Bottom Girl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Bottom Girl, also known as, a Bottom Woman[1] or Bottom Bitch[2], sits atop the hierarchy of prostitutes working for a particular pimp. A bottom girl is usually the prostitute who has been with the pimp the longest and consistently makes the most money.[3] Being the bottom girl gives the prostitute status and power over the other women working for her pimp.[4] However, the bottom girl also bears many responsibilities. In U.S. v. Pipkins,[5] the Eleventh Circuit described the bottom girl’s duties as “work[ing] the track in [her pimp’s] stead, running interference for and collecting money from the pimp's other prostitutes . . . [and] look[ing] after the pimp's affairs if the pimp was out of town, incarcerated, or otherwise unavailable."[6] Similarly, the PIP Training Manual explains the bottom girl’s obligations may include handling finances and training and recruiting other prostitutes.[7] Bottom girls may also instruct and advise new pimps on the ways of the prostitution business.[8] The Pimp Game, a published instructional guide for pimps, compares the bottom girl to a coach in the NBA, i.e. a former player who "knows the ins and outs of the game,"[9] and explains that, like the NBA coach, she is "the least paid on the team, but the one who works the hardest."[10] She also has the most interaction with her pimp's prostitutes, giving them "pep talks" and keeping them in the game.[11]

An example of a bottom girl in popular culture is the character Lexus in Hustle & Flow (distributed by Paramount Classics in 2005). Lexus, played by Paula Jai Parker, is a stripper/bottom girl to a pimp named DJay, played by Terrence Howard.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mickey Royal, et al., The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide 37 (1998).
  2. ^ Sisters Offering Support, Prostitution Intervention Program (PIP) Training Manual 18, available at [1]. Sisters Offering Support is a Hawaii-based NGO. PIP is a “peer-based alternative sentencing program for adult and juvenile prostitution offenders and nonoffenders.” PIP Training Manual, 1.
  3. ^ PIP Training Manual, 18.
  4. ^ PIP Training Manual, 18.
  5. ^ 378 F.3d 1281 (N.D.G.A. 2004).
  6. ^ Pipkin, 1285.
  7. ^ PIP Training Manual, 18.
  8. ^ Royal, The Pimp Game, 37.
  9. ^ Royal, The Pimp Game, 38.
  10. ^ Royal, The Pimp Game, 39.
  11. ^ Royal, The Pimp Game, 39.