Yet another article on SlutWalk caused me to muse about the opposite. Were street walking prostitutes to dress in fine business attire would they get any business?
I recalled the prostitutes that loitered around the State Liquor sores in Utah and approached me from time to time. I was not in the least interested in patronizing a prostitute. But the recent article, this time in Slate if I recall correctly caused me to wonder. Were street walking prostitutes to dress in fine business attire I don’t know if they would they get any business but I would have found the proposition more interesting. What do you think?
You might check out Sydney Biddle Barrows book on her experience as the Mayflower Madam running a luxury escort service. Her escorts wore business suits in public (very influential in allowing them to get in and out of hotels without interference) with sexy underwear beneath them. They made a lot more than street walkers.
The problem would be - how would the prospective customers know you were in the business?
I can picture a prostitute who gets clients through referrals or the internet dressing in business attire, but for streetwalkers, dressing at least somewhat distinctively and identifiably as prostitutes is I would imagine a part of their advertising.
Consider the “street walker” to be the lowest level of the business. High level prostitutes have existed for a long time. It is not necessary to dress like a slut when dealing above that level. In fact, it takes away from the product. Today’s technology has made connections easier than ever.
Just my opinion based on observation.
Virtually every area known as an “streetwalker” hangout that I’ve ever heard of is rundown. Anytime you see a skimpily dressed woman wandering aimlessly around warehouse and cheap motel lots, it’s pretty clear what her profession is. A woman walking aimlessly around these areas in a business suit or cocktail dress would stick out quickly.
I will just say this. Slutwalks are really really really…stupid. Sure, walk dressed like that in daylight, in the high street, with hundrereds of others. That is one thing. I think your point will be made better if you walked dressed like that, at night, in a run down area, alone.
Truth be told, most streetwalking prostitutes don’t dress all that provocatively anymore, at least not in the cities where I’ve seen news stories about them. Casual wear, usually jeans, seems to be the norm.
Streetwalkers operate using a rather unusual (but, in retrospect, rather obvious) code. Certain spots in town are known as hangouts for prostitutes. Streetwalkers will make a point to make eye contact with men driving slowly by, then walk around the corner. If the john follows them, they might have some further contact and go from there.
When I lived in Erie, PA, I read a story about rookie cops whose first gig was busting streetwalkers. When I saw what areas they’d designated, I about keeled over. These were places I often passed through without noticing anything at all. In the streetwalking business, it seems that discretion is the better part of valor.
^
Yes I am. If your point is that what a victim is dressed should have no relation to the culpability of the rapist, well then its a moot point, as I don’t think there is a legal system in the world which has that position. If its that a person should not be at a higer risk for rape only due to the nature of their attaire, well thats very admirable and a sentiment we can all agree with, although real life means that it is likely to remain an aspiration then reality. If you think you are making a difference; yeah. I don’t think walking down the main street in provocative clothes in the middle of the day is going to make an iota of a difference either way (except for catching a cold or getting sun burnt). In anycase your point would be better made if you walked in a rough area dressed like that, alone. At least then you could admire people for having the courage of their convictions. But, I really doubt anyone will do that. I wonder why?
Wiki on SlutWalk. Basically, it’s a protest against the idea that, if a woman is dressed like a slut, she is “asking for it.” (i.e., rape). See also Denim Day.
I don’t care if a woman is wearing a tiny teeshirt and tight jeans cut off at the crotch–Nobosy has the right to put a finger on her.
Rape is NOT about sex. It is about dominance and control
A police officer in Toronto told women that in order to be safe they should “avoid dressing like sluts.” In response, there have been marches where some women dressed slutty*. Another popular thing to do is to wear either the same outfit, or one very similar to the outfit the person had on when they were raped, because it is usually as far from slutty as one can imagine. Jeans and a tee shirt, often with a hoodie, is common. The idea is that dressing slutty is not an invitation to rape, and is a protest against that kind of thinking, especially when it comes from police officers, who ought to know better.
*what “slutty dressing” is obviously varies from person to person, and is a moving goalpost, so that whenever someone is raped it can be pointed to as a factor.
