Essay, Research Paper: Whore

Don-Ray WHORE December 7, 2000
Prostitution, a practice in which a person, typically a woman, becomes sexually available to another for a price is the premise of the movie Whore, in which a single mother of one turns to prostitution in order to earn some extra money (McCaghy, p.391). In the movie Whore, the main character “Liz” is the product of unfortunate circumstances and lack of opportunities, in which she had limited economic opportunities because of her social class and specific personal crises stemming from under or unemployment, alcohol use and so on (McCaghy, p.400). She turns to prostitution only after coming to the conclusion there is nothing more she can do. In the movie Whore, Liz’s first experience with prostitution occurred at her dead-end waitress job when a customer asked for sexual favors in exchange for money. The money ended up being too tempting for her to resist, so she agreed, and at that point Liz became a prostitute.
Prostitution was only a side job at first, but with the death of her mother and the placement of her child in foster care, Liz hired a Pimp and began prostituting full time. The money Liz was earning from prostituting now was going directly to her pimp, all 100% of it. This is not an uncommon practice in the arena of prostitution, for it is the pimp who purchases her clothes, helps her out with money, pays for her doctor bills, arranges for bail and a lawyer when she gets arrested, and most importantly provides her with affection and attention that she really desires (McCaghy, 401). Soon after acquiring a pimp, Liz realizes he has been far too dominating and treated her as his slave. Although her pimp was dominating her life, he was always there to protect her from vicious customers, as was the scene in the movie when her pimp came out of nowhere to rescue her from being attacked. Nonetheless, the power of the pimp was too much. Liz began avoiding him at all costs, but now she was to fend for herself. Liz is now in a bad situation. She is on the streets and could not even carry a pocketknife for protection, because if she were to be arrested she would be additionally charged with concealing a weapon.
In spite of everything, Liz was not yet free from her pimp. Liz was still under his rule. This relationship between Liz and her pimp was under an umbrella of terror. When she didn’t meet her quota for the day, she was beaten (McCaghy, p.402). Liz was trapped and needed assistance from the outside. This assistance came in the form of a homeless man, an acquaintance of hers from on the streets. He rescued her from nearly being strangled to death by slicing the throat of her pimp as he was on top squeezing the life out of her.
The ending of the movie Whore, illustrates the power of the pimp and the helplessness of the prostitute. The ending of the movie sends a strong message, demonstrating how it takes the help from an outsider to rescue a prostitute from her reckless and hazardous lifestyle.


Word Count: 528