A madam does not force a girl to turn over all her money to her. Nor does a madam beat her girls to "keep them in line." Generally, a madam is very protective of her girls.
Originally Posted by BigMikeinKC
Respectfully, I disagree.
Some of the women I have come in contact with as madames are more repugnant than any male could ever think of being . . . even to this very day there are controversies and rumors of beatings, being held hostage (in sexual slavery) and being shorted all one's pay from the legal brothels in Nevada that are owned or controlled by women. Of course, many of them are just that - rumors. But too many are proven to be fact after investigation and rumor has root in truth many times, and in Nevada as far as madames are concerned, they are generally true. It is unheard of to hear the same for those establishments run primarily by men. There are two brothels in Nevada I left within the first two hours at considerable expense to myself (gaining entrance to work legally with the cost of physical exams, blood work, etc. can be quite financially daunting and usually the responsibility of the lady seeking employment) - I left because of what I witnessed the female owners there doing (or having done). A woman can hurt another woman in ways that only a very few men know how to accomplish . . . and female madames are generally among the worst.
History proves this out also . . . the most ruthless "pimps" in the history of Kansas City were Escort services operated by women, going back even to the
first brothels (link) where women were usually owners. Although the article is light on details, it is estimated in reality that between the three first female brothel owners in Kansas City, they were together responsible for over 500 ladies finding their last resting place in the river (regardless of the public face they put on, they were violent and excruciatingly menacing and cruel). Interestingly, the City Union Mission occupied (as owner) three former brothels in Kansas City before they eventually settled in to their current location (which has brothel connections). Many in the religious community in Kansas City realized that it was not only good business sense to occupy what was basically already built as a hotel for their outreach to homeless and "wayward" men (and that they came cheap - or sometimes free) - but also that it was advantageous to occupy the former brothels as a statement against the violence. It was common at the time for sermons throughout the city and surrounding communities to include a mention that the Mission had occupied a building where such horrific acts of violence had occurred - with the emphasis on God triumphing over evil and how the poor souls trapped inside those walls for eternity could now find respite and move on "to the open arms of heaven". Anything to help fill the collection plate on Sunday morning . . . or to be used as an excuse to hold a "revival" (there were several centered on or around the "brothels turned Mission" over the years).
In the late 1970's and throughout the 80's (and into the 90's with one madame) there were several female Agency owners here in KC that were truly as hardcore as any pimp that might have been found on the streets of our city - and this was at a time when pimps were killing in the streets daily. Dennis would tell stories of their exploits (as he worked for or with many of them - or bought their Agencies when the madames were eventually convicted, murdered, killed themselves or fled prosecution), and the things those women did to their girls would turn the stomach of any man - no matter how jaded or insensitive to violence he may be from being at war, etc. . . .
Most times madames are the most violent of pimps (even if they have someone else to do their "wet work" for them). This includes most madames working today - a working girl knows she can get away with a certain amount of shenanigans at a male owned "house" - but you never cross a madame. Never. It will probably be the last person you cross in this business, and most ladies learn that lesson quickly, or the hard way.
Even the famous contemporary madames of novels and mini-series and those still working today are faster with the knife than Jack the Ripper - there are notable exceptions, Renee and Allison (both of whom operate National Agencies) are great women with clean businesses and I doubt use the same heavy handedness that others have . . . and I have not heard of such from Brook at EF, but, for the most part you still don't want to catch yourself getting out of line too far with any madame, no matter how "nice" you believe her to be. These romanticized accounts of the loving and protective madame taking a girl under her wing (I can think of two recent books and one movie) may be true in some regard (perhaps only to the person that wrote them), but the polar opposite is the status quo in reality. Sometimes the level to which these madames are elevated (or elevate themselves) within our in popular culture is a direct attempt to avoid prosecution for past transgressions . . .
As I mentioned, there are a few exceptions - but if you've lived it as I have and traveled and worked for some of these ladies, you might have a much different perspective of a "madame".
Kisses,
- Jackie