Tag Line from Pretty Woman 1990 "Who knew it was so much fun to be a hooker?"

Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy and the film centers on down-on-her-luck prostitute named Vivian Ward (Julia Robert) who is hired by a wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to be his escort for several business functions, and their developing relationship. Originally titled "$3,000," that title was dropped along with the entire theme of the original screenplay.

Pretty Woman was initially intended to be a dark drama about prostitution in Los Angeles but was turned into a romantic comedy by the film's producers, Laura Ziskin and Gary Goldstein. The screenplay itself, is far from "cute" or funny, and a small portion is excerpted below. Goldstein, a former criminal defense lawyer from San Francisco, claimed in an interview that writer Jonathan Lawton had written a "romantic comedy" while living among the poor and dispossessed in the slums of Hollywood, California. A plain reading of the script indicates that it is not a romantic comedy, but an urban tragedy and is linked below. Goldstein, is glibly comfortable with this appealing lie since he has made millions of dollars as a result. Ziskin's and Goldstein's unholy creation was more appealing then reality and turned in a huge financial success for the moguls of Hollywood. It became one of 1990's highest grossing films, and today is one of the most financially successful entries in the romantic comedy genre, with an estimated gross of $464 million USD. No other Hollywood movie has glamorized prostitution more, and caused more damage to an entire generation of young women. Of course, Ziskin and Goldstein, would not want any of their daughters, nieces or granddaughters to be prostitutes, but they eagerly present and promote this way of life to your children throughout America. Ironically, not everybody jumped on the Ziskin/Goldstein mammon bandwagon.

It should be noted that Ferrari and Porsche, declined the product placement opportunity of the car Edward drove, because they did not want to be associated with soliciting prostitutes.

Actresses who declined the Ziskin/Goldstein Faustian choice of commercial and financial rewards based on social consciousness and an awareness of problems faced by prostituted persons on a day to day basis were many. Molly Ringwald, who turned it down because she felt uncomfortable with the content in the script, and did not like the idea of playing a prostitute. Meg Ryan, turned it down. Michelle Pfeiffer turned the role down as well, because she did not like the "tone" of the script and its glamorization of prostitution . Daryll Hannah turned the role down because she believed it was "degrading to women" and sent the wrong message to young women. Jennifer Jason Leigh had auditioned for the part, but later decided not to do the movie after she read the script. Other actresses considered for the role of Vivian were Heather Locklear, Jodie Foster, Tatum O'Neal, Bridget Fonda, Lori Loughlin, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker and Brooke Shields all declined to play the role of Vivian.

Undeterred, Producer Ziskin, after all the other actresses turned down the role due to concerns about the portrayal of prostitution, auditioned a relative unknown, Julia Roberts, who needed the work and was able to "win" the role. Now this movie would be made to show young women how "cute, funny and romantic" prostitution is; how classy and gentleman-like (and rich, caring and sensitive) the johns are; and how if you sell your body and your dignity on the streets, you too can meet Mr. Right and live happily ever after. It is all a lie.

Hollywood Fantasy
"Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't; but keep on dreamin' - this is Hollywood. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'. " Quote from Happy Man, Pretty Woman 1990


Reality
Jessica "Baby Girl" Brackett from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was a prostituted person. It should be noted that there were two men arrested and they are facing first degree murder charges with the possible sentence of death by lethal injection.

PRETTY WOMAN - Excerpt from the Original Script Titled "$3,000" before Producers Laura Ziskin and Gary Goldstein turned it into a "Cinderella Story."

KIT
Vivian.
Vivian looks at her, annoyed.
VIVIAN
Kit, what are you doing?
KIT
Waiting for you. It's fucking cold out there.
VIVIAN
It's not going to be any warmer tomorrow night.
The Old Man waves at Vivian.
OLD MAN
Hi, Viv.
VIVIAN (quickly, without looking at him)
Hi.
(to Kit)
Let's get working. We've only got a couple hours before the street clears.
KIT
It's too cold. No one's out.
VIVIAN
They're out.
Kit coughs so loudly and deeply that it's obvious she has emphysema.
KIT
Let's get high.
Vivian grabs Kit by the shoulder and drags her toward the door.
VIVIAN
We're going to work. Come on.
EXT. HOLLYWOOD BLVD. - NIGHT
Vivian and Kit come out of the shop and onto the street. As they walk Kit wraps her arms tightly around her body to shield herself from the cold. She starts to cough again.
KIT
It's too cold. I'm gonna get sick.
VIVIAN
We've got to work. The rent's coming up. I'm not going to lose our place.
KIT
We'll make it up tomorrow. Let's get high.
VIVIAN
How much have you made tonight?
KIT
(hesitantly) Twenty.
Vivian is angry.
VIVIAN
One fucking date?
KIT
I haven't felt good.
VIVIAN
I'm going to fucking kick you out if you don't start holding up your end!
Kit's eyes water and she starts to sniffle.
VIVIAN
Don't cry on me. I'm not your mother. You promised to hold up your end or I wouldn't have let you move in.
Kit wipes her eyes.

For a full copy of the script click here

*********
Recently posted on IMDb::Boards: Pretty Woman (1990)

I hired an L.A. prostitute after watching this movie

by stony5000 (Sat Jun 27 2009 17:11:20)

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---

I now have herpes.

Thanks a lot, "Hollywood".
This is your fault for misleading me.

The 'prostitution problem' is a demand problem by sociopathic Johns and their enabling wives.

The 'prostitution problem' is a demand problem. The sociopath behavior of the johns, not the behavior of the prostituted person, vulnerable and victimized, is the true problem. The affluent, middle aged men, on their way home to the suburbs, driving their luxury automobiles, have all the choices (and control) in the world compared to the hapless young man or woman they "rent" and empty themselves into like some kind of human toilet.

Solve the 'john problem' through proper and just law enforcement, and you save lives and rescue young people from this modern incarnation of slavery. Not so surprisingly, providing real help to these young women (and men) results in the criminal activity actually being diminished. Can any sensible person really believe that a young woman or man wants to be in a hotel room on their knees, 'servicing' an aged dirty, fetid, obese, and disgusting, let alone 10-20 a day or whatever "quota" is set be the pimp or madame. Despite the Hollywood "Pretty Woman" fiction, given a choice, nearly 100% would choose to get out. Our society should actually help the hapless prostitute from being further trafficked and exploited; perhaps save some lives too. Unfortunately, misogynist attitudes such as in Troy, Michigan still pervade many police departments, City Halls and other arenas of so called "public trust."

An interesting article follows which flies in the face of those that argue that we should be more "like Europe" when it comes to prostitution. However, one might wonder if Michigan law enforcement officers in Troy Police Department don't enforce long established Michigan Statutes on the books, why would they be expected to enforce new or revised laws? Instead johns, in a sort of jocular "street justice," police on the scene decide; johns are released scot free, and the prostituted person is arrested and charged. Even more worrisome (and disgusting) is that the City of Troy Administration, Police Chief, and City Attorneys countenance such activities. Simply put, no one in Troy would stand up and admit to a mistake in policy. Meanwhile, no arrest warrant was/is sought against an identified "pimp" renting hotel rooms (actually using "reward" membership cards in renting the rooms) in the Troy City limits. What would make a person think that changing State Laws to punish solicitors could make any difference towards the discharge of their clear and codified duties as peace officers?

Fight prostitution by punishing the solicitors
By HELEEN MEES

Prostitution is virtually the only part of the personal services industry in the Netherlands that works. One can’t get a manicure in Amsterdam without booking an appointment two weeks in advance, but men can buy sex anytime — and at an attractive price. The legalization of prostitution in October 2000 merely codified a long-standing Dutch tradition of tolerance toward buying and selling sex. But is legalization the right approach?

Even in the Netherlands, women and girls who sell their bodies are routinely threatened, beaten, raped, and terrorized by pimps and customers. In a recent criminal trial, two German-Turkish brothers stood accused of forcing more than 100 women to work in Amsterdam’s red-light district (De Wallen). According to the attorney who represented one of the victims, most of these women come from families marred by incest, alcohol abuse and parental suicide. Or they come from countries in Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia and have fallen victim to human trafficking, lured by decent job offers or simply sold by their parents.

These women are Amsterdam’s leading tourist attraction (followed by the coffee shops that sell marijuana). But an estimated 50-90 percent of them are actually sex slaves, raped on a daily basis with police idly standing by. It is incomprehensible that their clients are not prosecuted for rape, but Dutch politicians argue that it cannot be established whether or not a prostitute works voluntarily.

Appalled by their daily routine, police officers from the Amsterdam vice squad have asked to be transferred to other departments. Only this year, the city administration has started to close down some brothels because of their ties to criminal organizations.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the average age of death of prostitutes is 34. In the United States, the rate at which prostitutes are killed in the workplace is 51 times that of the next most dangerous occupation for women, working in a liquor store. Other studies show that nine out of 10 prostitutes urgently want to escape the job. Almost half have attempted suicide at least once.

In 1999, the Swedish government decriminalized the sale of sex, but made it an offense to pimp or to buy sex. Under Sweden’s so-called Sex Purchase Law, paying for sex is punishable by fines or up to six months in prison, plus the humiliation of public exposure. According to the Swedish authorities, the number of prostitutes in Sweden has dropped 40 percent as a result. Human trafficking rings tend to avoid Sweden, because business has gone sour.

Norway, a country that has a reputation to lose when it comes to women’s rights, carefully compared the Swedish and Dutch models and concluded that Sweden’s was the one to follow. It has now changed its legislation accordingly.

Recent ABC Special Report Shows Complexity of the Prostitute and Pimp Relationship

AN ALL TOO FAMILIAR AND COMMON STORY - YOUNG WOMEN ARE, DUE TO FAMILY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES, CONVINCED THAT THEY ARE BEING "LOVED" BY THE PIMP, AND CALL HIM "DADDY."

"I Found a Little Nobility in the Act" and "This Case is Over"

"When I ran away from slavery, it was for myself; when I advocated emancipation, it was for my people; but when I stood up for the rights of women, self was out of the question, and I found a little nobility in the act." Frederick Douglass. 1881

In the year of Lincoln's 200th Birth Anniversary, it is easy to overlook Frederick Douglass. I think every student should be required to read his autobiography, both for its literary content, composition, and moral imperatives. Douglass spent his life advocating for the dispossessed and marginalized; he is a giant and his writings effect people to this day.

Alycia's long road has finally forked away from the City of Troy on February 26, 2008. Alycia was jailed at the request of the City of Troy Probation Department, and I visited her on Friday, February 6, 2009. She was sitting all curled up and crying in the jail clinic holding cell with 4 other women. The first night in jail, she went into false labor, and the jail personnel had to take her to the hospital. She was dehydrated and needed a saline IV. Alycia was nauseated and vomiting. The jail deputy said they would notify the Judge. I have no further comment about the treatment of Alycia by any persons involved in her arrest, prosecution, sentencing or incarceration. Sufficed to say, she stood in jail until the conclusion of her 5 day jail sentence, which speaks for itself.

I don't know what Thomas Athans did the night of Friday, February 5, 2009, or any of the next four nights Alycia was in jail. "Dewayne Johnson" or whatever he calls himself probably moved a few young women around and collected his $3,000 to $4,000 dollars a night. The Detectives, the Court staff, the Troy Probation officer involved, all the City Attorneys and staff were probably at home with their families. I do know what Alycia was doing. Alycia spent her night on a plastic bench in the Oakland County Jail crying and vomiting. What exactly was she guilty of? By accident of birth in a lower income strata of society Alycia is simply treated differently. Alycia is guilty of being poorer than Thomas Athans. I have been told that when Alycia as a small child would sing at County competitions and fairs in Massachusetts. Her sister says she was unbelievably talented singer.

Alycia also wrote poetry and had a book of poems she had collected since childhood. That book, along with all her clothing, identification and family photographs, was taken from her by the pimp and she never saw it again. My wife and I are going to buy her another book so she can start writing poetry again.

The Oakland County Sheriff released her at 12:30 PM, and my wife, Julianne and I drove the "circuit" (Macomb Township to Pontiac to Detroit to Macomb Township) probably for the last time. We got back to our house at 2:50 AM. We had brought the baby shower gifts to Alycia at Court, but as you know, she was thrown in jail. Alycia took them on Monday morning. No one except Alycia's sister showed up at the baby shower on Tuesday, February 3, 2009.

After we picked her up from the jail, Alycia immediately fell asleep when she got into the car and slept the entire way home. My wife was shocked at the number of cars and people waiting at the back of the jail for prisoner release. Julianne said if she hadn't married me she never would have imagined the numbers of people jailed or seen the entire subculture. The siren sounds, flashing red lights, and and a huge garage door lifts and the prisoners come wandering out of the intensely lit interior of the jail into the night in a daze, similar to a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Alycia said the prisoners were lying on the floors and sleeping on cots in the common areas in the jail. Alycia told me that after I visited her on Friday, that is when she stopped crying. It really matters to people in her situation that people (usually family) step up and show them that they matter. I told her I visited her because I wanted to make sure she was alright. I gave her a message from my wife to think about her baby and how lucky she was to be with her fiance. I told her it was going to be okay and how it was all for the best that it all be over with.

I told my Julianne that under different circumstances, I am sure the pimp would be there to pick up a girl after she was jailed, and fill her with hate, anger and fear of the police and the Courts. We were just glad she was safe and sound.

Alycia said how happy she was that she never had to go to jail again; how nice it was to breathe fresh air; and not owe any more money to the City of Troy Probation Department. As Alycia was being led away to jail, in handcuffs, and crying, the Assistant City Attorney asked the Court to impose more fines and costs to be assessed against her.

Judge Bolle, denied the City of Troy request, and stated, "this case is over."

Detroit Free Press - Only Reporter at Martin Hearing

Woman in prostitution case gets 5 days in jail
BY KORIE WILKINS • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • February 6, 2009

In tears, the Westland woman accused of accepting money for sex from the husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., began serving five days in jail Thursday for violating the terms of her probation.

Alycia Martin, 21, was sentenced in August to 6 months of probation on a misdemeanor trespassing charge after she was arrested in a prostitution sting in February 2008 at a Troy hotel.

Police allege Martin performed oral sex on Tom Athans, Stabenow's husband. Athans was not charged in exchange for his assistance in the case.

According to court officials, Martin had not showed up for mandatory drug and alcohol testing since September.

Her pro bono attorney Frank Cusumano Jr. repeatedly has said Martin, who makes less than $100 a week working in a fast food restaurant, could not afford to pay for the testing.
"My car breaks down every other day," said Martin, shortly before she was led away by an Oakland County Sheriff's Office deputy. "There's nothing I can do. I can't walk here. And I don't have money for gas most of the time."

But 52-4 District Judge William Bolle said it didn't seem Martin was going to be able to comply with her probation.

Cusumano said Martin, who dropped out of high school in ninth grade and has been on her own since she was in her late teens, is working to get her GED.

"Alycia will get through this," Cusumano said. "She'll serve her time. I don't know why he'd throw her in jail, but it underscores the whole thing. There is a disparity between wealth and poverty."

Contact KORIE WILKINS at 248-351-5186 or kwilkins@freepress.com.

Alycia Martin Sentenced to Jail - High Profile John and Pimp Never Arrested or Charged

On February 5, 2009, Judge Bolle of the 52-4 District Court, Troy, Michigan, revoked Alycia Martin's HYTA status and sentenced her to 5 days in the Oakland County Jail without comment. The rationale behind that violation of probation was that Martin had failed to comply with certain PBT test requirements, drug screenings, and payment of fines and costs. It should be noted that Alycia Martin had submitted to drug screenings (and tested negative) and paid fines and costs, however, not enough by the terms of the Probation. Despite no allegation that Alycia Martin had actually done anything "wrong" (other then present proof of the negative), she was violated and jailed. The alleged violations were for failure to pay fees and complete the schedule of probation department ordered tests. Those tests all are independently administered and must be paid at the time of service, otherwise, the defendant is not allowed to take the test and is subject to violation of probabtion, The Court was aware, prior to sentencing Alycia to jail, that Alycia's gas and electric had been shut off because of her inability to pay the utility companies. Any rumors that Alycia Martin has done anything illegal or wrong, including criminal activity, or drug use are simply untrue and false. Martin is simply too impoverished to comply with the terms of probation imposed by the Court at her sentencing, and it was just a matter of time before she was violated.

"Threat to the Victim Thomas Athans or the Public
Ms. Martin was not a threat to the alleged victim Thomas Athans, or the public. Martin is simply a young woman that was in trouble in her life.

Summary of Progress and Substantial Compliance

February 26, 2008 through present
Martin has had no contacts with law enforcement for violations of any laws and appeared at every Court scheduled appearance in Wayne, Warren, and Troy (after having pro-bono defense counsel appear on her behalf).

April 29, 2008
Martin turns herself in.
July 22, 2008
Martin obtains her first driver’s license, and registers to vote.
November 7, 2008
Martin votes for the first time in a Presidential election.
August 2008 - present
Martin has found gainful work, (albeit part-time);
Cares for up to three children at home;
Is expecting a child of her own;
Re-established a relationship with her father;
Martin has paid her bills without resorting to the lure of "easy money" by being an exotic dancer/stripper;
Martin has tested negative for drug use in all the tests she has taken;
Made payments on the testing to the extent she is capable without any help from outside sources;
Martin has sat for and tested on the first half of the GED and could only not complete the second half due to an infection which she had to seek medical treatment;
Martin has also reported to Probation for her interviews although Probation feels there should have been more interviews, more PBTs, more drug screens and more fees paid.

Conclusion: Martin has clearly demonstrated that she is trying to regain her life. Martin has come a long way from being alone, hungry, destitute and desperate in a Troy Motel room. Martin took the opportunity to turn herself in and face the charges. It was Martin that said "I don’t want this for my life." At sentencing Martin took responsibility for her actions and has faced the consequences. Martin has publically described the event as a blessing in disguise. Martin bears no ill will toward the Troy SIU, the City Attorney’s office or Thomas Athans and only wishes to move on with her life if allowed to do so.

Martin has substantially complied with the terms of her HYTA terms. The only failure by Martin has been due to her poverty, which was well known since day one of this case. All Martin needed was a credible opportunity and someone to help her regain her dignity and self worth. It has been a formidable process ending the cycle of fear of the Courts and the Police for this young woman.

It was well known both before and after sentencing that Martin could not financially comply with the terms of the HYTA sentence because she simply did not have the financial means to comply. Repeatedly, these facts were brought up in open court. None of that mattered, however. Martin is due to be released Monday, February 9, 2009.

High Profile John Released Scott Free - Why All the Smiles? You Decide.

Troy police indicated (under oath) that Thomas Athans was threatened with charges and forfeiture. View the pictures and you decide whether this rings true. Pay particular attention to the final frames where the police officer actually shakes Athans' hand.

"AND THEN THEY CAME FOR ME ... AND BY THAT TIME THERE WAS NO ONE LEFT TO SPEAK UP."

This case struck a nerve in the people of Michigan. Many observers have strong opinions and feelings about it. People of conscience, and particularly residents of Troy Michigan, have expressed concern about what occurred in the case of People of Troy v. Alycia Martin. There is a famous poem which bears on a basic instinct to help people victimized or oppressed:

• "In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew; And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

Aside from the basic human instinct to help a person in obvious danger and distress, it is also a matter of civic responsibility, since Roman times, to avoid inequity in the application of law. Every citizen is only one charge away from sitting in Alycia Martin's chair, and if there is a rich and powerful person on the other side of a controversy or engaged in an alleged criminal act, and the public office holders automatically side with that person because of their political or economic station, then you will be broken. Make no mistake about it.

Thomas Athans resides in a suburban home on a golf course, and is the spouse of a sitting US Senator.

In contrast, Alycia Martin currently lives in Detroit, Michigan.

On February 26, 2008, the Troy Police abandoned their sworn duty to uphold the laws equally against Alycia and against the confessed john, Thomas Athans. It has been argued that the only reason Thomas Athans was released and allowed to drive away from his confessed crime, and on a suspended license was because of his position and marriage to a sitting U.S. Senator.

The "activity" of allowing Athans to drive away on a suspended license (MCL 257.904) is separate and apart from the "activity" of taking is spontaneous confession to criminal acts and not arresting the individual on the spot. Athans written and oral statement supported arrest and charges as follows: Engaging a Prostitute (MCL 750.449a); Soliciting a Prostitute (MCL 750.448); Disorderly Person (750.167(1)(i)(j)); Sodomy statute (MCL 750.158); Troy City Ordinances: 98.03.11 - Frequent Place of Illegal Business; 98.03.12 - Solicit Illegal Acts; and 98.03.10 -Transport to Place of Illegal Acts.

The reader can decide for themselves the "truth" about why, how, and when this case was handled by the Troy Police Department.

• MCL 92.4 Police officers; powers; duties. Sec. 4. Under the direction of the mayor and chief of police, and in conformity with the ordinances of the city and laws of this state, the police shall... apprehend a person in the act of violating a law of this state, or an ordinance of the city.... take the offender before the proper court or magistrate, to be dealt with for the violation; make complaints to the proper officers and magistrates of any person known or believed by them to be guilty of the violation of the ordinances of the city or the penal laws of the state or to be responsible for a violation of an ordinance or law of this state designated as a civil infraction; diligently and faithfully to enforce all laws, ordinances, and regulations for the preservation of good order and the public welfare as the council may ordain...

• MCL 752.11 Upholding or enforcing the law; duty of public officials. Sec. 1. Any public official, appointed or elected, who is responsible for enforcing or upholding any law of this state and who wilfully and knowingly fails to uphold or enforce the law with the result that any person's legal rights are denied is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Of course, many observers have questioned how the Troy Police can rely on far flung legal exceptions to the search warrant requirement of a hotel room, but ignore their duty under Michigan Statute, MCL 92.4 and MCL 752.11, and ignore the plethora of criminal acts of Athans under the Troy City Code and Michigan Compiled Laws.

The reader can make an informed and reasoned conclusion based on the facts.

Moreover, equal enforcement of the laws against Johns, while practiced uniformily by all surrounding jurisdictions, is not a novel notion of law enforcement nationally. In fact Courts have recognized that basic fairness requires it, in case law from over 80 years ago:

"Men caught with women in an act of prostitution are equally guilty, and should be arrested and held for trial with the women. The law is clear, and the duty of the police is to act in pursuance of the law. The practical application of the law as heretofore enforced is an unjust discrimination against women in the matter of an offense which, in its very nature, if completed, requires the participation of men. . . As long as the law is upon the statute books, it must be impartially administered without sex discrimination." People v. Edwards, 180 N.Y.S. 631, 635 (Ct. Gen. Sess. 1920).

Most critically objective observers have concluded that the only reason Alycia Martin was arrested and charged is because she was vulnerable and impoverished. The only reason Thomas Athans was released and not charged for his confessed crimes was because he is powerful and wealthy. It should be noted that despite pronouncements of caring for the less fortunate members of society, no one from Senator Stabenow's office or any other public office offered help for Alycia Martin. Instead, dozens of "little people," people of conscience, and members of the religious community offered their assistance.

The law applies to all citizens, no one is above it, and Alycia Martin, or any impoverished person is not below it either. Police cannot be allowed to pick and chose who to enforce the laws against. This goes for Troy, Westland, Lansing, Detroit, and anywhere else in the State of Michigan, and even Washington, D.C.

Michigan woman creates program to help women escape prostitution, drug abuse

Michigan woman creates program to help women escape prostitution, drug abuse
by Associated Press, Stephanie Esters Kalamazoo Gazette
Monday March 24, 2008, 8:29 AM
Courtesy of Anneshia Freeman

Anneshia Freeman is a Grand Rapids resident who created a program called "The Lies That Bind," to help women escape prostitution and drug abuse.

NEW YORK -- The call girl in the Eliot Spitzer scandal appeared to be leading a glamorous life -- staying in an upscale Manhattan high-rise, traveling to seduce powerful men in swanky hotel rooms, making more than $4,000 in one night.

But the reality for most prostitutes is far different.

Many come from broken homes, were homeless at some point, were abused as children and suffer from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, said Mary Anne Layden, director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program in the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsyvania. She said many are not making any money because of a drug habit and a pimp or madam who takes half their earnings.

"The idea of 'Pretty Woman' is a huge lie," said Layden, referring to the hit movie about a man (played by Richard Gere) who hires a prostitute (Julia Roberts) and falls in love with her. "Most prostitutes spiral downward." Former prostitute and drug addict Anneshia Freeman, 43, from the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming, echoed Layden's opinion.

"'Pretty Woman' is a lie," said Freeman, who now tries to help other women leave prostitution and make different choices through a program she created called The Lies That Bind -- The Legacy of the Locks.

"I believe that (the Spitzer Ashley Alexandra Dupre) story, and stories like that, can contribute to the illusion that prostitution is some sort of classy, glamorous career," she said. "It's dehumanizing, demoralizing, degrading and debilitating."

About three years ago, Freeman worked with the Prostitution Alternatives Coalition of Kalamazoo -- which included representatives from the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office, the county's Health and Community Services Department and the -- to help prostitutes get out of the profession.

'Horrible re-enactment'

Of her own 15 years as a prostitute, Freeman said: "It was a horrible adult re-enactment of my childhood script. I was abused as a child. I was trained to be a prostitute by my molester."
Freeman grew up in Detroit, where she lived with her mother, whom she described as an undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, and a male family member, who she says sexually abused her.

She started using marijuana and drinking when she was 11 years old and left home when she was 12 to live with an older brother and his family. She became pregnant at age 15 by a guy she was seeing, and her mother sent her to a girls' school in Pennsylvania. She then gave birth to a daughter and over the years has had three other children.

It was while Freeman was working in Chicago in 1985 as a 21-year-old executive secretary that she was introduced to cocaine. She developed a $300- to $400-a-day habit and started working as a prostitute.

Freeman said she saw drug dealers and pimps trying to "enslave" women by wrecking their self-esteem and by withholding or bestowing affection.

She said she later realized that through prostitution she was trying to make emotionally unavailable people respond to her or like her. "I was trying to find some way to fix that script," Freeman said, referring to the dysfunctional life patterns she kept repeating. "There was nothing glamorous about it."

What made her decide to change her life? "I was sick and tired of being broke, homeless, beaten, raped, ridiculed and mocked all day," said Freeman, who had already gone through about 15 tries at rehabilitation. "I was almost beaten to death several times. The last time I was beaten by a drug dealer that I spent hundreds of dollars a day with. I still have a bone that sticks up in my shoulder from when he stomped me into the floor.

"I was running down the street covered in blood with my clothes half torn off me, screaming at the top of my lungs, ducking in and out of traffic ducking bullets. After beating me, he went across the street to his house and got a gun. He was shooting at me as I ran down the street. I surrendered that day."

She said she got high a few more times and worked the street again in a different neighborhood, but she knew that kind of life was over for her. "I walked away from the dope house and prostitution for the last time on Aug. 7, 2000," she said. Freeman said she has been able to stay away from drugs and prostitution with the help of God and a 12-step program.

She has since earned an associate's degree in computer-application technology and a bachelor's degree in business. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration.
90 percent want out

Melissa Farley, a research psychologist who has been studying prostitution for the past 14 years, has interviewed 900 prostitutes in 10 countries. She said about 90 percent say they want to get out.

University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt, of "Freakonomics" fame, recently studied street-level prostitution in Chicago, and estimated there were about 4,400 prostitutes active there in an average week. They made an average of about $25 an hour, a far cry from the thousands of dollars charged by the Emperor's Club VIP, whose sexual services former New York Gov. Spitzer is said to have used.

Former prostitute Norma Hotaling, who walked the streets and worked for an escort service, said it felt glamorous at first. "I felt an incredible sense of power," she said. "'Here's a way I can make money. I can work any hours that I want to work. I can call my own shots. I don't have to take the dates I don't want. It's like, 'I have my own business. Isn't this amazing?'"

But those feelings didn't last long. She was addicted to heroin; she was homeless at times; she was beaten and raped. She began to be horrified that her livelihood depended on sex with strangers on a regular basis.

"It makes it so appealing to think that it's an easy life, and it's not," Hotaling said. "You don't find a whole lot of women speaking out about how glamorous it was."
Dupre's strugglesDupre -- the 22-year-old identified as "Kristen" in court documents accusing Spitzer of paying thousands for prostitutes' services -- doesn't seem to be "Pretty Woman" either. Her MySpace page portrays her as a New Jersey native who left a broken home to pursue a music career in New York.
"I have been alone," she wrote. "I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own."

Dupre has not commented about her life as a prostitute, except to tell The New York Times she does not want to be thought of as a monster.
Madeleine Dash, a sex worker and co-founder of the Sex Workers Action New York, said "Kristen" proves that not all prostitutes are forced into this line of work out of desperation.

But Farley says prostitution is a dead-end -- literally. Homicide, she says, is the most frequent cause of death for women in prostitution. Gazette staff writer Stephanie Esters contributed to this report.

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