Exposing the "Pretty Woman" Myth: A Qualitative Examination of the Lives of Female Streetwalking Prostitutes

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2000 by Rochelle L. Dalla

Other precursors to prostitution, such as economic necessity and drug abuse, have been examined. Economic vulnerability, some argue, forces women into the streets. Hardman (1997) reports, "Because of their restricted access to financial and material resources, some women may resort to prostitution as a resistance or response to poverty" (p. 20). Prostitution, in other words, may be viewed as an active coping strategy in the face of privation. Likewise, Delacoste and Alexander (1998) maintain that, lacking viable alternatives, female sex-work remains consistently available.

Drug addiction has been widely examined in relation to female prostitution. Crack cocaine, specifically, and its use by street-level prostitutes has garnered much recent attention. Graham and Wish (1994) examined 164 female arrestees in order to examine female drug use in relation to deviant behavior. Approximately 60% of the participants tested positive for cocaine; 50% had a history of prostitution. Interestingly, despite the role of drug use in the continuation of prostitution, Graham and Wish report that drug use did not always precede prostitution work. Drug use, they contend, may evolve as a coping strategy among street-level sex workers. In a more recent investigation however, Potterat, Rothenberg, Muth, Darrow, and Phillips-Plummer (1998) examined the sequence and timing of prostitution entry and drug use among prostitution-involved women and a comparable control group. The), found that (a) drug use was more common among the prostitution-involved women than the control group, (b) drug use preceded sexual activity in both groups, and (c) injecting drug use preceded prostitution. Within the prostitution group specifically, 66% had used drugs prior to entering prostitution, 18% began drug use and prostitution activities concurrently, and only 17% reported drug use following their entry into prostitution. The participants were interviewed again after one year; similar reports were made.

Despite the frequency with which particular antecedents to prostitution have been identified in the extant literature, inconsistency and contradictory evidence have emerged. According to Bullough and Bullough (1996), "when all is said and done, no single factor stands out as causal in a woman becoming a prostitute" (p. 171). Nandon et al. (1998) similarly conclude that "background factors may be necessary but insufficient [italics added] conditions to justify prostitution activity" (p. 219). Undoubtedly, entry into prostitution and continued work in the sex industry results from the cumulation of multiple interdependent personal and contextual factors; none of which may exist in the same form or to the same degree for all women who prostitute themselves. A "profile" of the prostituted woman (or one who will eventually turn to prostitution) does not exist.

Theoretical Orientation

Ecological Systems Theory (EST) (Bronfenbrenner, 1989) provides the foundation of this investigation. According to EST, development is a timeless process of interaction between person and environment. One must look beyond an individual's present circumstances to understand the processes which resulted in particular developmental trajectories. Bronfenbrenner argues that development results from the interaction between person (including all of her personal characteristics) and environment (including all people in that environment and their personal characteristics), through time. Development cannot be understood without careful observation .of the entire ecological context in which each individual is embedded, including historical events and situations (e.g., childhood), social relationships, and environmental factors (e.g., culture and subculture). Equipotentiality, a concept used within Family Systems Theory, further demonstrates the indeterministic nature of development and refers to the notion that developmental outcome is neither predetermined nor predictable.