Response To Potterat - Brief Article

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2000 by Marilyn A. Fithian

I wish to thank John Potterat, Dr. Tisha Dowe, and Devon Brewer PhD. in bringing to my attention that I had not included "number of prostitutes per capita" in the book review. I should also mention that the article came out in a publication about five years ago. I was in Colorado Springs when it came out and I read it while there. I had some question myself. Therefore, I made extensive inquiries among friends, family, and business people in the community and people I met as well as young women dating cadets. Their responses did not debase the article but I felt it did not cover all of the problems. I also was in social situations and had contact with about fifty cadets.

At an earlier date I had social contact with some of the families and friends of cadets. This is an entirely different population contacted than that of the study by Potterat et al. The people I had contact with were people in the area, who in one way or another were effected by prostitution in the community, mainly as it applied to the cadets. It was very unlikely that their concern was for the street prostitute. It is unlikely that a street prostitute would spend a weekend in Bear Creek or be asked to go to dinner and the theater in Denver. Wives and sweethearts were not happy about this. Sometimes behavior was in a group. A place would be rented for a weekend party. The above letters indicated that "Cadets and prostitutes don't mix." I would be delighted to learn if this was no longer the case. All of the above information was in relation to that source.

This was not a scientific study but this and subsequent information and longitudinal histories of Air Force families indicated behaviors and values that might have evolved at the time cadets were there. This is only privately gathered information which is why I suggested a look at this longitudinally in a more scientific way, more for the long term effect on Air Force personnel and families as they continue their careers.

Since doing a research paper about 40 years ago on prostitution I have continued to read journal articles, books, newspapers, and other literature on the subject as well as interviewing prostitutes and call girls. I have had contact in social situations with a number of them and am close friends with authors of books and articles on prostitution. Some prostitutes have come in for therapy. I also covered the topic in teaching classes at the University. Only about one percent of those men and women that I had contact with were ever street prostitutes or arrested. Most tended to be better educated, have other skills, and were more concerned and careful about being identified. They tended to become involved in safe relationships. If they had other jobs they were ones often where they had considerable contact with males where they could make "safe" arrangements.

The journal article by the authors of the letter, "Estimating the Prevalence and Career Longevity of Prostitute Women" (Potterat, Woodhouse, Muth, & Muth, 1990) was an excellent article. The source of information was gained through the police department and health services in Littleton, Colorado.

This means that this was a street prostitution sample, which is only the tip of the iceberg wherever prostitution exists. Most sex workers are not arrested and go to their own private physician for services when needed. As reported in the book on prostitution they tend to use or have their partner use contraceptives and are careful in their selection of partners. I find no fault with their article as it applies to street prostitutes, which are the most visible and which we know the most about.

Over the last 30 years I have taken 2- to 7-hour sex histories from males, many former servicemen. I have gone into their exposure to past experiences with prostitution where it occurred. Histories of former Air Force personnel were very limited, mainly due to fear of loss of job since often they become commercial pilots when leaving the Air Force. Wives were more apt to talk to me on a nonprofessional basis about what they saw to be a problem. The behavior of some of these men seemed to be quite different and more institutionalized than that of other servicemen. The behavior was reinforced by a recent several-year contact with an Air Force family stationed overseas and others who were no longer in the military.

Some behavioral problems with Air Force personnel were reported in the newspaper and a book a few years ago.

Marilyn A. Fithian, Ph.D.

REFERENCES

Potterat, J. J., Woodhouse, D. E., Muth, J. B., & Muth, S. Q. (1990). Estimating the prevalence and career longevity of prostitute women. The Journal of Sex Research, 27, 233-243.