'Flyers and Advertisements of Sexual Services in Madrid' - a new study

Left on windshields and littering the streets; flyers advertising prostitution are on the increase in Madrid. Now they are the subject of a new study by researchers at the capital city’s Comillas Pontifical University.They found the image promoted by the flyers of prostitution as a 'voluntary, independent and recreational' activity is in sharp contrast to the reality of the sex trade.

A new study, 'Flyers and Advertisements of sexual services in Madrid', analyses the discourse and content of 220 different flyers collected in the city’s public spaces. 

The flyers were categorised into four main groups; those where an (ostensibly) 'independent' woman was advertised, those where groups of women were advertised, those where a company or corporation offered sexual services, and those from companies offering ‘oriental massages’ from Asian women (a group deemed large enough to warrant a category of its own). The results of the analysis shed light on the advertising strategies employed and the demand for sexual services in the underground prostitution industry.

The investigation showed the flyers’ target audience to be almost exclusively male, with only a handful of examples aimed at couples and only one which offered services to women.

Researchers analysed word frequency to find the most commonly used words and phrases in the advertisements. ‘Euros’ was the most frequent word, present on almost every example. The researchers suggest that this reflects the sex trade’s profit-driven nature and the consumerist society it feeds on.

The next most frequent words and phrases include “...years old”, “discrete”, “discretion”, “girls”, “free drink”, “new girls”, “Orientals”, "Latinas" and “in your area”.

The study also analysed the images on the flyers. They tended to depict strong erotic content, featuring women in provocative poses which emphasised the parts of their bodies considered most attractive to their male audience: buttocks and breasts.

They identify four main categories of female images;

1. “Curvy” women, largely represented by Latin American women.  

2. Asian women, usually with a childlike facial appearance

3. Slender women, with a similar aesthetic to models in the fashion and beauty industries.

4. Fetishised images of particular female body parts, such as lips, or objects such as high heel shoes.

The study concludes that the image transmitted by the flyers of “independent, liberal women who use their bodies for economic benefits” is far from the reality of their situation. It masks the sexual exploitation of these women and normalises prostitution.

The study also highlights the easy access that local children and adolescents have to the flyers, and the impact their message has on young people. Following reports that some local youths collect and exchange the flyers like they were trading cards, the parents’ association AMPAS has filed a complaint to the City Council, demanding the regulation of this type of advertising.

In the final stage of the study, the researchers made calls to the telephone numbers on the flyers. By comparing the services offered as they appeared on the flyers with the offers made over the telephone, and information found on internet ‘punter’ forums (where the men can discuss and ‘rate’ prostituted women), they found many ‘additional’ risky sexual practices on offer. These practices included fellatio and penetration without a condom (for an extra charge), particularly evident in relation to the prostituted Asian women.

The study concluded that, while the image of “free, voluntary, independent prostitution” is present in all of the advertisements by all the different groups, “it makes a curious contrast to the reality. In fact these services are mainly offered in apartments; a private sector which authorities lack control over and therefore likely to hide a huge part of forced prostitution in Spain”.

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Translated by Ben Riddick from http://www.tribunafeminista.org/2017/02/euro-nuevas-y-discreta-las-palabras-mas-repetidas-en-flyers-de-prostitucion/

Read the complete study in Spanish here

Official (poor quality, but readable) English translation of the complete study here