All Rights Reserved. Articles Home - Prostitution II. A day in the life of a prostitute Imagine waking up one day needing some extra cash and having no way of getting it. They are situations lived by those unfortunate people on the other side of town, on the other side of the city or on the other side of the border.
Prostitution seemingly affects most people from afar. Rarely do we consider what a prostitute feels as she is being solicited by men, and or women, or what they feel as the encounters begins. Sure, there are some prostitutes who for a variety of reasons have become numb to the lives they lead. Drug use, selective memories or even justifying it to oneself are all tactics that "street walkers" use to make it through.
Prostitution, at least in the DR, can be divided into four general categories. The first would be the prototypical image of a woman walking the streets, standing on a corner or hanging out at a disco, casino or hotel lobby, waiting for some guy to stop by and make an offer. The second type of prostitution, though somewhat more hidden is that which goes on in the brothels around the country. The third type of prostitution in the DR, though some would not consider it as such, it a growing sub culture of "beeper chicas," or young women who can be from either poor or well to do families who provide sexual favors in exchange for gifts and other things.
The women are showered with gifts and other lovelies, the men get sexual favors and rarely is love, at least from the woman, ever involved. Adding to the denial of this third type of prostitution is the concept that since cash, and a pre determined sum for sexual favors have not be determined, it is not prostitution. Instead, it is just a man who wants sex and "chooses" to give his partner these gifts.
Finally, we have the sanky panky, the Dominican version of a gigolo. This phenomenon of the sanky, usually a poor, sometimes, but not always, dark skinned Dominicans prey on unsuspecting tourists to try and get money from them. Brothel workers Brothels in the DR are somewhat hidden to the naked eye. A majority of these brothels function and appear to be houses on the outside. They have no signs identifying them as brothels and there business is primarily done in the cover of darkness.
