Bottom Girl

A Bottom Girl, also known as, a Bottom Woman [Mickey Royal, et al., The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide 37 (1998).] or Bottom Bitch [Sisters Offering Support, Prostitution Intervention Program (PIP) Training Manual. 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.] , 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. [PIP Training Manual, 18.] Being the bottom girl gives the prostitute status and power over the other women working for her pimp. [PIP Training Manual, 18.] However, the bottom girl also bears many responsibilities. In "U.S. v. Pipkins", [378 F.3d 1281 (N.D.G.A. 2004).] 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." ["Pipkin", 1285.] Similarly, the PIP Training Manual explains the bottom girl’s obligations may include handling finances and training and recruiting other prostitutes. [PIP Training Manual, 18.] Bottom girls may also instruct and advise new pimps on the ways of the prostitution business. [Royal, The Pimp Game, 37.] "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," [Royal, The Pimp Game, 38.] and explains that, like the NBA coach, she is "the least paid on the team, but the one who works the hardest." [Royal, The Pimp Game, 39.] She also has the most interaction with her pimp's prostitutes, giving them "pep talks" and keeping them in the game. [Royal, The Pimp Game, 39.]

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.

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