y'know?" gives them a buzzkill.

I worked in Vegas, 1989-90 and 1998-2001. I had a reasonably regular clientele by the end, but I started out a street worker like the rest. For those looking for horror stories, stop reading here- no pimp, no beatings, no rapes, no drug or alcohol abuse, and only one piece of drama. It was a job. The hours were good, the money was good, the work was not difficult. I was straight and not working for anyone, so I could be choosy about who I went with. Get a bad vibe from the person? Turn it down. Don't want to wear a condom? Walk away. There are hundreds of men out looking for a girl, you'll get another guy. It really is that simple, IF you are working for yourself. It doesn't entirely take the danger out of getting in cars with strangers, but it cuts it down a good deal. I have no diseases and no criminal record, and am obviously still alive. As a bonus, I believe I met the man with the world's smallest functioning penis, which probably shouldn't be funny but is.

And that's basically all there is to my story- I went to work (toward the end, this was mostly pager-based) and worked, and went home. Most of the guys were quite nice. No real drama up till the end, when the last guy to pick me up turned out to be a crackhead and tried to kidnap me. I quit street work after that, and left the business entirely when I moved away.

Pretty boring, eh? It really is just a job. Not a job for everyone, but no job is for everyone.

Tip for men going to Vegas: the girls you see on the north end of the Strip, with the short dresses and heels? Don't even look at them twice. Most are bait cops; the rest are on some form of drug and you'll be out more money than you think. The ones you want will be dressed like everyone else. Look for skinny jeans and comfortable shoes, with a sexy blouse. You're welcome.

I have happy stories and horror stories, but they are other people's stories, not mine. I had friends in the Pahrump brothels, a lot of the happy stories come from them. I know one street worker who was murdered in a drug deal, two disappeared and I don't know what happened to them. I think someone mentioned it above: criminal activity tends to cluster, and then people die. But I'm sure that's much better for them than legalization, since God forbid we look tolerant of the criminal activity that we created by making it illegal in the first place... You'd think that a policy that has been a failure for thousands of years would be due for review by now.

I'm open to questions if you have any. I gave you a general overview, but if there's something specific you want to know, feel free to ask.