Girls Like Us: Fighting For a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale

Lloyd recalls her first encounter with a pimp, and her own surprise by his good looks and quiet demeanor, as opposed to the flamboyant images of pimps she was used to consuming in films and books: “[…] a cross between a caricatured seventies Huggy Bear or a sleazy, leather-jacket-wearing, drug-dealing scumbag [...]” (110). The pimp Lloyd meets beats her, steals from her, and stalks her after Lloyd agrees to have a drink with him. Months later, Lloyd meets an ex-US Army vet named JP. Though JP is handsome, funny, smart, and polite at first, his growing addiction to crack leads him to treat Lloyd abusively. He becomes her pimp, demanding Lloyd’s earnings from the strip club to fuel his addiction.

Lloyd elaborates on the glorification of pimp culture in society. She cites a 2003 music event to which rapper Snoop Dogg brought two women on dog leashes. Three years later, he was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. The heading read: “America’s Most Lovable Pimp.” HBO recently developed an award show for real life pimps who compete for a trophy for Player of the Year.

Lloyd makes the argument that “Johns,” or the men who pay for sex with underage and exploited girls, are just as much to blame for this exploitation as pimps. Lloyd maintains, “to ignore the demand side of the issue makes no sense and trivializes the harm done by the buyers” (137). Lloyd recalls her own experience with Johns, reflecting on how she used to prefer the men who seemed sheepish about buying sex. However, over time Lloyd realizes that they are just as responsible for the growth of the sex industry, despite the guilt they express at their participation.

Lloyd poses the question, if these men understand that sex trafficking is harmful to women and girls, why do they continue to participate in it? Lloyd links this performative shame on the part of Johns to the general devaluation of the lives of women and girls, especially those involved in the sex industry. Lloyd recalls the case of child serial killer Gary Ridgway, who admitted to targeting child prostitutes because he knew that no one would ask questions about their whereabouts. Lloyd notes that Ridgway’s victims, the majority of whom were underage, were portrayed by the media as adult women.

It is the summer of 1993 in Germany and Lloyd is excited about going on a shopping spree. She exits her apartment to buy a stereo, speakers, and a TV with the money she has saved up. However, before she can leave the building, she is kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend Mike. Mike claims that Lloyd has broken his heart and plans to sell her into the sex industry for revenge. He takes the money she has saved up and announces that he is driving her to Amsterdam, where he will exchange her body for money. Lloyd tries to remain calm as they drive into a remote, rural area. To appease Mike, Lloyd tells him that she loves him and that they should get married. Mike forces Lloyd to get out of the car after he parks on a river embankment. He threatens to dump her in the river. Mike drives off, leaving Lloyd alone in this unpopulated area. He drives back and forth, taunting her, before finally picking her up again.

As soon as they are back in a city center, and Mike stops for gas, Lloyd makes a run for it. She finds a police station, but the policeman on duty, Sergeant Werner, is not convinced that she has been kidnapped. When Werner brings Mike in for questioning, Mike maintains that the money is his and that he has not touched Lloyd, though there are bruises all over Lloyd’s body. Werner releases Mike and suggests that Lloyd get a ride back to town with him. A female police officer tells Lloyd that the male police officers “do this to many girls” (152). She gives Lloyd enough money to catch the bus home.