Jeanine used to live in the suburbs in a large 4-bedroom house with her husband and two sons. Both she and her husband lost their jobs and that’s when things changed drastically.
Jeanine is very attractive and in her mid-40’s. She works both full-time and part-time and in addition she works for a gentleman caller. Jeanine is not her real name.
Jeanine, let’s get straight to the point. How did you get involved with prostitution?
Wow, it sounds so harsh and so wrong when you say it that way. But, I guess when you really look at the reality of what I am doing, that’s what it is.
Both my husband and myself lost our jobs. I found another job as a receptionist, but the pay is half what I made before. So, then I got a job part-time as a waitress and there was a man who would come in regularly and ask me if I would sleep with him for money. After his repeated asking, I finally said yes.
Well, understanding that our first interview with you was lost and here we are again asking the same questions, because there was such great feedback, we are trying not to leave anything out. Your husband also lost his job?
Yes.
He is working now as a school bus driver?
Yes and the money he makes compared to what he used to make is nothing. It’s like minimum wage. We can’t afford to do anything with that. Don’t get me wrong, every little bit helps, but it’s just not enough.
Jeanine, you are a devoted wife and mother. You love your husband, love your children. Why sell your body and sell your time to another man?
You know, the first time you asked me all of these questions Tomaca, I was extremely emotional with the answers and the thought of the answers, but now, it’s been a while. I’ve been doing this a while and I have adjusted emotionally I guess. So, I say that to say that I hope that I am not sounding cut and dry … like what I am doing is okay. It’s not okay, but I have adjusted like I said.
I LOVE my husband. I LOVE my family. I have no intentions of leaving him for anyone else. What I am doing is just a job – nothing else. We need the money for basic survival now. We lost the house, we lost one of the cars; we sold our furniture and our belongings. The bank wouldn’t even talk to us after we started falling behind in our mortgage. We ended up moving into an apartment in a very poor area.
I hate the neighborhood we’re in now. It’s loud, noisy, there are loose dogs running around sometimes. People just don’t seem to know when the make their children come in at night. They’re out there late, playing and screaming.
Well, it is what it is. We are both doing what we can to pay just our basic expenses now. We are surviving. Heat, electricity, food, water, shelter. We are down to the very basics and that’s all I am trying to cover is the basics.
Does your husband know?
God -NO! I would never tell him. It would kill him. He is a man. He is MY man. I would never tell him. Never.
Doesn’t he question the extra money?
No. I pay the bills. That’s always been my responsibility, my thing in our relationship. I handle all the finances and let him know where we stand in terms of what is owed and what is paid.
He thinks I am just working extra hours. That’s all.