Documentary Review and Comparison: Hookers at The Point & Cathouse

Prostitution is not a new institution. Historically it is widely acknowledged. It has been frequently portrayed in movies, television, books, news, art and other media. This exposure has removed any mystique the profession may have had, or surprise at the accompanying criminal, social and moral situations that surround it. In other words, my initial reaction to the two movies “Hookers at The Point” and “Cathouse” was one of acceptance.

The two movies show a startling diversity in the women, working conditions, and effect of prostitution. It was surprising to see the differences between the tired, abused, drug addicted, and downtrodden women portrayed by “Hookers at The Point” versus the happy, STD-free, and financially successful women in “Cathouse” who perform basically the same jobs. I have to wonder if this contrast is due entirely to environment or if factors such as economic disparity contribute.

There are differences between the prostitutes portrayed in the two movies, which could account for this huge disparity between them. First, there seems to be a hierarchy of statuses the women hold as prostitutes. The lowest apparently being women who prostitute themselves in order to fuel their drug addictions, often accepting drugs as payment for their services. These women are commonly referred to as skeezers or crack whores. Above them are streetwalkers. Like the name suggests, they will ply their trade by hanging around streets and sidewalks that are commonly known areas someone can go to if they want to solicit a prostitute. Hunt’s Point in the Bronx was the subject of “Hookers at the Point.” Streetwalkers normally make very little money, charging between forty and one hundred dollars per sexual act, which are performed in the customer’s car or sometimes at a nearby motel. Further up the totem pole are the women who work in brothels or whorehouses as shown in “Cathouse.” Typically these women are in a more comfortable environment, do not condone drug use, and make a great deal more money. For example, in “Cathouse” a “working girl” often charges between 1,000 and 1,500 dollars for an hour of her time.

Related to these statuses are the different typologies of prostitution. The typologies are based upon the prostitute’s status and depend upon her working environment. Streetwalkers and crack whores work in an “open” or street environment while working girls operate in a “closed” or controlled environment. An open environment makes the prostitute vulnerable to victimization by her customers, her pimp, and even a passerby. In a controlled environment the prostitute works inside a building which is usually closely watched and guarded. This provides a safe working environment. She is also allowed, through the business’s operating values and structure, more control over her choices. She has the option to refuse a request and/or charge more money for a sexual act performance. Often these women will have frequent medical check-ups and coupled with a more selective client base; means the likelihood of her contracting a STD from a customer or vice-versa is lower than that in an open environment.

Based upon comparison of women from the two movies it appears that each status of sex work is more attracting to a different type of woman. In other words there are certain personal historical that seem to predispose a woman to a particular type of prostitution. ‘Streetwalkers’ may be predisposed to prostitution by negative factors such as a history of abuse and neglect, addictive drug use, and emotional or behavioral problems. In the movie “Hookers at The Point” nearly all of the streetwalkers interviewed had serious drug addictions and hinted toward coming from abusive homes. One woman displayed her emotional crisis by talking about a dream she had where she killed herself just so her pimp couldn’t hurt her anymore. These findings were corroborated in a study performed by Hilary L. Surratt and several colleagues entitled “Sex Work and Drug Use in a Subculture of Violence”, in which 325 streetwalking prostitutes in Miami, Fl were interviewed. They found the women had overall high levels of sexual activity and drug use, that the majority of them were the victims of abuse and neglect during childhood, and that victimization during their adult lives was common. For women who work as prostitutes in a higher paid, drug free and controlled environment, there are typically no such negative influences These women chose this profession to enjoy lifestyle factors such as good pay, enjoyment of sex, and a sense of financial independence.

One thing that is a common problem with prostitution is the social stigma that it attaches. Western society makes instinctive negative moral judgments about men and women who work in the sex and adult entertainment industry, and prostitutes are considered the worst. Because many of these prostitutes were raised with these same beliefs they must make some form of mental compensation to justify their activity to themselves. Some of these techniques observed in “Hookers at The Point” include “condemnation of condemners” where the people judging the girls are called hypocrites. One streetwalker explained that many of the cops who bust them are also customers of hers. Another technique is “denial of injury” where streetwalkers say they are doing nothing wrong because no one is actually getting wronged.

Just as there are various types of prostitutes, they have various types of representatives, pimps in laymen’s terms. The most important thing about being a pimp is that they get paid. The job of a pimp is to control and manipulate women into prostitution, taking the majority of the money the whores make. This can be done mainly through two methods as shown by the two movies. The pimps portrayed in “Hookers at The Point”, as stated by the prostitutes, utilized violence to dominate their women. One prostitute recalled being beaten by a “pimp-stick”, which was a club made out of unfolded wire clothes-hangers covered in salt. As one can imagine such an instrument would be extremely painful, drawing blood and creating a lot of bruising.

The owner of the Bunnyranch, Dennis Hof, in “Cathouse” could also be considered a pimp. He utilized charm to make his money. Many of the women came onto him and slept with him at various points to curry his favor, for which he would undoubtedly have rewarded them in some way. He saw his prostitutes as a “motivated sales team”. Also, to avoid the stigma and degradation associated with the term “prostitute” he called them “working girls” instead. All this resulted in a much happier, more productive environment, but was ultimately for the purpose of getting him paid.

Despite its illegality, prostitution is still very common in our society and law enforcement has developed several ways to deal with it. The control policy simply states that prostitutes and pimps should be arrested whenever possible. Often police officers will conduct stings where they pose as customers and arrest women who try to take money for sex. They will also conduct reverse stings where police officers pose as prostitutes and arrest people who try to solicit their services. They will also post lists and pictures of these people in their communities to try to prevent people from going to prostitutes in the first place. However, given the prevalence of prostitution in our society, there are really not enough law enforcement personnel to make a sizable dent in the number of active prostitutes and pimps.

A more common approach to dealing with this problem is the zoning principle. In this case prostitution is to be expected but is only tolerated by police if it is conducted in certain areas of the city. For example “Hookers at The Point” takes place in Hook’s Point in the Bronx, a section of New York City. In the movie a police officer caught a civilian with a prostitute in his car, the cop simply ordered the hooker to get out of the car and the civilian to leave. If the same scenario had occurred in a different part of the city it is quite likely that both the prostitute and her customer would’ve been arrested.

Arguably, the most effective method of controlling prostitution is regulation. This is seen in the state of Nevada where prostitution is legalized in certain counties. They make certain requirements of prostitutes, such as that they get registered IDs, have regular health check-ups, and that brothels be licensed. This method seems to be particularly effective in stopping the spread of disease in that there has never been a documented case of transmitted AIDS through this establishment.

Prostitution is a unique quandary facing our society in that it represents a viable income to some and a source of pain and woe to others. Based upon the two movies reviewed it seems that prostitution in an illegal setting has a vastly more negative effect that prostitution in a legal setting. One cannot help but wonder if the legalization and federal control of prostitution would improve the general quality of life of streetwalkers or have the opposite effect and put more highly paid call girls out of work. Also this could reduce the crimes associated with prostitution, such as drug dealing, pimping, rape, and physical assault.