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Boy!? Sell Your Body!

Have you ever had someone offer you money to go out with you? To have sex?

Both? I have. Working in my underwear and a sleeveless crew I was organizing the

underwear and making sure that the store was clean. A man walked into the store and

started browsing, I asked him if he needed any help, he simply shook his head. As I

continued cleaning and making sure that the customer did not need any help I realized he

had been following me around and avoiding any eye contact. Feeling uncomfortable and

unnerved I crossed the store, but he followed and asked for a fitting room. After some time

the customer asked me to get a larger size, I was not prepared to see what was in store. The

man was standing completely naked with an erection, the curtain to the fitting room wide

open, and giving me a devious look. I cautiously grabbed the underwear from his hand and

went to look for a larger size. Trying to ignore the fact that he was beginning to pleasure

himself, I handed him the underwear and left the fitting room area. After he was done doing

what he was doing, he came out and began to ask me about myself. He carried around a

pair of underwear and kept asking me questions, then he asked me, “Will you go out with

me?”, followed by, “I'll pay you $475 if you go to dinner with me.” I blankly stared at him

and he continued to offer more, “How about $750? Well, that will include sex, so I would

like you to get the lube and condoms. So, $758?” I told him no, but he persisted in asking

me questions and trying to persuade me. I solved the issue by lying to him and telling him

that I was 17. He bought the underwear and left. Let me tell you, the offer was quite

tempting, but I did not take it.

This was not the first, or last time an incident like this happened to me or a coworker.

Because we work in such little clothing we are perceived to be escort like prostitutes. A

prostitute is a person that sells “sexual services, such as oral sex or sexual intercourse, for

money. In a more general sense of the word, anyone selling their services for a cause

thought to be unworthy can be described as prostituting themselves.” The word “prostitute”

derives from two Latin word: pro and statuere, meaning “to expose”, “to place up front”.

Male prostitutes are subject to names like gigolo, man-whore, rent-boy, and hustler; these

names are understood to be negative connotations to the male prostitute. To be a male

prostitute does not mean you only cater to a single sex, the prostitutes' sexuality does not

influence who he caters to. Men who are not gay but cater to other men are doing “gay for

pay”, male prostitutes for females are known as gigolos, and taxi boys cater to both men

and women. Many of the words now used to relate to prostitutes, regardless of gender, have

come about through time.

Male prostitutes, no matter whether he be called a call-boy, hustler, or lot-lizard is

still a prostitute. These terms are sometimes used to differentiate between the many types of

prostitutes. A few types of prostitutes are street, brothel, escort, private, window/doorway,

transport, and CB radio. Each prostitute handles a different type of clientele; street

prostitutes, aka hustlers, associate with their customers through the use of public forums

(i.e. park, street, and public restrooms). Brothel prostitutes offer better security and

explicitly provide sex. Escorts, call-boys, are contacted by phone or through some form of

messenger, this form of prostitution is known to be one of the more expensive. Window and

doorway prostitutes work in brothels and display themselves in a warm doorways or s cold
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windows. Although many people use transport and CB radio prostitutes interchangeably

they are not the same. Transport prostitutes are sex workers that board vehicles to service

the crew, passengers, or pick up clients, CB radio prostitutes are sex workers that drive

along highways and main roads using CB radios to contact truck drivers. CB radio

prostitutes are also known as lot-lizards because these prostitutes go around looking for

truckers in lots as well as on the road.

Although CB radio prostitutes use the radio, not all prostitutes are capable of using

the same technology. The way a prostitute markets him or herself also defines the value and

quality. Many Pimps and Madams, those in charge of sex workers, choose to advertise their

“workers” through the use of:

• cards in newsagents' windows

• cards placed in public telephone enclosures: so-called tart cards

• euphemistic advertisements in regular magazines and newspapers (for instance,

talking of "massages" or "relaxation")

• in specialist contact magazines

• via the internet

• in public bathroom stalls (i.e. "for a good time call...")

These “advertisements” are used to lure the clients in a subtle way. These forms of

marketing form a better image of the actual act and make it appear as if it were legal.

Although prostitution is the worlds oldest profession it is not considered to be appropriate.

Time has shown that this profession is not to be taken with ease.
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Many prostitutes are thought to be of a younger age. The difference in age, social

status, and economic status between the prostitutes and clients cause a roar of criticism from

all people. The stigma applied is that those prostitutes that are younger and looking for

older men are looking to be “kept”. To be a “kept boy” or “toy boy” is to be the one that

does nothing, that acts like a child while the older of the two is dominant and in charge. The

term given to the older person in the relationship is a “sugar daddy” or “sugar momma”.

The age and status have much to do with the stigmas that are applied by each culture and

time.

People have changed their thoughts on prostitution throughout history. The Old

Testament attests to sacred prostitution. This was to prevent the greater evils of rape,

sodomy, and masturbation. In 18th century B.C., Mesopotamia protected women's rights,

including prostitutes. Female prostitutes in Greece had to wear distinct dresses and pay

taxes for their services. Roman prostitutes were often foreign slaves and abandoned

children raised to be prostitutes. Men and women could both be purchased without any

social stigmas being applied. The Islamic world restricted prostitution to social inferiors,

boys, and slaves; despite the fact that prostitution was a sin, it was still tolerated.

Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries prostitution became more of an issue.

In 1494 an outbreak of syphilis spread through Naples and then across Europe. Eighteenth

century Venice began the use of condoms; these condoms were made out of catgut or cow

bowel. In the 19th century prostitution was becoming a greater problem due to STDs and

feminist beliefs. The Women's Christian Temperance Union of the 20th century highly
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influenced the illegalization of prostitution. In the UK in 1956 running a brothel and

soliciting became prohibited. The disco of the 1980's also brought about the awareness of

HIV; prostitutes that were HIV positive we arrested and convicted of a felony instead of a

mere misdemeanor. The legality of this act differs in many countries and many times in

different parts of a country. Laws change in order to suit the community it is affecting,

Rhode Island and the termination of legal indoor prostitution.

As a person who has been mistaken for a type of prostitute, I reviewed the qualities

of a prostitute and compared them to myself. Although I feel as if I could do the job if I had

to, I do not plan on doing it any time soon, or ever. To be thought of as a prostitute insulted

me in the store, I was unsure why but once I did my research I was able to figure it out.

Prostitution has come a long way; from being a sacred thing to something that is now

looked down upon. Prostitutes have constantly been looked down upon, the many levels

and classifications of prostitutes allow them to differentiate themselves. With my being at

work in the attire I was in and the value he gave me, I think the man thought of me as

something between a call-boy and an escort. Regardless of my age and categorization the

act that the man was asking me to undergo is illegal in the state of Texas.

Works Cited

"Prostitution." The Spiritus Temporis. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.

Lumsden, Ian (1996), Machos, maricones, and gays: Cuba and homosexuality, Temple

University Press, p. 7, ISBN 9781566393713

"Rhode Island Bans Indoor Prostitution." Sundeep. Martharu. Web. 16 Dec. 2009.

<http://topnews.us/content/28161-rhode-island-bans- indoor-prostitution>.

Dunne, Bruce. "Power and Sexuality in the Middle East." MERP. Web. 16 Dec. 2009.

<http://www.merip.org/mer/mer.html>.

“Prostitution”. ProCon. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. <procon.org>.