SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS OF THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY
The inner city economy and the flow of money in the nation's ghettos thrive on several major sectors. Those sectors include a home-based sector, social-sector, welfare sector, under-the-table sector of work, legitimate but menial employment and illegal sector known as the underground economy. The home based sector is work performed in one's home and may include child care, laundry, housekeeping and the like. The social sector includes volunteer labor, and may be exhibited through church work, charity work at the local recreation center or community program, and school assistance such as PTA involvement, working as a class aide or lunch program volunteer (Hoyman, 1987). The welfare sector includes monies coming into low income neighborhoods as temporary relief options for needy families. Under-the-table employment is work being done devoid of paying taxes. Legitimate menial employment includes underpaid jobs available to some in poor communities. The illegal sector, otherwise known as an underground economy includes drug sales, prostitution, and other illegal, money making activities. All of these sectors contribute to the flow of money in America's low income neighborhoods. However, the underground illegal economy is the focus for this discussion.
The underground economy is "a patterned set of social relationships for the production, transport, distribution, and marketing of goods and services outside the legal system" (Wiegand, 1992 p.93). The underground economy mirrors the formal economy in that the goal is to produce and distribute goods and services in order to make a profit. From that perspective, it is a capitalist economy (Wiegand, 1992). What distinguishes the two then, is the legality of one and the illegality of the other. This research focuses on the dimension of the underground economy that involves drug sales, pimping, and prostitution. Like the formal economy, these aspects of the underground economy are capitalistic in nature, competitive, hierarchal, and concern themselves with supply and demand.
To understand the creation and maintenance of the underground economy, more sophisticated explanations point to structural inequalities and blocked opportunities that create social isolation. (Henry, 1987; Wilson, 1987). Social isolation is described as "the lack of contact or of sustained interaction with individuals and institutions that represent mainstream society" (Wilson, 1987 p.60). This creates a "cut off" between mainstream influences such as information on jobs, health, resources, and role models (Coulton & Chow, 1995 p.1874).
...In a neighborhood...with the overwhelming majority of families having spells of long-term joblessness, people experience a social isolation that excludes them from the job network system that permeates other neighborhoods and that is so important in learning about or being recommended for jobs that become available in various parts of the city. And as the prospects for employment diminish, other alternatives such as welfare and the underground economy are not only increasingly relied on, they come to be seen as a way of life (Wilson, 1987 p.57).
According to Wilson (1996), many of the social problems found in the inner city ghetto are a consequence of the disappearance of legitimate and sustaining work. "The net effect is that joblessness, as a way of life, takes on a different social meaning" (Wilson, 1987 p.57). This condition creates and sustains the need to maintain an underground economy that provides illegal jobs as a means to survive and thrive in a community.
A number of underground industries are apparent in ghetto communities. Similar to the formal economy, these industries are largely gender stratified. The drug business has been historically dominated by males. "Because control of the distribution and sale of crack remain[s] male-dominated, women [are] unable to challenge existing hierarchies in significant ways" (Miller, 1995 p. 449). Therefore, women are relegated to the few successful labor markets operating in the inner city, none of which occupy the highest rung, e.g., prostitution and welfare.
The hierarchal criteria used to determine success in the underground economy are the same as that used in the formal economy, based on the acquisition of power, prestige, and respect. Currently, those most successful individuals are located in the drug industry. "Dope boys," the contemporary name for drug dealers, command the most respect from others in low income, inner city communities. They possess the most power on the streets, including the power that comes from muscle and guns. Possessing the commodity in most demand in these communities, they are afforded the most prestige. Because they are able to keep themselves in fine clothes, cars and other envied material possessions, they are often admired by other young people in the community. They are to be feared and fear commands respect in these neighborhoods (Canada, 1995).
I use to see him riding around town and I knew he was a drug dealer, but he was fine and had big money. He had some dudes working for him and shit. So anyway, we were suppose to be doing him for free one night, but really we was gonna rob him, set it off like that. So she's under the bed and I'm taking his clothes off....He peeped our game and busted me in the face. She took off running, I ran too. My nose was bloody, my face was all fucked up and shit. Anyway, the next day, I'm walking down the street and his boys, some bump runners he has working for him, jump out the car and throw me in the back seat. I was scared. They put a gun to my head and took me to him. I was young and dumb and didn't understand that that's something you don't try and do, especially to somebody that will kill your ass like that....So anyway, he wanted me. He liked me and wanted me to be with him. I stayed with him. He bought me everything. He took care of me. I didn't have to work or nothing. Just be with him. He bought me jewelry, clothes whatever. If I wanted some Taco Bell or McDonald's, he tell his boys to go buy it....Nobody would fuck with him. He was like, I don't know, like he had power and everybody wanted to be with him or be him or something. I mean, he wasn't the only one like that, but he was pretty big. I fucked that up though (Nina).
Paradoxically, street prostitution which earns women the most money in this economy, represents the bottom rung in the underground economy in terms of power, prestige, and respect. Irrespective of how much money they make or how well they establish themselves in the business, women are relegated to a secondary labor market (Maher & Curtis, 1992). The process of discrimination and gender bias, which serves to disadvantage women in the formal economy, also serves to sustain discrimination for women in the underground economy. Street prostitution is hardest hit, for it represents both the lowest form of work within the world of sex work and the least prestigious type of illegal work in the underground economy (Maher & Curtis, 1992). More important, the work is equated with the person. In prostitution, what you do is who you are. Even when a woman interprets her work as part time, others interpret her as a full time whore (Pheterson, 1990). To Carol, disclosure of prior prostitution activities to boyfriends altered and ultimately destroyed relationships. "Guys that I kicked it with [dated], I would tell them I use to do that [prostitution] and from that point on their attitudes changed and the respect changed."
In addition, the introduction of the crack cocaine addicted street prostitute, or "crack ho," in the 80s has diminished an already stigmatized profession even further by creating a substrata of street prostitute that has not only served to increase the number of women participating in street sex work, but has deflated prices, altering the structure and nature of street sex work (Inciardi, Lockwood, & Pottieger, 1993 p.84; Miller, 1995 p. 429).
The Crack Cocaine Phenomenon
Early field observations and research reports discussed pimp-prostitute relationships as exploitive in nature (Milner & Milner, 1972; Slim, 1969). During the 60s and 70s, it appeared that pimps dominated the prostitution scene, often recruiting, manipulating, and exploiting women to work as prostitutes. Since then, a growing number of researchers have reported that crack cocaine has replaced the pimp-prostitute relationship (Miller, 1995; Inciardi et. al, 1993). While crack cocaine has legitimately been a strong force in the 80s and 90s version of street sex work, this literature obscures the pimp-prostitute phenomenon. Although crack cocaine is seemingly the most salient issue regarding street prostitution today, relaying to readers that "crack is pimp" has sent a distorted message that pimp-prostitute relationships are nonexistent or of minimal importance to the lifestyle of the streets. It is apparent that this is an unintended misconception, yet one that has an impact on how we view prostitution in the 90s.
Some studies, albeit a limited few, report the pimping business to be dominating street prostitution by 84% to 90% (Barry, 1995; Hunter, 1994). It should be noted here that these figures are inflated and do not take into account the separation of one's boyfriend from one's pimp. However inflated, these findings suggest the pimping business is alive and well. According to my findings, this phenomenon continues to flourish in the world of prostitution. Pimp-prostitute roles are stereotypical of a pimp dominated relationship, and this structure continues to guide the code of conduct in the underground economy as it relates to the dimension of prostitution. Viewing street work as a combination of both pimp controlled prostitutes and independent prostitutes then is more representative of the phenomenon of street sex work. It is within this context, that of both independent working women and pimp controlled women, that we will seek to understand and discuss prostitution. A narrow view of prostitution leads to narrow conclusions.
It is my contention that this misconception in the research is related to who in prostitution is most likely to be placed under the research microscope and who gets protected. Wahab & Sloan (1997) suggest a direct relationship between power and protection, claiming that those prostitutes higher up the food chain are protected from inquiring minds, while those lower on the food chain, namely street workers, are unable to hide from the research lens. Street prostitution is estimated to represent 20% of all prostitution (Wahab & Sloan, 1997). Yet, an abundance of scientific research reports the activities of street workers. When considering street prostitution alone, I submit that there, too, is a hierarchy of protection, with those involved with a pimp less likely to be located and interviewed and less likely to submit to an interview than those independent street workers. In the world of street work, conventional, pimp controlled prostitutes are guarded from the research lens more often than are independent workers. Furthermore, of those available independent workers, crack addicted prostitutes are more accessible than noncrack addicted prostitutes.
Crack cocaine is said to produce a euphoric high that lasts approximately two to three minutes. Urges for crack cocaine can repeat every five minutes for those strongly addicted. Also, given that fact that the lowest cost of the drug in high street demand typically equals the lowest price for street prostitution services, one can find women in the late 90s performing sexual favors often and for as little as $5.00 (Maher, 1996 p.156).
Therefore, crack addicted women are a more visible street population and interviews may be had for a small fee. In addition, because addicted sex workers are more visible, the likelihood of arrest is greater. Addicted workers are also more likely to be less discriminating with customers and are believed to increase their odds of propositioning undercover officers. Researchers who interview jail populations, then, are more likely to make acquaintance with drug dependent prostitutes. By disproportionately finding and interviewing women who are drug dependent and not involved with a pimp, researchers send the message that street prostitution is solely made up of women who are independent workers addicted to crack cocaine.
The significance of prostitution and contemporary drug usage lies in the increased risks associated with crack cocaine abuse. Translated in terms of risk, women are doing more for less and under riskier circumstances. By interpretation then, women are increasing customer contact and are thereby placing themselves at greater risk for HIV infection, assault, rape, robbery and murder.
Critics of prostitution research suggest that when researchers study prostitution only in terms of drug abuse, the results of these studies are suspect and appear to be more about drugs then about prostitution (Pheterson, 1987; Wahab & Sloan, 1997). All women do not enter prostitution already drug addicted, yet research on prostitution prior to addiction is scant. Despite the fact that crack cocaine becomes a major influence in many women's lives, it only tells a portion of the story. My research indicates there are independent workers early in their career who are not addicted to drugs, but are instead independent entrepreneurs in prostitution. However risky street work becomes, so long as drug abuse and street prostitution continue to be positively correlated, the basic social process of the stages of street prostitution will remain consistent. Therefore, this study uncovers an understanding of the progression that transcends the particular context of the time.
In this work I found two types of women in terms of drugs, those who recreationally and sporadically engaged in drug and/or alcohol use and those who engaged in drug and/or alcohol abuse. Thirteen women in the study entered prostitution as recreational drug and/or alcohol users. Eight entered addicted to crack cocaine. Drug use within the underground economy, particularly in drug sales and street prostitution, is common and often thought to be recreational. Women who are said to have entered prostitution prior to drug addiction are women who have socially and recreationally used marijuana and alcohol in various social settings prior to entrance. In contrast, women involved in drug addiction are women addicted to crack cocaine, heroin or other hard narcotics prior to entrance. Women involved in drug addiction prior to entrance entered prostitution already in the "Caught up" stage. Therefore, stages prior to the "Caught up" stage are particularly referring to women who engaged in recreational drug use rather than abuse.
Increased crack use by women has created a shift in power among men with controlling interests (Miller, 1995). In the hierarchy of the underground economy, the pimping game was thought to occupy the highest rung on the social ladder, and a successful pimp could consider himself an aristocrat among common hustlers (Milner & Milner, 1972). Since the surge of crack-cocaine in the 80s, dope dealers have emerged and assumed their place at the top of the hierarchy in the underground economy.
The early 70s brought along well-known street terms such as "dope man" and "pusher man." These were the men who sold heroin and, to a lessor extent, marijuana and cocaine. Pimping was still the most prestigious business of the day as pimps acquired the most wealth in this economy. The pimp with the most power, prestige, and respect earned the distinct title of "Mack" of the year. Many cities have hosted the "International Players Ball" including Detroit, Las Vegas, and Chicago. This gala event is an annual affair, akin to the movie industry's Oscar Awards, in which the most prestigious pimps appear sporting their most successful ladies.
The 80s saw a shift in the economic structure of the illegal underground economy. This was initiated by the formal economy and began with the Rockefeller laws in New York which called for swifter, and stiffer penalties for adult drug dealers. This type of response grew quickly in popularity with many states adopting similar laws. In response, drug dealers began to recruit juveniles to be watchers and runners of drugs. A watcher is someone paid to stand and watch for the police while drug deals are occurring. A runner is someone paid to run drugs from one designated spot to another in order to complete a drug transaction. Juveniles were recruited because of the lighter sentences they would receive if arrested. Eventually, as crack cocaine began to increase in popularity, juveniles began to take on more responsibility and became drug sellers and even distributors of crack cocaine. The street term used now in the 1990s by women involved in street prostitution is "dope boys," which is appropriate to their age. Dope boys do not typically take their earnings and purchase houses or create investment portfolios. They cannot and most likely do not desire to open savings accounts or invest in U.S. stocks. Typically, dope boys are known to typically spend their money on clothes, shoes, jewelry, and cars. It is indicative of their developmental stage in adolescence to be concerned with external appearances and to acquire material possessions as a sign of power, prestige and respect in the ghetto.
With dope boys leading the trends in inner city fashion, the 80s witnessed kids getting into fights over expensive tennis shoes and some getting robbed of their jackets while on their way to and from school. In the world of drug sales, dope boys needed to protect their investments. They needed guns. In addition, there was no organized structure on drug sales. Therefore, territory was up for grabs. Dope boys needed to secure their investment by protecting their territory from other drug entrepreneurs (Canada, 1995).
Finally, the U.S. gun market was becoming saturated. Having saturated the white male market, and not greatly increasing the female market, gun distributors began marketing to a new group of potential customers. New and exciting names for guns began to spring up, such as the viper and glock nine. Rappers began to use rap videos to display the proper way to hold a gun and the coolest way to shoot your victim, e.g., holding the gun level to your face and turning it to the left so that the gun would fire sideways at its victim. It became a symbol of manhood and a symbol of power and pride to carry a gun. For other adolescents, carrying a gun simply meant protection from others (Canada, 1995).
When crack cocaine flourished in the 80s, the world of prostitution shifted in a profound way. Crack cocaine became the drug of choice for street prostitutes. According to Miller (1995), women have actually lost more power in the shift. Pimps and dope boys share similar roles in that both control women's money. Indeed, women involved in this study increasingly reported spending more of their prostitution earnings on crack cocaine the longer they were in prostitution. What did not change was control of women by men (Miller, 1995).
In traditional pimp-prostitute relationships, pimps provide food, clothing, and protection in exchange for a prostitute's money. Dope boys receive the lion's share of addicted prostitutes' earnings, yet provide women with no food or clothing, leaving them without money and without the promise of protection. This is thought to have increased women's vulnerability to violence in the streets (Miller, 1995; Owens & Shepard, 1998). Despite the fact that dope boys have acquired the most wealth in the underground economy, and have crossed over to capture a percentage of the prostitution market, pimping is still a viable force. For some, pimping still remains a lucrative venture.