Corner Girls...

Corner Girls…

Corner girls are what I call them.  You may know them by the term Prostitute, sensual provider, courtesan, call girl, hooker, whore, street walker, woman of the night, harlot, sex worker, street walker, or any other slang word used.  And “Corner Girls” is a word I’ve recently began to refer to them as.  You may wonder or be curious as to why I am writing on this topic. WHY AM I WRITING ABOUT THIS?!?!?! I don’t know.  To simply answer the question, it’s because I see them.  I see them.  I know who they are.  I know what they’re doing.  I know… and I see them. 

I’m intrigued and disgusted at the same time.  I’m intrigued because I want to know more about them.  My interest in them comes from my concern for them. They have a name.  They all have a story.  How did you get here is what I want to know.  What happened?  On the flip side, I’m completely disgusted at the immorality of it.  It shows women portraying themselves in the worst possible way.  Dirty, trifling, nasty, filthy, pathetic, pitiful, shameful, disgraceful, having no self value-no worth.  And these girls are not girls as all.  They’re women just like me.  The only difference is something happened that led them to believe that what they were doing was ok and acceptable.  When will women such as the “Corner Girls” realize their worth?    

On the corner waiting is where I see them.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.    I used to watch them months ago before the wintery cold weather and snow.  These were the days when my curiosity began to intensify.  I was curious and interested.  More so, because I was trying to figure out if these women that I saw were truly, “Corner Girls”. I would say, “NOOOOOOoooo…couldn’t be, could it?”  I would think about it for a moment or two and then continue my drive home.  I mostly saw them when I left work. Down the street and around the corner is where these women were.  They weren’t hidden or out of sight, or secluded.  They were in plain sight-very visible.  Now many of you know me and know that I work in an environment which is completely opposite the environment that I was raised.  Enduring culture shock has become the norm for my day to day interactions.  But this is something that I couldn’t seem to fathom the first time I witnessed exactly what was going on.  As we set into spring time, these women began to creep out and make a statement that let me know that they were indeed, “Corner Girls”.  I wasn’t sure then, but I’m sure now. 

It amazes me that women would degrade themselves in that manner.  But I have to question myself, am I really that surprised and my response is a sad, “NO”. 

Now tell me why my interpretation of a prostitute comes from the movie “Pretty Woman” with Julia Roberts.  Some of you laugh at this.  In fact, I myself laugh at it, because it’s not reality.  Not even close to reality. 

As I watch them, I begin to take notice of their mannerisms and their appearance.  I felt like a private investigator examining them as if there was something that I could do about their situations.  I would look to my right as I rode down the street in my car.  Not too slow, but fast enough to be able to make some quick observations without looking like I was lost or confused or just being too nosey in this part of the city.  After passing them, I would check my review mirror or periodically turn around to catch another glimpse of these “Corner Girls”.  One of the first things I noticed was the way they looked.  The way they represented themselves.  Well, to keep it simple, they looked a HOT MESS!  Unkempt. Messy.   Hair all over the place, cheap mismatched clothes, bad weave,  bad wig,  hair all over, usually smoking a cigarette, standing in the most unlady like manner.  Just a mess.  Not what I would have envisioned at all.  Another thing I noticed was that I never saw the same girl twice.  Weird huh? I thought so.  I assumed that the same girl I saw on Monday I would or should see again within a week or two.  But I didn’t.  I don’t understand.  And something else was that there was always only one girl.  Only one.  That was weird to me as well. 

Now I know there are different perspectives on “Corner Girls”.  As naïve as I may sound, I don’t understand that these things still exist despite me being unaware of what some may refer to as the “Real” world.  I many times stay in my own little bubble.  My environment, my neighborhood, my home and all those places that give me comfort.  Yet there are many things that WE don’t see.  Things that may or may not affect us but affect the lives of other people.  I recall a movie, well a line from a movie that said, “Open up those pretty brown eyes” and I’m going to use this as a metaphor because a lot of times we see what we want to see and disregard everything else.  I grew up sheltered to say the least and I’m thankful for my mom’s constant protection and guidance, yet at times I feel like I’m so out on the limb concerning some things. I pray for these “Corner Girls” and I ask you to join in with me and pray for these women too.  Please understand that these women are daughters, mothers, sisters, even grandmothers.  Some young, some old.  It’s not fun having sex with strangers.  And in my opinion it's not something you do unless you are desperate. Really, really desperate.