The Business of Intermediation

Both the socio-legal and gender-directed aspects of the power dynamics that exist between the prostitute and her “boss” show a significant switch throughout time. Nevertheless, looking at the economic side of prostitution unveils on the opposite a continuity in terms of the basis on which this business relies. This financial setting and the very notion of profit actually put the idea of exploitation at the heart of the relationship between pimps and prostitutes. The power relation between the prostitute and her “boss” was and still remains based on an economic advantage that benefits only one out of the two parties involved. This creates a relation of money exchange implying the exploitation of the other party -- which thus remains the main means used by the figure of the “boss” in this business. However, the element that varied throughout time was the form this exploitation adopted by pimps and madams took. Analyzing the economic and thus business aspect of this relationship is essential not only to have a better understanding of the one-to-one relation between the figure of the "boss" and their "workers", but also to enable a relevant comparison between the figure of pimp and that of madam.