# What do prostitutes do during their period? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262 "2004-05-21T00:07:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/21 "2004-05-21T11:10:33Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > **irishgirl** , the plural of anecdote is not ‘data’. > And how the hell does that work? How is reporting something seen on a documentary about the women in question an anecdote? As far as how, I would imagine that they just cut them to size, and block off the back end of the flow for as long as the client is there. He’s not going to feel a sponge. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/22 "2004-05-21T11:27:42Z")
> [@](#): > > The plural of anecdote is not ‘data’. This has got to be the greatest line I’ve read in a long time!! ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/23 "2004-05-21T11:37:56Z")
“The ladies they interviewed.” The ladies were telling anecdotes. In ONE brothel, in ONE town. Doesn’t make everyone ‘way off’. So they just keep forceps around to get those sponges out? ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/24 "2004-05-21T11:39:08Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > This has got to be the greatest line I’ve read in a long time!! I stole it off some other doper. I don’t know who. But I read it and thought the same thing you did. It fitted the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/25 "2004-05-21T11:50:20Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > **irishgirl** , the plural of anecdote is not ‘data’. Remember no-one else offered any data at all, so anecdotal is a first step. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/26 "2004-05-21T11:59:20Z")
Or the first step backwards if it’s false… Maybe they’re on what I have… Implanon, pretty much stops my period from occuring in the next 3 years. But then there’s the 50:50 chance that you’ll more periods than normal. I presume, by Occam’s Razor, they just use hormaonal contraception and prevent the period from happening in the first place. Menstrual blood is not the safest thing in the world to come into contact with. Legal brothels have to follow strict health procedures. I went through the sex worker’s Health and Safety Procedures and could not see anything about menstruation though. But then again, it was on a sex worker’s site. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/27 "2004-05-21T12:05:25Z")
As far as the placebo pills go, it was always my understanding that while they weren’t necessary, they were included to reinforce the habit of taking a pill everyday. Was I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/28 "2004-05-21T12:05:41Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Really, I have to wonder where these places get their information. No shit. Oh yeah…I just LOOOOOVE getting my period. The high point of my month! I’m from the “olden days” when you still got the period every month. But I have to ask…do you still go psycho if you don’t get your period every month? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/29 "2004-05-21T12:12:31Z")
No. Well at least I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/30 "2004-05-21T12:24:28Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > No shit. Oh yeah…I just LOOOOOVE getting my period. The high point of my month! > > I’m from the “olden days” when you still got the period every month. But I have to ask…do you still go psycho if you don’t get your period every month? > > Anyone? Well, look at it this way, Kalhoun: If you _did,_ wouldn’t every woman approaching menopause (or suffering from amenorrhea) go bughouse? ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/31 "2004-05-21T12:36:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > If a woman on birth control pills skips the 7 placebo pills at the end and just starts a new pack, it is often the case that she will experience little or no menstrual bleeding - apparently this can be done for some months (but you really shouldn’t do it without first talking to your doctor). I can only do it for one month. If I do it for longer, the results are… unpleasent. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/32 "2004-05-21T12:45:05Z")
> [@Bob55](#): > > I read the Greeks used to stuff animal intestines inside a woman to prevent conctraception prior to sex. (someone confirm for me please!!!) I wouldn’t say “stuffed” but the Greeks and Romans both used sheep intestines, among other things, to make barrier contraceptives. Given that some condoms are still made from lamb intestine today, it’s certainly not too far a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/33 "2004-05-21T13:10:54Z")
[Sex Workers Resources - THE FIRST NIGHT I WORKED I ONLY DID HAND JOBS AID BLOWJOB BECAUSE I HAD MY PERIOD, AND NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT SPONGES.](http://www.escort-enz.com/swr/sponges.shtml) Not a work safe site due to ad content so text is quoted here > [@](#): > > Sponges > THE FIRST NIGHT I WORKED I ONLY DID HAND JOBS AID BLOWJOB BECAUSE I HAD MY PERIOD, AND NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT SPONGES. > > Sponges can be pushed high into the vagina just before you have a client, and removed afterwards. > > Looked after carefully, they are a safe, clean, convenient way of, hiding your period from clients so you can keep working. > > Choose a natural sea sponge, as they absorb more than synthetic ones. They squeeze down smaller too… which means your clients are less likely to feel them. if it is large, ordinary scissor-, will cut it down easily. I find that about twice the thickness of a tampon is about right. Rinse it thoroughly, as it might have irritating grains of sand in it, then squeeze it as dry as possible. Insert it as you would a non-applicator tampon. > > Then use mu& more KY or other lubricant than usual, as the sponge tends to absorb that as well, leaving you dryer. Never work dry, and don’t be shy to stop and put more KY if you start to get dry. > > DRYNESS BREAKS CONDOMS! > Say things like "sex turns me on so much more when it’s really slippery’ and since most men want to believe that they’re turning you on they accept this quite happily. Fishing it out afterwards can be tricky until you get used to it. > > A couple of my friends have gone rushing off to the Sexual Health Service because they couldn’t get it out! Either squatting down, or bending with one foot on the edge of the bath or loo seems to work well. Wash your hands, then feel up with one hand until you can touch the sponge. > > Sometimes if the client was large, the sponge will be lodged up behind your cervix. Do not panic - there is nowhere else it can go! Use your forefinger and middle finger to grip it in a scissors action, and push down as though you are straining to go to the toilet. Pull it out , rinse thoroughly, squeeze as dry as possible, and reinsert. > > At times when you would go through a super tampon in 3-4 hours, you will only get an hour out of your sponge, so rinse regularly. Rinse more often if you have a cold or hay fever - when you sneeze, your vagina muscles are likely to contract, and if your sponge is nearly full it will leak. I rinse mine out very thoroughly at the end of my shif and leave it in a weak Dettol solution overnight, At the end of my period I soak it for few minutes in a mild bleach solution, then squeeze it and leave it dry in a jar wit. no lid in the bathroom cupboard. > > Some ladies prefer to get a new sponge for each shift, but personally I don’t consider it necessary as long as it is cleaned thoroughly. Cleaning it in white vinegar seems to make it last the longest, but never use malt vinegar as the sugar in it encourages thrush to grow, I prefer bleach, because I know it kills all the bad bugs, and I suspect the dettol wasn’t killing thrush earlier but bleached sponges fall to bits. after 2-3 months. > > Chemists and some massage parlour operators can sell you a small sponge for $3-5. The really good news, if you’re lucky enough to live near a Prostitutes Collective office, is that they sell a packet of 5 for $5. > > Debra > > August 1993 SIREN ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/34 "2004-05-21T13:22:03Z")
> [@](#): > > feel up with one hand :eek: Seems that it’s not the healthiest way to go. That’s just asking for thrush and other nasties. Not to mention abraising the interior lining making you more susceptible to infection and AIDS if a condom does break. Was that excerpt from someone who worked in a legal brothel? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/35 "2004-05-21T13:35:18Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Really, I have to wonder where these places get their information. Well, they may have figured that women wouldn’t trust that the birth control had done it’s job unless they could see the bloody evidence every month that they still weren’t pregnant. > [@AndrewT](#): > > What I wanna know is, how did they stop getting pregnant before practical contraception was available? I mean did they make every john wear a canvas condom? Ouch! Aside from the various forms of birth control already mentioned, plenty of prostitutes throughout history have been rendered sterile by STDs. Occupational hazard. This wouldn’t a problem for your high-end callgirls and escorts, but I would venture to guess that impoverished streetwalkers have a difficult time maintaining sufficient body fat levels to menstruate or conceive. They can’t be eating well, and many have drug habits to support. I remember once seeing a news report on a charitable group that handed out condoms, clean needles, and McDonald’s coupons to streetwalkers. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/36 "2004-05-21T13:37:51Z")
\*2-for-1 Deal. Blowjob and Anal Sex - $50/I] ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/37 "2004-05-21T15:08:43Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > :eek: > > Seems that it’s not the healthiest way to go. That’s just asking for thrush and other nasties. Not to mention abraising the interior lining making you more susceptible to infection and AIDS if a condom does break. > Was that excerpt from someone who worked in a legal brothel? If putting washed fingers in your vagina is an unhealthy way to go I don’t want to be healthy. Out of all the things you can put in your vagina, a clean natural sea sponge and your own clean fingers is probably the least likely to cause injury. Sea sponge is used as an environmentally-friendly alternative to disposable tampax. I’ve used contraceptive sponges during my period and it stops the flow temporarily. I’m not a prostitute. You have to use your fingers to take out a contraceptive sponge too. ---
**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/38 "2004-05-24T14:01:42Z")
From a cat house employee in NV. _“This question is not out of the ordinary. Us girls during that time wear extra protection, and we use sea sponges. Yes some of do take time off.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/39 "2004-05-25T13:35:25Z")
I should also point out that women’s periods do not necessarily a) last a whole week, and b) have a constant flow. It varies woman by woman, of course. [TMI Warning] My flow is heavy for about 2 days, and then extremely light for a few days. I would really only have to worry about those first 2 days. The remaining days I could easily control things with a diaphragm or something. The only friend with whom I have discussed this reported that her flow is very light for a day or two, then heavy for two days, and then really light for a day. In both cases, it’s only 5 days, and only 2 of those days have a significant amount of flow. And as others have pointed out, hormonal birth control methods sometimes make periods quite light to nonexistent. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262/40 "2004-05-25T13:57:57Z")
Oh–I forgot to say–sea sponges have been used since ancient times as contraceptive devices. They would usually be soaked in some sort of natural spermicidal agent, like vinegar. Between the barrier of the sponge and the acidity of the vinegar, they actually worked rather well. And with regard to the makers of the pill’s decision to have women have their periods: First of all, very little was known about the effect of the additional hormones on women’s reproductive systems. Scientists had known for a long time that oral hormones could supress ovulation, but the problem was that getting the hormones to experiment with was difficult and extremely expensive. They had to be extracted from animal organs. They could barely get enough to experiment with. It was the development of synthetic hormones from plant sources that led to the feasibility of the pill. Once they had them, they created the pill ASAP. They didn’t know whether women HAD to shed that uterine lining every month or not. Other posters have mentioned other reasons that having the period was desirable. So, they developed it with the period included. Another example of their lack of knowledge about the workings of hormones is the fact that the early pills had many times the quantity of hormones that today’s pills do. It was the later research that determined that the levels could be reduced. Secondly, and perhaps more important–the pill was originally introduced as a remedy for menstrual irregularity. The pill is generally thought of as being introduced in 1960. But it was actually approved by the FDA in 1957, but only for treatement of menstrual irregularity. Naturally, lots of women with in-the-know doctors developed “menstrual irregularity” in the late '50s. 🙂 ) The developers of the pill basically had to do this in order to get it approved at all. They knew that a “birth control pill” would be a real hard sell, so they made sure that it had a more “legitimate” purpose. It’s hard to express how disdained birth control and birth control information was at the time. In fact, it was still technically illegal in some cases. It was only a few decades earlier that people (including Margaret Sanger) were jailed for disseminating birth control information! They were able to get approval for the birth control aspect of the pill in 1960 largely because it had been on the market for a few years already, and proved to be pretty safe and effective. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-prostitutes-do-during-their-period/246262.md?page=3)