Client (prostitution)

Clients of prostitutes or sex workers are sometimes known as johns or tricks in North America and punters in Britain and Ireland. In common parlance among sex workers as well as with others, the act of negotiating and then engaging with a client is referred to as turning a trick.

Female clients are sometimes called janes, although the vast majority of prostitution clients are male in almost all countries.

Lexicology

There are many terms for clients, including whoremonger, sex-buyer, British slang such as punter, terms for those in a vehicle such as kerb crawler, as well as Caribbean slang terms for female clients of gigolos such as milk bottle, longtail, yellowtail or stella.

The term trick is sometimes associated with North America and punter is associated with the term for sex workers' clients in Britain and Ireland. These slang terms are used among both prostitutes and law enforcement for persons who solicit prostitutes. The term john may have originated from the frequent customer practice of giving one's name as "John", a common name in English-speaking countries, in an effort to maintain anonymity. In some places, men who drive around red-light districts for the purpose of soliciting prostitutes are also known as kerb crawlers.

Motivation

Studies reveal that most clients seek out sex with prostitutes to satisfy otherwise unfulfilled sexual desires or simply as a means to establish social bonds with women. Other reasons include "sexual experiences (such as threesomes or kink) that aren’t easily available to the men; because the men feel they are unattractive and can’t find a woman to have a relationship with; because the men are seeking a space where their sexual desires or interests won’t be shamed; because the men don’t have time or emotional availability for a relationship; because they are disabled; or because they desire sex without emotional involvement."

Demography

According to Sabine Grenz of the University of Gothenburg, clients come from all socio-economic classes, and include "stockbrokers, truck drivers, teachers, priests or law-enforcement officials." As such, "There are no social characteristics that basically distinguish johns from other men."

According to Megan Lundstrom of Free Our Girls, 80% to 90% of clients are married men.