The Spitzer Effect on Prostitution

Looks like former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer's bad behavior is laying bare the way many escort services work around the country, and those in the industry are speaking out. The story, after all, is much more than just regional: Spitzer allegedly had sex with prostitutes in a slew of states, including Florida and Texas, and the service he's accused of using, Emperors Club VIP, employs over 50 hookers in various U.S. cities, and even abroad.

According to the Huffington Post, the Spitzer scandal is laying bare "some of the inner workings of modern-day sex work." "There's always been a distinction between indoor and street-level prostitution, and advances in technology have increasingly separated the two, said Ronald Wietzer, author of Sex for Sale: Prostitution, Pornography and the Sex Industry. So is the Internet the only thing separating Spitzer's 22-year-old escort from a West Side Highway-walking hooker? Pretty much. The Huffington Post continues, "not only can prostitutes and escort services now run more efficient businesses, but they can leverage word-of-mouth advertising in new ways to build their brands and troll for clients."

In Dallas, many escort services blatantly advertise in newspapers and online, but police officers typically turn a blind eye. Instead, they focus on street-walkers, since the offering of their services is "visible and garners community complaints." But over in Nevada, even legal prostitution has problems getting the word out. The Chicken Club, a legal brothel, says that despite "a recent change in the law [that] has for the first time allowed legal brothels to advertise in Vegas," no one will take their money. The double-standard has forced some services to seek alternative forms of advertising, including the sides of vans.