NCJ Number
87892
Date Published
1982
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The most important precursor to prostitution for all women consists of sexual experience and conditioning which direct them to define their self-worth in sexual terms.
Abstract
Information from ethnographic field work among juvenile prostitutes, as well as interviews of 138 adolescent female prostitutes and a control sample of 100 female delinquents who were not sexually labeled, formed the basis of the study. Studies of adult prostitutes had indicated that conscious, situational, and psychoanalytical motivations exist for entering into prostitution. Young women who see prostitution as an acceptable option are generally deprived or disadvantaged, physically and/or sexually abused, or affluent and overindulged. In addition, historical and cultural forces affect their social development. Entrance into prostitution represents a drift into deviance. Beginning with early childhood, females are rewarded mainly for being cute, endearing, and giving. They learn to make exchanges. Early physical development, negative sexual experiences, and rewards for attractiveness and passivity reinforce the female's belief that her value as a human being is measured by the sexual responses she evokes. Puberty intensifies the vulnerability of adolescents to a poor self-image. Age 12 is an especially critical time for girls. Once an adolescent woman enters into prostitution, an interactive social process supports her deviant identity. Informal and formal labeling support the self-interpretation of deviancy. Those who counsel sexually abused juveniles should therefore be aware of the pejorative effects of early loss of self-esteem coupled with labeling. Interventions should aim at restoring and expanding their concepts of successful feminine roles in contemporary society. Seventy-nine notes which contain references are provided.