In Defense Of Prostitution

Legal Affairs.org ^ | September/October 2003 | Heidi Fleiss

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

By Heidi Fleiss as told to Nadya Labi

TEN YEARS AGO, I WAS ARRESTED AT MY HOME IN BEVERLY HILLS for pandering, which the dictionary defines as acting as "a go-between in sexual intrigue." In other words, I was a madam. After a jury convicted me of three counts of pandering, the verdicts were thrown out, but the government didn't give up. It made me the Al Capone of prostitution. I spent three years in a federal penitentiary in Dublin, Calif., for conspiracy, tax evasion, and money laundering. But it was the sex that got me in trouble.

When I was a Hollywood madam, I had between 20 and 70 girls working for me and once made $97,000 in a single day on commissions. My take was 40 percent of whatever fee my girls received and of any tips over $1,000. (Compare that to prison, where I made about a dime an hour cleaning pots and taking out the trash.)

When I was in the sex trade, I ran an 85 percent cash business. I dealt with the richest people on earth—men who run countries and this country's top businesses. Most of them preferred to pay in cash. The actor Charlie Sheen was one of my few customers who wrote checks, but looking back I now realize he was a class act. He paid his bills, girls liked him, and he was well-endowed.

I didn't get involved in prostitution because I needed money. I had the kind of childhood that everyone dreams about, with five brothers and sisters, camping trips, pillow fights, and marathon Monopoly games. We weren't like the Britney Spears generation—the girls today who look like they're ready to have sex at 9. I started a babysitting circle when I wasn't much older than that and soon all the parents in the neighborhood wanted me to watch over their children. Even then I had an innate business sense. I started farming out my friends to meet the demand. My mother showered me with love and my father, a pediatrician, would ask me at the dinner table, "What did you learn today?"

At 19, I began dating a 57-year-old multimillionaire. The relationship was good, but when it ended I realized that he had won every fight we had because I had no career, nothing to stand on. So I got a license in real estate. But before long, I was wrapped up in an entirely different world. I began going to Helena's, a popular nightclub in Los Angeles run by Jack Nicholson's former housekeeper, and met a bookie who later introduced me to Madam Alex, a "businesswoman" whose employees were known for their good looks and popularity. (I didn't know at the time that I was there to pay off the guy's gambling debt.) I was expecting a sexy glamour queen like Faye Dunaway in the TV movie Beverly Hills Madam. But Madam Alex was a 5' 3" bald-headed Filipina in a transparent muu muu. We hit it off.

My first john—I was then 22—was gorgeous. I would have slept with him for free if I had met him in a bar or on a blind date. We had a great night, and I made $3,000 after Madam Alex's 40-percent cut was deducted from my fee.

I'm glad I learned the business in the trenches, but my career as a hooker was short-lived. I'm not the California dream girl, and sexually, I'm lazy. The profession didn't play to my strengths, which lie in business, not bed. After Madam Alex and I had a falling-out in 1989, I decided to leave prostitution altogether and go back to college to become an art curator. (I had dropped out of junior college during my first semester when I was 17.)

So why did I become a madam? I had tons of beautiful friends and lots of great connections from traveling the world with my ex-boyfriend. One day I just realized that I could run a sex business better than anyone else I knew. My first client was a Swiss businessman who was in Los Angeles with six acquaintances. I set the men up with some girls I knew and all of them were very happy. The word spread and demand snowballed after that. I tried to stay in college and run the business at the same time, but it was too hard skipping out of class to arrange get-togethers over the school's pay phone.

I would fly girls to meet clients in St. Tropez, London, or wherever they were in the world. Just from talking to a man, I knew what kind of girl he'd be interested in.

I made sure never to send a prostitute into an unsafe situation or one where she felt humiliated or degraded. I was always conscious of how prostitution could lower a woman's self-esteem and I didn't want anyone who worked for me to feel that way. My clients were some of the richest men in the world. They wanted to look the best and live the longest. They were at the doctors regularly. I never had one girl come down with an STD, not even crabs. But I told my girls that if they ever felt uncomfortable with a client, they should call me and I would get them out of there—no matter where they were. I made my first million after only four months in the business.

I wouldn't recommend prostitution as a career because it doesn't have great long-term prospects. Still, a woman should have the right to do what she wants with her body. She might have a fantasy about becoming a prostitute; why shouldn't she act on it? Or she might need to do it for a month or two because she has no family, no money, nothing. The money could help her to do something positive with her life, like start a business or go to college. I remember a girl who came to me with choke marks around her neck. She was in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend and wanted me to help her get out of it. I recommended that she work at a restaurant for six months, but eventually I let her work for me. She made a quarter of a million her first time. She turned one more trick and then retired from the business to get a master's degree at UCLA.

Prostitution should be legalized throughout the United States. The laws are currently written by and for men. I've been out of the business for 10 years, but I still hear stories of men who hit women, walk out without paying, or write checks to hookers and then stop payment. It's outrageous. Here's a woman who has performed a service to the best of her abilities and to her client's satisfaction. But nothing will happen to that client because he knows he won't be prosecuted for refusing to pay for sex. They go after the women in those cases, not the men.

There is no downside to legalizing prostitution. The government would benefit by collecting taxes on the industry. And regulation would clean up a lot of crime and help to protect women. Now, there are hotshot guys who beat up prostitutes and smack them around because they know they can get away with it. I remember some girls who approached me after working for illegal sex houses, "pussy factories." You wouldn't believe what went on in these places. A girl would stay at the factory and have sex with 5 to 10 guys every day for anywhere from $300 to $700 a pop. Some of the people running the factories would threaten the hookers and force them to stay. One girl told me that some guy gave her crack every morning so that she wouldn't make a fuss.

Prostitution doesn't have to be like that. I never ran a brothel in the traditional sense. I bought a one-story ranch house in Beverly Hills from Michael Douglas in 1991, and no sex for money took place at my home (except for one five-minute blow job given to a client in the bathroom by one of my girls—without my permission—for $5,000). My home was a place of comfort where the girls could talk shop. My front door was never locked. I had an Olympic-size pool and the girls would swim and sunbathe and fight about who gave the best blow jobs. They took pride in their work.

IN AMERICA, I WENT TO JAIL FOR SELLING CONSENSUAL SEX. In Australia, I was asked to be an international ambassador of the first bordello to go on the stock exchange. The Daily Planet, founded in 1975 in Melbourne, went public last May, at 35 cents per share. One of the men who runs the Daily Planet, Andrew Harris, contacted me after seeing me on a late-night talk show and asked me to act as the company's international ambassador.

Prostitution was always technically legal in Australia. And since 1986, the State of Victoria (where Melbourne is) has become even more forward-thinking. Prostitutes can work in brothels, as long as they're not working in a residential area and the town says it's okay. And the law takes the pimps and the underworld out of the business. It prevents anyone convicted of a crime in the last five years from owning or managing a brothel. Employers can't employ prostitutes with STDs. And they can't play dumb. They have to make sure that the hookers test clean. They also have to provide condoms which, as we all know, can get kind of expensive.

The Daily Planet, initially valued at $5.5 million, has 150 working girls on its roster. Its stock has nearly doubled since May. The company supplies protective devices (condoms and dams) and makes sure the girls pass a blood check that shows they are healthy and free of drugs before they can work. The girls, who pay for their subsequent health checks, have to produce a certificate from a doctor each month guaranteeing their good health. Any sex that occurs inside the Daily Planet (even blow jobs) must be done with protection.

The Daily Planet, which operates out of an 18-room building that resembles a motel, does not directly employ the working girls and does not take a cut of what they make. The girls negotiate their fees and tips with their clients. The company makes its money by charging $115 per hour for the use of each room. Up to four girls can use a room at once, so on a good night a room can generate as much as $4,000 for the Daily Planet.

I met with about 60 of the girls when I was in Melbourne this past May. The girls ranged in age from 19 to about 35, and the best ones made about $6,000 in a week. I told them that if they wanted to get good tips, the most important thing to stroke was a man's ego. I advised them not to support their boyfriends and not to buy drugs. I said that they should figure out their earning capacity, set a goal, meet it, and then move on. There's always someone younger and prettier who will come along and take their place.

The turnover rate at the Daily Planet is high. A handful of girls leave each week, but four times as many apply to take their place. You can't stop sex. And sex for money will happen no matter what. Why make it a criminal experience?

[Great Caesars Ghost]

a woman living with a man she can't stand, but will stay there and sleep with him for the house, the cars, the money and social standing

How about staying because divorce is wrong?

[Great Caesars Ghost]

Does keeping it illegal and underground cause deviancy in and of itself? The rise of the pornographic empires, the internet obsessions...

[ZULU]

If you want a REAL defense of prostitution, ask any politician for one. They are in the same line of business.

[CitizenUSA]

Great Caesars Ghost asked: "Does keeping it illegal and underground cause deviancy in and of itself?"

Some people, young ones in particular, are drawn to illicit activities for the thrill of doing wrong, but I don't think it's a major factor. Porn, for example, is popular because it's pleasurable. It feeds both our lusts and our curiousity. On the other hand, it's rarely satisfying in the long term, and it can definitely lead to an unhealthy addiction. Just like drugs, it ultimately takes a stronger dose of porn to achieve the same thrill.

Satan likes us to believe these activities are harmless, but he's a liar.

[Great Caesars Ghost]

Do sexual needs go away if they're not acted upon?

[Walkingfeather]

Just a few questions.....

Can you name a culture that has gotten more moral,safer,less dependent of govt since legalizing prostitution?

What son has uttered the words, ' I am proud of my mom and sisters since they became a hooker'?

Is a society more stable or less stable with marriage as an institution? If more stable, what is the motivator for men to marry if their needs are met by transaction? Why would a man marry?

[Nowhere Man]

Moral Absolutes Ping.

Remember in the old days (or reading about them if you weren't personally there) when a woman who had sex outside of marriage, especially the slut variety, was considered "ruined"? That's why prostitution is wrong. It ruins women. What woman can respect herself when she's been used as an orifice by numerous men who don't know her, love her, or want to know or love her?

And what man would want to marry a woman with that experience? What woman, after being an object for unknown men, could give her heart to a husband? What man could give his heart to a woman who had squandered herself with strangers?

Remember in the old days, when marriage was the goal of every woman? Oh sure, there were the rare ones who didn't want to marry. But a husband and children are the natural goals of every real woman's life, if they haven't been twisted by feminism. That doesn't mean a woman cannot have a career, a job, or have other compelling interests. But a woman who can never have a husband and marriage because she has squandered herself as a prostitute is a ruined woman.

And men who use women for sex are like dogs.

Agree with most of what you said. Prostitution is the way to ruin both for the women and men. In some cases, women use it for survival, although this is less than it was say 100 years ago, but it still goes on. In other cases, it is a quick way to make some bucks and "chase the bling" to get rich and/or a stepping stone to another career. Sometimes it is both. You can find examples like from 100 years ago in boos like David Graham Phillip's "Susan Lenox, Her Rise & Fall" to Theodore Drieser's "Sister Carrie" to modern examples like Heidi Fleiss in this article.

Like in the case of "Susan Lenox," it was about a girl who was an outcast because her mom (who died during her birth) had her out of wedlock and she falls into the life of prostitution as a tool for survival and later becomes a bit callous and sees it as a way to "chase the bling" and eventually becomes an actress. She did have a couple of chances at redemption but she was so far pushed from it, she rejected it. She did become a successful actress (at that time, they were seem much the same as prostitutes) but even to herself, she knows there is something missing in her life, she remains distant and cannot really form a bond with a good friend. Sad story, almost got me to tears at times. Heck, getting back to "what if stories," I was thinking of writing a "fan fiction" style "what if" where a determined Christian enters her life and brings her on the road to redemption.

Setting up the scene, I think there is a need to reach out and save them (and many others on a terrible path) the best as we can although we will lose some of them (can't win 'em all) but I think we need to show that there is a path to redemption through God, His teachings and good living even if it means holding back the scorn and reaching out with positive intent much like Jesus said, "he without sin, cast the first stone" but the other part is just as important too, "go and sin no more," people forget the second part at times. I remember Glenn Beck talking about redemption to where he was a "former scumbag" until he converted to Mormonism.

It's a shame people degrade themselves that way, sometimes out of necessity when all doors are closed, but thank God, that isn't as much the case as it was at one time but there are still people who see it as a way to make a pretty penny at the expense of physical and spiritual health. It is a shame that people act below animals this way.

Still though, I cannot believe at some of the cognitive dissidence out there, even here on FR about legalizing prostitution and other vices "because we cannot stop it" or "it will always exist." Well you will never stop 100% of it, but you don't give in either. It is like giving up World War II in 1942 because "the Germans and Japs are too hard," with that attitude, we'd be speaking German today. We need to reach out and not drive these people away who need help but we cannot allow or condone such things wither, otherwise society will fall apart.

[Nowhere Man]

By making E-Z sex and prostitution respectable, girls who wouldn't have considered such a path before would think it perfectly acceptable. So more ruined lives. It's just another business, a way to make a living. Except much more lucrative. For a while.

True, when a prostitute starts to look old, her "value" goes down really fast so unless she is a mover and shaker like a madam or something, she will get tossed aside to do the dirty jobs to just out in the street. That's why I'm against legalization and condoning it, I'm not for draconian prison snetences either, but by doing that, we are one step closer to glamourizing it.

[RinaseaofDs]

I'm not sure legalizing it would ever make it respectible, by any means. Abortion certainly is an abomination, though legal, and this takes its toll on whoever chooses that path. Long term effects on the woman are devastating and generally irrecoverable.

[little jeremiah]

Excellent comments, have to run. Will be back later.

Hint: Feminism is evil and has to a great degree ruined women as much as outright prostitution would.

[little jeremiah]

Sex desire, and in fact, all desires of the body and mind, can indeed be tamed. It is not an easy task, but a person can become the master of his desires rather than the slave. By thinking about the object of desires - for instance, looking at pornography, ogling women, focusing the mind on the images - the desires increase. By withdrawing the mind from those objects and focusing on other objects, the desires can diminish.

Also the will comes into play. The intelligence (I don't mean IQ, but something more akin to wisdom and discrimination) can judge which desires are good to follow and which should be rejected. If a desire is rejected as not beneficial or good repeatedly, it will diminish over time.

"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires - that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still - can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires."

[CitizenUSA]

"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires - that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still - can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires."

Great quote. Everyone is tempted. It's how we overcome or satisfy temptation that's important. How can someone overcome temptation? By force of will or by divine assistance, but you don't win battles by feeding the temptation you are fighting. Why not give into temptation? In fact, God has ordained many ways to satisfy our desires in a healthy and productive way. Marriage, for example, is blessed by God.

Man is different from the animals, because we have the knowledge of right and wrong. Instead of acting like animals, we should strive for what is right even if we sometimes fall short.

[cajun-jack]

I wasn't addressing the prosecution of it..only the principle.

same basic premise to me.

[Nowhere Man]

Excellent comments, have to run. Will be back later.

Hint: Feminism is evil and has to a great degree ruined women as much as outright prostitution would.

Thanks. Yeah, I do agree with you that the tenants of radical feminism that got underway in the 1960's has a huge hand in the ruination of our society but there are many other things too.

[little jeremiah]

Hmm, one comment I was going to reply to got removed. It didn't seem weird to me, from what I remember.

One thing to keep in mind is that the majority of prostitutes, from what I have read, are drug addicts/alcoholics. Either they become prostitutes for drugs or money to get drugs, or become addicts. The whole crime world is interconnected. The gangs and thugs who control the crime scene (apart from individual entrepeneurs) often are pimps or in some way control prostution. It benefits them to create more drug addicts.

Prostitutes sometimes wind up with kids. Imagine being a kid of a prostitute. A few years ago when we lived in a city, there were a girl and a boy who lived two blocks away in some sleazy apartments. They were playing by themselves on the sidewalk early in the morning and late in the evening, they were about 5 or 6 and maybe 8. Always dirty, often wearing the same clothes for days. We asked about their mother a few times; they'd say "She's with a boyfriend". They were so dirty and skinny. We'd feed them and try to show them some kindness.

Prostitution ruins more than just the one woman's life. And a society in which selling sex is normal and acceptable is a society in which human beings have become slabs of meat, not souls.

[little jeremiah]

P.S. Most prostitutes don't wind up being expensive call girls sent out to service heads of state for thousands of dollars a night. That could sound "glamorous" to a stupid young girl with no sense of morals. But the reality is bound to be a lot less glamorous.

In fact, I used to know a woman who told me that when she was around 20, she was a call girl for a short while. She earned a tremendous amount of money (compared to what she could do legitimately) but the disgust of what she was doing overcame her lust for money and the desire to be treated as a sex object. It is not a happy life.