The Morality of Prostitution

[Bango Cheito]

I don't think it's all that easy though, and I don't think all women (or men) are cut out for it. It takes a good deal of physical and mental discipline most people just don't have. You have a whole new standard of cleanliness to maintain, to prevent disease and keep yourself attractive at all times. Not to mention the tremendous abuse your body parts take in the course of a normal working day. Think about what it means for a WG to offer something like anal on the regular menu for her clients. And Murphy's law dictates that if they tear their ass one day, the next day EVERYBODY will want anal!

I'm a professional musician myself, which is supposedly something everybody wants to do, and people have the misconception that it's 'easy'. You wouldn't BELIEVE the discipline and the things I have to give up in order to make sure I have a voice that works when I want it to the way I want it to so I can sing for my supper. WG's and singers have one thing in common, their bodies ARE their instruments!

[Rock Dog]

rn,

my take on that point is that there must be a large element of jealousy underlying these actions.

think about it.... i went to school for 8 years straight. i graduated with the ability to earn a really good living, but was also saddling with some major student loans. imagine how a woman in my position would feel if she saw some other woman come along, skip the years of school and go straight into the high earnings without a penny of debt.

don't anybody kid themselves! of course people are going to feel jealous about something like that. they'd never admit it out loud, but still.... that's a big part of what's behind so many of the bad attitudes and so much of the righteous indignation.

it's one thing to see some wg having sex for money if she's just scraping by. but when that same girl makes triple what you do (and in half the time) many people get pissed off because they feel it's unfair. hence, the crappy treatment..... society at large figures if she (the wg) has to suffer some lousy treatment in order to make a good living, then that somehow "balances things out". this is the same phenomenon that explains why the average person feels a little surge of pleasure whenever someone important/famous/successful gets taken down (eg. martha stewart, enron ceo's, jimmy swaggart etc.)

the opposite holds true when a so-called "little guy" gets stepped on. we are able to feel sorry for them because we perceived them as being weaker/lower than us. those who are stronger/smarter/richer or just plain doing better for themselves seem to trigger a threatening feeling in others who aren't doing as well for themselves. this might be because the others feel like they're being out-competed. again, this goes a long way towards explaining why wgs get such a hard time socially and legally. society's way of making sure they don't get ahead too fast or too easily.

this is a big part of why the sex-trade is portrayed so negatively in the media. people want to believe that it must be awful.... that's the only way it can ever make any sense to them. if it wasn't so bad........... then what?
a logical line of reasoning from that point would lead to some very uncomfortable territory.

comments?

rock

[Rubber Nursey]

I DO find it very ironic that many societies in which prostitution is neither legal nor officially tolerated make it so hard for girls to get out of it once they get in....
I know one girl who had been in the business for a few years, even made a few porn movies, and was just sick of sex work and wanted out, so she volunteered for Iraq. She got busted the very WEEK she was supposed to stop working and the military rejected her, so back to fucking and sucking for her!

Bango Cheito (Welcome, by the way! )

That is something that REALLY infuriates me. So many politicians carry on about 'exit and retraining' strategies for sex workers - but a piece of paper with 'University Graduate' stamped on it, is not gonna get you a job when your police record has 'WH*RE' stamped on it.

Street based sex workers in my city are constantly arrested. They go to court and get fined large amounts of money. Ummmm...hello? How on earth do the courts expect them to GET that money??!! Of course, they go back out onto the street to earn money to pay off their fines. They get caught again - second offence, bigger fines this time. Back onto the streets to work them off. Eventually they get caught again and the judge decides that the previous attempts at 'encouragement' to stop them street working (ie: the fines and the criminal record) haven't worked - so maybe a stint in jail will help them see the error of their ways. With numerous prostitution convictions and now jail time served, how is that woman EVER gonna get a 'respectable' job??? She is destined to work in the sex industry for perhaps the rest of her life.

And there are so many horror stories of women (and men, for that matter) who work in the sex industry and pay their way through Uni, get a great job and then their 'seedy past' is discovered and they're thrown straight out. We had a high school teacher in my state not so long ago who was found to be an ex-hooker - she was not only thrown out of her job, but plastered all over the media, ensuring that she would have difficulty getting employment in ANY profession from then on. Except maybe back in a brothel.

The powers-that-be say they want us to all get out of the industry and get 'real jobs'...and then crap on us when we actually try and do it.

[Sinanju Master]

Many women would never consider being a WG 'cos of the root of their misgivings: religion. Not necessarily a woman being RELIGIOUS, but the most common early childhood environment where kids are taught that such a thing is bad. Those early experiences can last a lifetime. Such teachings cause any society to look DOWN on a WG as unclean, morally if not physically. From that can spread the negatives associated with their profession: harrassment by the devout, in a nutshell. Religion (or shall I say, the ways in which it is craftily used to achieve a certain goal) fascinates me with the hypocrisy of its followers. I'm SURE there are those who can remember Jim Bakker. Then again, with a (then) hottie like Jessica Hahn, I'm not sure I'D be able to resist fucking one of my flock if I were in his place! If the devout didn't pitch such fire and brimstone into the faces of WG's and simply realized the beneficial nature of their profession, I wouldn't have such contempt for them. They woudn't have to put WG's upon a pedestal (I do that so I can look under their dresses! LOL) but back off and leave them be. If they're gonna preach the fire and brimstone, do it to the errant sheep, which are simply seeking a release the devout can not offer.

RD, your economical analysis reminded me of what saw on the History Channel last nite: "Old West Tech: Prostitution". It gave a history of prostitution in the Old West and stated that close to 100% of the propspectors in Sutter's Mill were MALE. Imagine a city FULL of (sometimes ARMED) MEN with no outlet for release. It would make Baghdad look like a springtime picnic.

[Rubber Nursey]

which is what i've said all along, rock - it's a job like any other and we do it for the same reasons that anyone else seeks gainful employment.

over the years, i've met very few men and women who started work with any real 'inside knowledge' of the industry. occasionally, you meet people who had family members or close friends/partners who worked and those people knew exactly what to expect when they started work. but overwhelmingly, most people i know had no previous experience around sex workers to base their decision on. their perception of the sex industry was based on the same information that mine was - what the media told them.

thanks to the news and the movies and society in general, i 'knew' what to expect before i started working. drugs, pimps, beatings, diseases, [CodeWord123]...earning thousands of dollars a week in a seedy, filthy old building, being forced to fulfil the sick desires of perverted clients by a male 'pimp' brothel owner. no shit, that's what i thought awaited me. and yes, i was desperate enough to risk all of that and call a nearby massage parlour for a job.

and that's something i often try to explain to people when they suggest that choosing sex work is the 'easy way out' and also when it comes to the concept of 'choice' in general. for many sex workers, our perception of the sex industry - and of sex workers themselves - was the same as the rest of society before we started working. the decision to venture into (what we are led to believe is) the seedy underbelly of society, is truly terrifying. that demonstrates just what sort of position many of us are in when we make that decision. it's not about whether we can accept the risk of "social disapproval"...it's about whether we feel we have any other option.

of course, once i started working i discovered it was nothing like the movies had told me it would be. i loved it and freely made the decision to keep working, even after my financial problems had eased. in fact, i worked to pay myself through a course to get a 'respectable' job and after only a couple of months, quit that 'respectable' job and went back to fulltime sex work. it wasn't so much about money - my 'respectable' job had the potential to make me similar money to what i was earning in a brothel - but in working conditions and overall job satisfaction, sex work won hands down. and that, i fear, is one of the main reasons why sex work is slandered and stereotyped and women are discouraged from participating in it.

no, i'd better not go there...that particular rant could go on all night.

[Rock Dog]

the flow of the discussion is going in a very interesting direction.

china lily said:
many are like you say, they try to get money to go home and live a better life, but many city girls, models, dancers and students choose to do this job because it gets them a lot of money.

bingo! most people do things because they are motivated to benefit themselves. not only that, but they will act according to economic principles. this is to say that, given one or more options, an individual will invariably pick the one that they perceive to give the greatest benefit proportional to the costs.

this is why many girls would never consider being a wg as a career option. not because there's something inherently wrong with it, but because they perceive the social drawbacks (ie. peer disapproval) to be too high a cost to justify any financial benefits. other women aren't as concerned about the social costs, so it's an acceptable choice. still others will try and have it both ways.... make the money and avoid the social penalties by maintaining strict secrecy.

i've often wondered about why so many cultures give wgs such a hard time. this is particularly true for non-wg women in those cultures. my guess is that they don't appreciate the competition for their men's attention (and money). however, i'd be willing to bet that there's more to it than that. perhaps, at some subliminal level they are trying to maintain some kind of balance? if being a wg was perfectly socially acceptable, it would be the career of choice for the vast majority of women.

so, what you get is..... social disapproval limiting the number of women who will be willing to choose this career. this keeps their numbers comparatively low in an environment where the demand for their services is comparatively high. low supply and high demand always equals high prices..... which in turn ensures that there will always be a number of women who will choose to be a wg. it's a kind of balance..... there's nothing moral or religious needed to explain it, not when simple economics will do. and that is why i had earlier asked about how well our forum wgs were doing financially.

rock

[China Lily]

- reason being that in the West There IS so much more choice - and thus prostitution IS such an easy/lazy way out. And as far as sheltering their families from this reality - yes again, I would venture to guess that its true in both the West as well as TWC - but the reality is that there so many more instances in China where pros do stop and then go back to their own villages to get married - very common indeed. I would again venture to guess that instead in the west it would be next to impossible for a pro to turn her life around and start afresh - seeing as originally a Western Pro is more likely to have taken "the easy way out" when chosing her direction in life. Girls in TWC - IMHO - are more determined to just make their money - enough for them to start some little biz in their own village to support themselves and their parents - and then get out of the life.
...............
I have seen this happen COUNTLESS times in China. Take from me - this is quite common
SE Asia Joe

SE Asia Joe,

I think you only met one kind of wg in China. Many are like you say, they try to get money to go home and live a better life, but many city girls, models, dancers and students choose to do this job because it gets them a lot of money.

It is not an easy choice especially for the lower class type who risk being robbed, beaten or the customer don't pay or they get arrested. It is not easy even for the most beautiful sexy girls because there is competition from new girls. Why a customer chooses another girl over me? When girls compete for the good customers. We have to look pretty, we have to smile and laugh when jokes are not funny, we have to go to bars and restaurants that we don't like, we get looked at and by all kinds of people, some customers make you wait to pay - that why I always want money first if I can.

People respect you if you have money and you look good and you hold your head high. If you act high class people respect you, If you act low class people dont respect you. Its the same for guys in bars and the same for working girls. Many girls dont tell their families what they do. Sometimes their families guess or find out, then some families accept it, others do everything they can to stop it.

The money is only good if you compete well. It is not easy way out

[Alex Rock]

I once read an article that asserted that 50% of women would sell sex if it meant survival for their children - it was referring to German women after the 2nd World War and White Russians or French who lost all their possessions after regime changes. Who knows what that number really would be and how it was derived.

When I went through a phase of trying to understand WG, especially my ex - I talked to lots of WG's in all kinds of places, from all kinds of backgrounds, and don't laugh at me - I'd pay them a big tip just to talk. ALL, without exception were very happy to take the tip and talk very freely, especially when I told them I'd found out my GF had been a WG. It was like they welcomed the chance to talk freely with someone who was genuinely interested and didn't look down on them.

One was a student, she had a target to make 3000 RMB a month and that was it. Her measure of success was how few nights she could do it in.

Another was a skating/ski-instructor from Harbin, (Her thighs were rock hard) she had only earned 400RMB a month and her husband treated her like s..t, she wanted to earn 200,000 and go home.

Another had a mortgage for a nice apartment and she was afraid she couldn't make the monthly payments. She always tried to have enough for 2 months. She found a German BF who wanted her to give up her work but wouldn't pay her anything. She'd work when he was out of town.

Another was a doctor from Xinjiang. (Extremely attractive and intelligent) I asked her a bunch of medical questions and hospital procedures which convinced me she really was a doctor. She could earn 2,000RMB a month in Xinjiang working long hours vs. about 70,000 a month in Passion or Diamond Age.

Another was a new girl starting at a MP. She was excited to make 2-3000 a month vs the 400 she'd make in her village and she really enjoyed sex - at first. When I saw her a couple of months later, she was tired and had no more enthusiasm.

Another was an amazing girl who loved being a wh*re. She was totally into the role and would make fun of herself. She'd joke about the things she would do for clients and would have fun every day.

We all know these kinds of stories. For all of these girls it was a choice, but on their own circumstances.

Rubber Nursey's point that it is a job like any other is the way we should look at it. WG's are people like the rest of us doing jobs they choose, and providing services we like. If some are druggies - it's not because they are wg's.

I'd argue that in all countries, TWC and richer countries, there's no profession that pays so well for "unskilled" labor. Once people get above the poverty line or survival line, then it's a choice which women make in any country.

One of Sasha's points that bugs me is the honesty question. I tacitly supported ex wg's hiding what they'd done from their husbands. But then re-thought that. Now it bugs me a lot. The flip side is that we guys who monger are rarely honest to our wives or gf's when we do it, yet we seem so morally superior when we find out girls can hide their pasts or what they do for a job.

Another tack on this line of thinking is that we all have things we'd rather not let others know - things we're not proud of or things we've done we don't want to talk about. Is it being dishonest to want to put something away and forget it. Not telling someone about your past is different from lying about your past.

China Lily's idea that "all men" need variety and she'd accept it, is something
most guys would love to hear their wives say. She can encourage her man to be honest by being open to him doing things other women would get mad about and force their men to hide.

Honesty - easier said than done ...

[Robbaf]

so she volunteered for Iraq.

Tell her to volunteer for a civilian company in Iraq. She will make good money, tax free and she can bank it all, come back and get a new start on life.

I have two friends who have made over 200K in two years.

Robb

[Bango Cheito]

I DO find it very ironic that many societies in which prostitution is neither legal nor officially tolerated make it so hard for girls to get out of it once they get in. Like Nursey pointed out, one conviction on your record and you can forget about ever getting a decent straight job.

And here in NYC you could not possibly live by yourself on minimum wage. You couldn't even doing it renting a room somewhere with shared facilities and doing the ramen noodle thing.

I know one girl who had been in the business for a few years, even made a few porn movies, and was just sick of sex work and wanted out, so she volunteered for Iraq. She got busted the very WEEK she was supposed to stop working and the military rejected her, so back to fucking and sucking for her! Amazing, they wouldn't even take her for Iraq!!!

[Alex Rock]

WOW - 150K Yuan a month? That's Yuan 6,000/day for 25 days/month. ........ Could she have perhaps been exagerrating just a bit what she was making.... just to extract a bit more from you?

She worked in Passion a few days a month as did a certain few who made most money on call outs and providing new high class girls for some regular client pools. It was a hell of an eye opener for me to find out the world my GF had hidden from me, and that several of her BMW driving friends were also in the same business.

Having got to know some of those girls quite well as friends was what made me see they choose the lifestyle even though they could easily get ordinary jobs. Some would end up as high class mistresses, some stayed independent, one or two married and never lt their hsubands know what they had done to get so rich - they'd usually say they'd had A (single) wealthy boyfriend.

It also amazed me the kind of money some guys, mainly Chinese - would spend on entertaining.

[Rubber Nursey]

But, the reason why I say this is that I do see that there are a lot of choices for females in the western world. First, your social welfare system is so much more superior - whereby I cannot perceive anybody ever really going hungry in a Western Country - whilst the same cannot be said for a TWC....Secondly, because of minimum wage laws, a person can still work at a regular job and survive...Third, a Western government do have a lot in place for anybody who wants to progress to do so

I agree with everything you've said. Of course most Westerners get more support from their Governments and absolutely, minimum wages and/or welfare payments are enough to survive on - for most people. There's a few situations where that may not be the case, though. For example, a single person may be able to live on an average wage, with money left over for little luxuries, but a single Mum with children - especially if she has to pay out more than half her wage on childcare in order to work - is gonna have a lot less money left over at the end of the week, if any. And a minimum wage may be enough to cover 'usual' expenses (rent, food, fuel, etc) but it's not much help when you have massive debts to pay on top of those expenses.

Also, Westerners are probably more likely to be living well above their means than people in TWCs. Yes, that's self-inflicted, so it's probably our own fault, but it really hurts when a crisis hits. What happens when you've been living on, say, $1500 a week managing a business and that business goes broke and you suddenly find yourself unemployed - or you've been married to a high income-earner and without warning, he leaves you for another woman? Yes, you can go get a job paying an average wage, or go on welfare, but how are you gonna cover your existing $1500 a week expenses when you're now earning $400 a week? And that doesn't include the time it takes to FIND that job and start getting paid...every day without cash, your debts keep mounting.

In my situation, for example, I could probably have paid the rent and kept the kids fed on welfare, until I managed to find a job. But I couldn't keep up with my car payments and they were threatening repossession and without a car, I would never have got a job. To keep the car, all the while hoping to have a job any minute now, I was spending the rent money, which eventually lead to an eviction notice. To make up the back rent, I would have had to stop paying the car payments - and that doesn't take into account all the other bills that were coming in at the same time, that I wasn't able to pay. In the end, the only way I could see to earn immediate cash, and lots of it, was prostitution.

...until they just cannot stand it any more and the attraction of "the other side" is just tooooo much - when one can make as much in one tumble as working a whole month in ahot sweaty factory.

That's why MOST of us choose to work in the sex industry - Western, Third World or otherwise!!

Extended families?? Do you actually know what that means in China?

Sorry, my bad. One of the risks of broadly categorising the 'Third World', I guess. I was thinking more of Thailand and places like that, where a lot of young women leave their children with relatives and go to the big city, working and sending money home to support the whole family. I agree, it would be hard in China. However, being a working mother is difficult for ANY Mum, regardless of where they live. Being a Mum is a fulltime job and impacts greatly on your earning capacity.

In the West, people always say that "if there's a will, there's a way" - and I do definitely agree. So good luck to you - and that is if you're thinking of a way out. If not, my best wishes still stands. Hope I'm not being too harsh etc

Actually, I haven't worked in the industry for about three years now. Not that I chose to quit - that was kinda beyond my control (long story). I'd still be doing it today, if I could! However, I've certainly had no problems 'starting fresh' after leaving. The only thing I live with is that one day, it might all come out that I was a hooker and my friends and family will be devastated. Not ME - I feel no shame whatsoever for doing a job that I loved with a passion and credit with teaching me self-respect, self-confidence and expanding my sexual horizons - but the fear that my kids or parents or partner could be hurt by the information, is terrifying to me. Mind you, I'm heavily involved in sex worker activism and very vocal in discussions about prostitution, so if I get 'outed' one day, it will probably be my own fault!

[SE Asia Joe]

I think your observations fit some types of WG's in China, but not all. Some high class WG's clearly have a choice and have become very wealthy. Some are university graduates and are quite sophisticated. They choose the profession because it supports a lifestyle choice. My ex GF was making 150K a month - compare that with what most would make as an office worker. Some become kept women or mistresses, they get apartments and BMW's. It's also a choice.

WOW - 150K Yuan a month? That's Yuan 6,000/day for 25 days/month. How was she able to do this? The most I EVER paid for an all nighter was Yuan 3,000 for a Girl from Passion in Beijing - and Passion in those days was absolutely TOPS in quality and price. Could she have perhaps been exagerrating just a bit what she was making.... just to extract a bit more from you? Yes, I DO know a gal that was getting US$20,000 per month from her guy - but this guy is one of those super-duper-in the Fortune 500 list rich guys - and I suspect the only reason he was paying that much was.... just to show us his friends how rich he is! And that didn't last but 3 months! and yes she was driving a 7 series BMW - with the fancy 8888 licence plate even - but of course that car belongs to HIM - and she was back in the fron seat of taxis when her sojourn with him was over.
And as far as girls in China who does make a conscious choice to be a prostitute - I still say that its because of the limited choice that they have here. Even the university graduate etc - I pay new grads starting at Yuan 2,000/month and they're very glad to work for me! You of course know that China has such an oversupply of U grads that they're a dime a dozen and cannot find jobs - so again - limited choice. Compare working a month for me vs. the 3,000 I paid the Passion girl; There is not that kind of disparity in the Western World.
SE Asia Joe

[SE Asia Joe]

se asia joe,
however, i personally believe that when it comes to issues of 'morality' - and discussions of how/when/why people become sex workers or visit sex workers - it has very little to do with geography. the reasons we start working/paying and the stigma we suffer because of it is, i believe, universal.
sex work is - by no stretch of the imagination - an easy/lazy way out.
also, i'd like to ask why you would assume that women in western countries have more choices than those in twc?
.........
people in twcs tend to have large, extended families, who can often take care of the childcare while women work. those families are not so common in the west, where childcare (if you can find it) can cost as much as $300 per child, per week. that's a huge chunk out of the below-average wages of a checkout chick - if not impossible.
.....
for me, it was the only way out that i could see - it was either prostitution, or homelessness. i don't see my motivations as being any different than those of a woman supporting her children in a twc.

...........
obviously many start working and decide that they enjoy it (or at least that the money and working conditions are good) and so they stay - but many just do what they have to do and then leave.
it is difficult to start fresh in the west, but i think it's largely to do with the paper-trail we all leave behind us in developed countries. gaps in our resumes (our time in the sex industry) make 'regular' employment difficult. prostitution convictions make future employment near impossible. filling out sex industry workplace details on finance applications or tax declarations, often comes back to bite you in the arse when you try to get a job or borrow money or rent a house or begin a relationship in the future. but i don't think it's any less difficult for a twc woman. the stigma still remains, the guilt (over lying, or lying by omission, if you don't tell your new partner) is always there, the fear of being recognised by an ex-client or ex-worker haunts you for the rest of your life.
........
sorry, that was a lot more than i planned on writing! if you like, i'll send you a pm and explain how to do the quote thing.

wow - thanks for the well thought out and comprehensive reply. and first of all, yes please do send me instructions on how to quote/reply/quote etc.
....
i definitely see your point of view that whether you're in a western or twc, sex work carries a lot of stigma.... and please do forgive me for stating that sex work is an easy/lazy way out. but, the reason why i say this is that i do see that there are a lot of choices for females in the western world. first, your social welfare system is so much more superior - whereby i cannot perceive anybody ever really going hungry in a western country - whilst the same cannot be said for a twc.
secondly, because of minimum wage laws, a person can still work at a regular job and survive. i put myself thru university and grad school by working at menial/manual labour - all the way from working as a janitor, grease monkey, collecting trash, farm work, salvage yard, baker etc to even being an asistant interior decorator. i did what i needed to get by and as far as jopbs are concerned, anywhere i go in australia, u.s., canada, uk etc , i always see the help wanted posters in shops everywhere. no i'm of course not talking about any high paying job - just minimum wage jobs. but from what i experienced myself, these minimum wage jobs - even only working part time whilst going to school - were more than enough to survive - and i even had quite a bit left over for school fees, some dating, some beers... and even the 2 cars and 2 motorcycles that i had when in uni.
third, a western government do have a lot in place for anybody who wants to progress to do so i.e. scholarship, work grants, supplements, food stamps, study grants, student loans - and being the rather red-neck imho, there are plenty of choices in a western vs. twc - where so many things are so stacked against a young female. working at factories - (china is after all "the factory to the world!") for us$85 per month - and working over 72 hours a week - is that a life at all? and yet, so many of these girls do exactly that.... until they just cannot stand it any more and the attraction of "the other side" is just tooooo much - when one can make as much in one tumble as working a whole month in ahot sweaty factory. this is what i refer to as being limited choice
.........
extended families?? do you actually know what that means in china? china with the one child policy and the poor farmer and his wife barely scraping on an annual income of us400 per year in some places. what is that one child going to do.... if she's a girl? yes, my gal tried for over a year working at us$85/month and sending back $65/month of her salary to her parents. then somebody or a bufallo gets sick... what next? and whilst i do see that you've had a tough time/do empathize with you.... to a point.... surely you can also appreciate what i'm saying about western world standards? sure it would have been tough for you and even next to impossible - but the operative word s here is "next to."
.......
yes, i do see that it's a lot tougher for a wg in the western world to ever be able to revert back to "normalcy" but then again, i'm an optimist and i do hope that you will also try to be optimistic. in the west, people always say that "if there's a will, there's a way" - and i do definitely agree. so good luck to you - and that is if you're thinking of a way out. if not, my best wishes still stands. hope i'm not being too harsh etc
se asia joe

[Rubber Nursey]

SE Asia Joe,

Firstly, please don't apologise for jumping in. Welcome! Secondly, yes, the discussion here quite often has a 'Western' focus, largely because the main posters have usually been from Western countries. However, I personally believe that when it comes to issues of 'morality' - and discussions of how/when/why people become sex workers or visit sex workers - it has very little to do with geography. The reasons we start working/paying and the stigma we suffer because of it is, I believe, universal.

I've thought about this again and now agree with you in that in the West Pros are probably looked down more than at TWC - reason being that in the West There IS so much more choice - and thus prostitution IS such an easy/lazy way out.

I have to say it - sex work involves having sex with complete strangers, risking disease and/or pregnancy, often being treated badly by clients and/or brothel owners and, most importantly, living with the stigma of being a wh*re. That means living a 'double life' and lying to friends and family, being discriminated against in housing, finances, courts, taxation and welfare (to name but a few) and all the devastating consequences your 'secret past' can have on future personal relationships. Sex work is - by NO stretch of the imagination - an EASY/LAZY way out.

Also, I'd like to ask why you would assume that women in Western countries have more choices than those in TWC? Unemployment rates are high in the West and, more importantly, expected skill levels in employees are even higher. How likely is it that a divorced Mum, with no formal qualifications and out of the workforce for ten years while married and raising children, is going to get a job over a single, 20-something, University graduate? She's not. The only options for her are menial labour or some part-time gig at a shop or whatever, generally on very low wages. People in TWCs tend to have large, extended families, who can often take care of the childcare while women work. Those families are not so common in the West, where childcare (IF you can find it) can cost as much as $300 per child, per week. That's a HUGE chunk out of the below-average wages of a checkout chick - if not impossible.

I have often said on this Forum how I came to work in the sex industry. I was left with HUGE debts from my ex-husband (family law doesn't always favour the woman, I can assure you) and was pushed even further into debt by my efforts to escape him. I had two small children, no formal education, an eviction notice and no other way of getting the money in time, other than sex work. For me, it was the ONLY way out that I could see - it was either prostitution, or homelessness. I don't see my motivations as being any different than those of a woman supporting her children in a TWC.

Girls in TWC - IMHO - are more determined to just make their money - enough for them to start some little biz in their own village to support themselves and their parents - and then get out of the life.

I said just a few posts down (when I was ranting at Rock about what sex workers do with their money) that many sex workers get into the industry to pay off debts, buy a house/car, pay for Uni, etc, then get out again. Most don't make a conscious decision to make hooking a life-long career...at least, not at first. Obviously many start working and decide that they enjoy it (or at least that the money and working conditions are good) and so they stay - but many just do what they have to do and then leave.

I would again venture to guess that instead in the west it would be next to impossible for a pro to turn her life around and start afresh

It IS difficult to start fresh in the West, but I think it's largely to do with the paper-trail we all leave behind us in developed countries. Gaps in our resumes (our time in the sex industry) make 'regular' employment difficult. Prostitution convictions make future employment near impossible. Filling out sex industry workplace details on finance applications or tax declarations, often comes back to bite you in the arse when you try to get a job or borrow money or rent a house or begin a relationship in the future. But I don't think it's any less difficult for a TWC woman. The stigma still remains, the guilt (over lying, or lying by omission, if you don't tell your new partner) is always there, the fear of being recognised by an ex-client or ex-worker haunts you for the rest of your life.

Sorry, that was a lot more than I planned on writing! If you like, I'll send you a PM and explain how to do the quote thing.