TEEN PROSTITUTION

by Joan J. Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1992

In a depressingly well-documented digest of popular press coverage, a solid, nonsensationalized analysis. Quoting liberally from newspapers, magazines, and journalistic books, Johnson explains why teenagers land on the street, how they are recruited by pimps, how they handle their ""customers,"" and why it's so difficult for them to escape; she also debunks unhelpful stereotypes, notably the ""black pimp in flashy clothes,"" and is particularly effective in describing how fantasy dominates the interaction between prostitute and customer--which helps explain the rapid spread of AIDS, since ""AIDS isn't part of fantasies."" Her only solutions are expensive--more social workers, better foster homes, a crackdown on child pornography (currently slighted in favor of the ""war on drugs"")--but without them, she warns, society will pay even more for an expanding criminal class, hardened and alienated. An excellent starting point for research papers. Notes; bibliography. Index not seen.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Watts

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992

Categories: CHILDREN'S