The Prostitution Lifestyle
Women in the study described themselves as being involved in and in many instances "addicted" to what they call a "street lifestyle."
He didn't make me, he didn't say Carol, you gotta do this. I did it because I wanted to and because I wanted to be with him and at that point in time I was into that life so it was addictive. That lifestyle is addictive (Carol).
"Lifestyle" provides one with a framework for viewing the self and others. It is defined as a typical way of living that helps to shape identity, both personal and social. It provides a lens for perceiving and responding in the world of street prostitution. Within the culture of street life, values, norms, and expectations for appropriate behavior are established with respect to one's positioning in the social order. The parameters for choices and opportunities (social, educational, and occupational) are dictated by the structure and market of the underground economy.
For the purposes of this study, the prostitution lifestyle is central to understanding the experience of prostitution. It provides the context and gives meaning to the subjective experiences of women involved in street prostitution. It structures interpersonal relationships. It forms behaviors and activities. It determines the kind of support, language, and role models guiding "the life." Therefore, a discussion of women's experiences over time is incomplete without an understanding of the context by which these experiences occur.
The "lifestyle" may be described as both socially and psychologically fast paced. There is always something to do, whether it is working or spending the money just made. Because life is fast paced, it is subject to extreme changes and women get the message to live for the moment and let tomorrow take care of itself. The life pace is faster than the previous slower paced life of poverty, and women are busy at their new life. It can be socially fulfilling and psychologically addicting. Women report sharing their money with friends and family, sometimes treating loved ones to new clothes, dinner, movies, or a night out going to bars. Women report being in bars more often, socializing with others and the sense of empowerment and self fulfillment that comes from buying your own drinks or occasionally treating friends. When one is living the "lifestyle," the payoff is immediate. One doesn't have to work and wait two weeks, payday is everyday one is willing to work. Immediacy becomes a way of life and has been described elsewhere as possessing a "present time orientation" (N. J. Davis, 1971). This immediacy feeds the life pace in a manner that engages the prostitute and makes life interesting. Women can adopt a certain air of sophistication that has been described as
...hanging out at the bars, and getting quick and easy money. Staying at hotels like you rich, like you got credit cards. Taking cabs every damn where....You know to me, that was good living. You know pool, air conditioning, I could go shopping when I wanted to (Carol).
In this sense then, the lifestyle is more extensive than simply sex for money. It indeed encompasses prostitution work, but also incorporates a socializing and entertainment component. Moreover, it includes a way of living that reflects the attitudes and preferences of those involved. Furthermore, the lifestyle embodies a manner of living in which one's behavior and thinking coincide with the social circle in which one is involved.
I quit drinking 10 days on labor day September 15. But still there was the lifestyle. I was still doing everything else so I might as well have been drinking too. I mean because I was still going to bars with him or whoever going...doing this, still making fast money, still hanging out...going to the after hours, doing all that. So I still was living the lifestyle. I mean with two and a half years in recovery, not drinking, I went back to the lifestyle (Debbie).
Embedded in the lifestyle are also negative aspects of street prostitution that includes drugs and violence. These are not believed to be inherent to prostitution, but are outgrowths of an unregulated industry and the result of environmental influences such as stigma and the absence of conventional protections and benefits of society.
To summarize, the socio-economic factors of formal economy affect prostitution largely by maintaining both blocked opportunities for low income women and societal stigmatization which marginalizes women who choose to enter prostitution. Even though street workers remain relegated to second class citizenship, the underground economy offers an opportunity for work and substantial financial gain. The pimping game set the stage for street prostitution. Largely regulated by men, the language of prostitution and the code of conduct for prostitution began with these players. Even though pimps still maintain some control over prostitution activities, dope boys have crossed over to assume a large share of the market.
Discussed thus far has been the contribution of socio-economic demands that have influenced prostitution and set the parameters for the industry. These environmental influences set the boundaries, establish the rules, and provide the context in which street life occurs. In turn, prostitutes act on their environment by working within these parameters. However despite socio-economic influences, there is little question that individuals move through life making their own choices. Past histories, personal experiences, and individual choices guide a prostitute from entrance to exit. The concept that people are both psychological and sociological beings, then, lends credence to the belief that women make choices within identified socio-economic parameters. Much that is understood about street work in this study connects the person and environment in this fashion. The next task, then, is to delineate those individual characteristics that contribute to the particular types of street prostitutes one may encounter working the streets in Midwest America on any given day. Therefore, it is important to make the distinction between various types in our next layer of understanding the phenomenon of street prostitution.