World's Oldest Profession Goes Digital

Four bodies identified by Long Island police as prostitutes

(NEWSER) - Long Island police fear they are facing a Craigslist killer, after identifying the skeletal remains of three women found dumped on a local beach last month —all were prostitutes, less than 5 feet tall, and about 100 pounds, and all three advertised on the popular classifieds site. One of the women had been missing since 2007. A fourth body found nearby was identified last week as a prostitute who had been missing since last summer. More»

But it took parents a surprisingly long time to catch on

(NEWSER) - Friends and co-workers warned schoolteacher Melissa Petro that it might not be such a great idea to write about her past as a prostitute, but she did it anyway. Most recently, Melissa Petro wrote about her thoughts on the shutdown of Craigslist's "erotic services" section, which she used for four months, for the Huffington Post . Cue the New York Post's predictably juicy-sounding "exclusive" ("SEXXX ED"), in which outraged parents express their belief that, as one says, "People like that should not be allowed to be anywhere near children." More»

Surprisingly, it's not always about sex...

(NEWSER) - In the wake of Craigslist’s “adult services” shutdown , Sudhir Venkatesh refutes five myths about the world’s oldest profession, in the Washington Post :

• Men aren’t always looking for sex: In fact, while studying high-end sex workers, Venkatesh found that many men who hire prostitutes simply end up talking or having dinner together. Approximately 40% of such transactions are actually sex-free. (For lower-end sex workers, that number is around 20%.)

'Adult services' shuttered, they head over to 'casual encounters'

(NEWSER) - Opponents of the world's oldest profession scored a victory Friday when Craigslist replaced its "adult services" section with a black "censored" banner, thereby grinding all prostitution to a screeching halt. For a nanosecond. Then pimps predictably picked up their nefarious ads and trotted right over to Craigslist's "casual encounters" section, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

It now says 'censored'

(NEWSER) - Craigslist has put its "adult services" section off limits. The option has been replaced by the word "censored," CNN reports. No word yet from Craigslist itself on whether the move is permanent or whether the word will eventually link to an adults-only section. It affects only US sites. Craigslist has come under heavy criticism for providing an easy front to prostitution. (Or worse, click here for one example.) More»