The Reality of Pimps by Michael Veremans

"That I'm a motherf***ing P-I-M-P / …I spit a little G man, and my game got her / A hour later, have that a** up in the Ramada. " " ho: I wasn't no ho last night / Pimp: Ho, bring yo a**! / Ho: Ok, hold on" These songs are from the 50 Cent song 'P.I.M.P.' and the Ludacris song 'Ho'.

Our hip-hop soaked pop culture has been long in developing, taking influence from many different places, but primarily from the black culture. One of the acquired items is the new language introduced to students through MTV and CDs, as well as through peer communications. The new speak heard in the hallways with "wazzups", and such, also brings about the term "pimp". Most popularly, pimp applies to a man who looks sharp, or is particularly successful with women, a nd it is also used as a joke. While all of this may be funny and cute, there is a reality to the idea of the pimp, and it isn't very pretty.

"Hoes" as they are called in popular slang, account for a surprising statistic in America and around the world. Prostitutes account for about 1% of American women, but in many other countries around the world, the rate is higher. This in itself only shows that it is a popular business for women, men, and transgendered people, but there are more disturbing sides to this. The glamorized version seen in movies such as Pretty Woman, where the money flows as much as the respect is a falsification. In actuality, all prostitutes, including call girls and masseuses go through extremely traumatizing experiences before and after they accept the profession.

"78% of 55 women who sought help from the Council for Prostitution Alternatives in 1991 reported being raped an average of 16 times a year by pimps…85% of prostitutes are raped by pimps." According to the Council on Prostitution Alternatives. This statistic, though older, reflects modern trends and statistics. Sometimes these kinds of sacrifices are made by people in order to make money and survive, but the illegal income of prostitutes is not very significant. Most or all of the money earned by prostitutes goes straight to their pimps, leaving a large number of prostitutes homeless with more than two-thirds having one or more children. Recently there was a case involving the rape of a child by her mother's pimp.

In the U.S. where prostitution is illegal in most states, prostitution is driven underground. The gender percentage quoted by the Bay Area Sex Workers Advocacy Network (BAYSWAN bayswan.org) says that 20-30% of prostitutes are male, leaving the rest as either transgendered or female. The average age of women becoming prostitutes is 13-14. "Pimps target girls or women who seem naive, lonely, homeless, and rebellious. At first, the attention and feigned affection from the pimp convinces her to 'be his woman.' Pimps ultimately keep prostituted women in virtual captivity by verbal abuse and by physical coercion. 80% to 95% of all prostitution is pimp-controlled." Male prostitution is very similar to female prostitution. The majority of male prostitutes cater to married men who identify themselves as heterosexuals.

The way pimps are able to exact the amount of control necessary to force a women to give up her dignity and become a working body for the pimp often stems back to childhood abuse. The Council for Prostitution Alternatives, stated that: 85% of prostitute/clients reported history of sexual abuse in childhood; 70% reported incest. This is rather disturbing and displays a trend among women who have low self-esteem and are easily manipulated because of abuse early on in their lives. The fact that pimps target and further the humiliation of previously abused men and women makes them almost evil, exploiting the abuse that has already been suffered for monetary gain. The popular idea that pimps are high living gentlemen is completely lost when one takes into account the fact that pimps are sadistic predators and essential debasing rapists.

Prostitution is not glamorous in any way because of the mental effects it has on the men and women who participate, as well as the john's mental deterioration because they are allowed to relive any trauma they have had in their lives by projecting control over a woman. 67% percent of polled prostitutes worldwide meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress syndrome.

The absolute horror involved in the lives of prostitutes, the mental degradation of johns and the crimes perpetrated by abusive, predator pimps puts a shadow on the image represented on MTV or in music videos, as well as lyrics in many songs that essentially debase women and promote male dominance as well as ignorance. These so-called pimps are only cruel people, continuing the cycle of abuse. The problem is ultimately the fact that prostitution is underground, and like a hidden wound, has become infected and retarded for the once respected profession that has been deemed nearly necessary at many points in history around the world. The answer to end the rape for money and the humiliation of troubled men and women may lie in instutionalization of "the world's oldest profession."

The fact that the profession is unregulated at all allows pimps and johns to abuse prostitutes virtually free of retribution or even any moral consequence. This occurs because prostitutes are dehumanized through the currently corrupted illegal industry and through abuse suffered earlier on in life. Pimps thrive on this sense of power over an individual in order to feed their sadistic needs. The womanizing and exploitation also reflects a somewhat deteriorating societal image of what is popular and what is fair. The word pimp has become a verb, adjective, as well as a noun that have positive connotations, which means that the simple implications have reached a wide audience and has gained popularity. Though many people have been reached by the misogynistic message distributed by rappers and other popular artists, most people are unaware of the darker side of sex professions.

To end the abuses of a vocation that would be nearly impossible to end, the government must take a stand, as they have in Nevada where prostitution has been legalized and regulated, which provides greater safety that everyone deserves. For more information please visit www.prostitutionresearch.com.