Recruitment: Pimps are Posers

We have misconceptions about who they are, what they look like, what they do, and how they fit into society. How are we supposed to understand their role in sex trafficking when jokes are made about them, music artists try to be them, and most people think of a top hat and cane? Hopefully the rest of this post helps. 

Pimps. 

We see them in the music videos, watch them in movies and TV shows, and hear about them roaming around the bad parts of town. Their lifestyle is sensationalized, their line of "work" is romanticized, and very little is based off reality.

Pimps are just like other sexual predators in the sense that they take advantage of those who are vulnerable, lack power, or are overly trusting. Unlike other sexual predators, however, they do not do it for their own sexual gratification. Instead they use the victim to gain money, power, and status.

These predators are successful at what they do because they are master manipulators. They brag that P.I.M.P. stands for: Power In Manipulating People. It is a craft they study and master, an area of pride for them. It is one of the things that makes them so dangerous. 

You see, pimps are posers. 

They do not pose like other sexual predators though. They are not like those creeper 75-year-old-wrinkled-guys pretending to be a 12 year old on all the pre-teen websites, asking for your address so he can kidnap you in the middle of the night. That can happen of course, we have stereotypes for a reason, but that is not how pimps role. 

There are actually a lot of things they are honest about: their age, their location, the amount of money they have, etc. They are usually lying about who they are to you. Oftentimes they are posing in one of three ways: 

• As a professional: pretending to be someone who has a lot of money, prestige, and knows a lot of rich people. They promise money and status.
• As a boyfriend/girlfriend: pretending to engage a potential victim with romantic interests to gain trust and emotional vulnerability.
• As a friend: pretending to be a friend with your best interest in mind and great ways to help you out of an uncomfortable situation. Or they force their current victims to pose as a friend for the same purposes. 

You see, we all crave attention, just in different ways. Some of us want to be center stage, all lights on us. Others want significance with just one other person; someone who will cherish us, romance us, love us without condition, accept us for exactly who we are without judgement. And who doesn't need a friend?? 

We all have these fundamental desires for attention, affection, and acceptance. When these desires overpower making wise decisions, we are extremely vulnerable to predators. 

Pimps are posers because they know this. How cowardly! They are fakers and liars. They hide behind half-truths, manipulation, and bribery. They prey on us because they know how to take advantage of our weaknesses. 

We can protect each other from these predators. If we just know what to look out for, we can keep ourselves and our friends safe, and potentially put these cowards behind bars!