BY Garrett
October 16, 2008
1,821 views
3 Comments

In the past few decades Halloween has become equal part child sugar haul and adult bacchanal. The number of “and then I woke up naked, covered in confetti and laughing!” stories about All Hallows are only equaled by New Years and Mardi Gras.The plethora of sexy costumes, flowing booze and general good creepy fun vibe make this a wonderful time of year to get very, very freaky.

Amid all the sexy nurses, sexy cats and (this year, at least) an embarrassment of jokers, you can always find a  “pimp.”

The big floppy hat, the coat that would put Joseph to shame and a “pimp chalice” or “pimp cane.” Y’know, to beat and sexually subjugate women.

I’m sorry, did I ruin the illusion?

Pimps are men who coerce women into sexual servitude. They often use emotional blackmail or drugs to accomplish this end. To keep these women working, pimps use violence and threats. Pimps take every penny earned by a sex worker and then ‘take care’ of them. It’s a degrading process that often ends in drug addiction, repeated rapes, and often an early grave.

We’re not talking about sex workers making their own choices here, we’re talking about women, and some men, who are being brutalized and robbed of their money and dignity by a criminal.

So, what could possibly be appealing about pimps? The word “pimp” as a verb is tossed around a great deal. The comical image of “Huggy Bear” or “Don ‘Magic’ Juan” fires some imaginations. But the ugly truth of what pimps do to women, and how their very existence is an argument for decriminalization of sex work, makes it hard to see them as anything funny.

If you’re rolling your eyes at this for being all “PC”, give this episode of that hipster perennial “This American Life” a listen. The description of the process of “turning a woman out” should be enough to turn your stomach.

And hey, you can always go as the joker.

[Photo by andrewbain]