Recent Book: Winter's Crimes 14
| Published date | 01 July 1983 |
| Date | 01 July 1983 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X8305600319 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
police.
Thus
Carol's
comments
are
representative of women's entrance into
prostitution which is characterized by an
act of resistance to the relative poverty,
or threat of it:
"I do it purely for money. I did work
for six years as an office
junior
and in
factories and then Ibecame unemployed.
When I was out ofwork Iwas at a friend's
house when one of her clients called and
he said "I like your friend!" I was really
desperate and that's how I got into it. I
think once a prostitute always a
prostitute.
If
one day you find out you're
flat broke and you don't know where
you'll get the money from, if you've been
aprostitute you'll know where you can
get the money from and you'll go back to
it - even if you only do the one client."
The poverty of many women within
marriage which results in their bartering
sex for goods because they lack any other
income of their own is illustrated by
Esther's statement:
"What
is a married woman in a way if
not a prostitute? Say you're married,
what would you do if you wanted
something, you'd butter him up, you'd be
all lovey dovey and nice. What are you
doing really? You're offering him
something so you can have something."
The dehumanizing way that clients
may be treated by prostitutes who offer
an off the street service cheaperthan can
be obtained at saunas was described by
Frederick, who goes to street prostitutes:
"It's mainly the attitude of the girl
herself. I find with most of them I don't
find it very satisfying at all. With most of
them it's over far too quickly, which most
of them want I suppose from a business
point of view. I do tend if I find this not to
bother going with them again. I'vefound
someone
who
is
much
more
understanding so I've stuck with her for a
little white."
The vice squad inspector, who
indicated when dealing with police
practice said "I always prefer the charge
of soliciting. I think it's more satisfying to
the mind than loitering because there's an
act."
Usually the spotlight is focused on
prostitutes but the author manages to
very effectively turn this onto the clients,
without whom there would be no
prostitutes. The author, after discussing
the explanations given for men using the
services of prostitutes, such as particular
perverted sexual tastes (Davis 1971), or
the macho desire for women as sex
objects (McIntosh 1978) and the
reflection of men's dominant social
position, suggests that in many cases men
are the victims of the insufficiencies of
the two bastions of our society -
marriage
and
conventional
male
sexuality.
The operation of the law and its effects
on the lives of prostitutes isexamined in a
separate
chapter
and
important
suggestions made for law reform. The
Prostitutes' Campaigns are analyzed and
the progress and achievement in terms of
social change assessed.
Eileen McLeod's book is the most
recent valuable contribution to be made
to the debate on prostitution in the
United Kingdom for several years and
should be compulsory reading for all in
the police service who are involved in this
area. Ken Russell
ROBERT
LEIGH: The Girl with the Bright Head
London: Macmillan. £6.95
Sam Carroll is a private investigator seamier side of London life and although
living and working in Soho. One night he good reading it is not for the reader
prevents a young girl, Charlene, from wanting light restful bedtime stories;
setting up as a whore; she dyes one side of most of the characters are corrupt or
her hair green and the other side red, debased, presenting a pretty ugly slice of
hence the title. The book depicts the life. E.C.
EDITED
BY
HILARY
WATSON: Winter's Crimes I4
London: Macmillan. £6.95
An anthology of
II
brand new crime gripping and very readable.
Just
the
stories, some with a sting in the tail, some book to pick up during a spare moment
devious, some comic but all are well told. or to take on a journey. B.C.
July 1983 293
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