The Streets: A Factual Portrait of Six Prostitutes as Told in Their Own Words

This venture into pop sociology is neither more nor less successful than many others in the genre. The six women (one a transsexual) who each tell their stories here in vivid argot range in age from 18 to 40; all are primarily street prostitutes in New York City. Most suffered either physical or psychological abuse as children, and some are perceptive enough to see their pimps as father-figures. These women are well aware that they are being used by their pimps, that talk of a happy lifetime together is just talk. Many of their customers are prosperous married men whose sex lives at home are unsatisfactory, in some cases because the men have bizarre tastes, often involving a need to be humiliated or dominated. Besides the revelations of the six principals, Zausner, a one-time real estate entrepreneur turned writer, gathers observations by police officers about arrests and judicial procedures, none of them particularly new or surprising. Photos not seen by PW. (February 27)