History Main / DisposableSexWorker

* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' once had a male example, in "The Wedding from Hell." There are some demons who have turned themselves into the bride and bridesmaids for a wedding -- and naturally, they are sexual predators who intend the groom's destruction. At the bachelorette party, the demons call a male stripper and eat the man soon after he begins his dance.

* The ''Series/{{Cracker}}'' episode "Brotherly Love" features a serial killer (or killers) targeting prostitutes. On the one hand, the investigating police turn their full resources on the case; but they also misidentify the killer(s) throughout the episode.
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'', a show full of serial killers, has subverted it in a few episodes. ''Criminal Minds'' never forgets that victims are people too.
** In "The Last Word" (episode 2x9), two serial killers are operating in the same city at the same time. One kills middle-class women, the other prostitutes. In order to draw both out, the latter's case is stifled in the press. Equal screen time, however, is given to the families of both sets of victims. And after the killer is caught the prostitutes get a front-page article about them, an article that never once mentions the killer. This is done to deliberately deny the killer fame.
*** It's also worth noting that a reporter ''wants'' to publish a story on the killer targeting prostitutes, citing that they are just as important. JJ talks him out of it by convincing him that not publishing the story will help them catch him.
** In "Sex, Birth, Death" (episode 2x11), they spend a lot of time establishing some of the prostitutes as positive characters and even use them to stop the baddie in the end. Furthermore, there is another male character who has the same urges as the villain, to kill prostitutes, but he suppresses it, tries to get help, and eventually tries to kill himself rather than follow through on his urges; he is placed in a mental institution by the end of the episode.
** In "52 Pickup" (episode 4x9), one serial killer killed prostitutes before taking one of those "Mystery" pick-up-women classes, then switched to girls in bars. The prostitute he didn't manage to kill changes occupations and helps the team to track him down.
** "Jones" features a detective with this attitude; a rape he didn't believe happened ended up [[spoiler:turning the raped into a JackTheRipoff killer]].
** "To Hell.../...And Back", the season four finale featured a serial killer team based on the RealLife Robert Pickton, who went undetected for years in Vancouver by killing scores of prostitutes. The episode takes place in Sarnia and has the killing team target vagrants in Detroit (not just prostitutes), something that allows them to escape detection Detroit police didn't take the matter seriously enough (something Morgan called them out on). The final kidnapping victim, Kelly Shane, featured prominently in the second part [[spoiler:and rescued in the end]], was a prostitute.
** "Pleasure Is My Business" inverts this. The serial killer turns out to ''be'' a prostitute.
** Which isn't to say the show doesn't fall into this, from time to time. Every so often, they'll bulk up a serial killer's pedigree by pointing out he's murdered several prostitutes before moving onto his "serious" victims. For example, "Breath Play" features a heavy investigation when three respectable women are killed in ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey''-{{Expy}} inspired ways, delving into their lives and how they could have met the unsub. When the team realizes he must have had "practice" murders first, they find records of three dead prostitutes. ''These'' women don't get names or exploration; it's only the years of their murders that tie in at all.

* In ''Series/{{CSI}}'' rather infamously, though somewhat justified because prostitution is legal in Nevada. Sometimes, the BodyOfTheWeek disposable sex worker may turn out to be a different person entirely (e.g. a cop working deep undercover). While prostitution is legal in some parts of Nevada, it is not in Clark County, where Las Vegas is. Legal sex workers would only be victims of the week if they were inside the county limits, making their occupation either incidental, tangential, or a case of writers not doing the research and putting a legal brothel inside their jurisdiction.
* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': In "Crossroads," Adam suggests that a murdered sex worker may have had an "unsatisfied customer." Lindsay immediately tells him he has no right to make that kind of judgment.

* Used often in ''Series/{{Whitechapel}}'', though {{justified}} considering it's heavily based on historical murders, most of which did involve dead prostitutes.

* In the DeathWorld of ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'', ComicBook/NickFury's reduced to an [[GoMadFromTheRevelation insane survivalist]] with a LackOfEmpathy. After going on a tirade about [[ForWantOfANail how things were supposed to be different]], he guns down a prostitute ComicBook/JeanGrey and blows up a passing car before [[DrivenToSuicide blowing his brains out]].

* In ''Film/DarkCity'', the Strangers attempt to make John Murdock a serial killer of prostitutes by [[spoiler:implanting fake memories of the murders in his head]]. They themselves kill a woman to serve as his latest victim, though if she had been a prostitute, it was only because the Strangers [[spoiler:put her in that role]].

* In ''Film/{{Humminbird}}'', Max Forrester is yuppie who gets his kicks from beating up prostitutes. He eventually kills one and dumps her body in the Thames. Unfortunately for him, the girl he killed was Isabel; Joey White's MoralityPet.

** Downplayed in Season 2. A dead woman turns up in the harbor and another ''dozen'' woman are found suffocated in a shipping container used to [[HumanTrafficking smuggle them into the country]], after which the crime organization smuggling them planned to force them into being sex workers. Baltimore [=PD=], Maryland State Police, [=US=] Coast Guard, and Baltimore County Police all play a fervent game of "Not It" over the case that ends with [=McNulty=] proving the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Baltimore PD just to screw over his old boss Rawls. However, the reluctance to take the case has nothing to do with the profession of the dead women, the different law enforcement groups just realize that a murder on a ship from overseas with a non-cooperating crew is a complete dead end and are universally trying to avoid getting stuck with 13 unsolved homicides. Furthermore, [=McNulty=] and several other characters such as Kima and Beadie do get genuinely invested in the case and see the human suffering that the women endured instead of shrugging it off due to their profession.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

In many cases regarding their depiction, however, there is an unfortunate sense that the ladies in question are being somewhat... dehumanized in the process. The unfortunate ladies who fall victim to the killer are rarely given any kind of character outside of their profession. If they are lucky, we'll learn their name(s), and if the producers really want to hammer it home how far they're fallen we'll probably get some sense of their home life (which will no doubt contain some kind of drug addiction, abuse, or even a child raised in poverty). They will usually be a vaguely formed HookerWithAHeartOfGold at best, someone with a conveniently tragic reason to be targeted by a serial killer.

The Disposable Sex Worker has an odd mixed relationship with MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome. On one hand, they're mutually exclusive due to sex-worker victims not being "wholesome" ladies (especially if they're minorities compared to a white "normal" victim). But on the other hand, male and transgender female sex workers are almost never given mention in fiction or real life, despite being just as likely or even more so to be victims of violent crime, but with authorities even less likely to care.

** In one story, [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Lex Luthor]] artificially inseminates a prostitute with a perfect copy of the reproductive DNA of a senator who is in the way of his latest scheme. He then waits until she gives birth to her daughter and murders her in order to frame the senator. If things had gone Luthor's way, the public would come to the conclusion that the senator had relations with a prostitute that produced a daughter and had the mother killed to hide them -- completely discrediting him in the process. Batman, of course, manages to find a measure of justice for the murdered woman and clears the senator's name. The senator also earns Batman's respect when he decides to adopt the child despite her bizarre origin. Batman gets pissed off when Gordon refers to the woman as a "hooker" instead of her name.
** In an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'', Selina finds out that prostitutes in Gotham are being killed, but because they're only hookers, no one is investigating. She starts to investigate and even convinces Batman to join in, knowing he cares about justice for everybody, including prostitutes.

* {{Averted|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/FromHell'', in which the Ripper's victims are explored and fleshed out. One issue even directly compares the life of the Ripper and the life of one of his victims in the day before the two cross paths. ''From Hell'' is something of a {{Deconstruction}} of this trope -- it is made very plain that Victorian society doesn't regard the lives of sex workers very highly, and the comic explores the consequences of this. It's even dedicated to the real victims of Jack, by name.

** The game as a whole averts this, and prostitutes and [[DisposableVagrant homeless people]] are classified as "innocent" and killing them will net you a loss of [[KarmaMeter Humanity]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'', [[PlayerCharacter Geralt]] pursues one Cyprian "Whoreson Junior" Wiley, an organized crime boss in Novigrad. Once he finally carves his way through the gangster's horde of mooks, he finds the sick puppy bathing in the blood of some prostitutes he just murdered for his perverted pleasure. [[spoiler:Geralt's TranquilFury is a sight to behold in the ensuing cutscene as Junior is powerless against the wrathful witcher.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'': A story focusing on Vampirella's friend Pantha has her meeting and befriending a porn star named [[PunnyName Conny Lingus]] who ends up raped and killed by one of the werewolf villains of the story. Pantha kills them in revenge.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Before meeting Lestat de Lioncourt in "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]", Louis de Pointe du Lac has been ([[PlatonicProstitution seemingly]]) carrying on an affair with a prostitute named [[TheBeard Lily]]. Lestat kills Lily as part of his effort to draw Louis towards him.

* Subverted in Film/{{Highlander}}. The Kurgan has just finished [[IKEAWeaponry reassembling his sword]] and is brandishing it in his hotel room when a prostitute walks in and introduces herself as "Candy". The ominous music and The Kurgan's vaguely threatening demeanor suggest he's going to do something very bad to Candy after she shuts the door behind her, but later on the hotel manager mentions to The Kurgan that Candy enjoyed her visit to him immensely. He apparently just felt like hiring a hooker.

* ''Film/TheMenu'': [[spoiler:Invoked. Hawthorn doesn't allow single diners, and his ''real'' girlfriend dumped him, so Tyler had to hire call girl Margot to pose as his girlfriend in order to attend Julian's last dinner -- even though he knew everyone there would be killed. Julian is so [[EvenEvilHasStandards outraged]] at this that he pauses the dinner specifically to expose Tyler as a sociopathic KnowNothingKnowItAll. Averted in the film itself; Margot's working-class background lets her catch on to Julian's dissatisfaction with pretentious high-class cooking before anyone else and she's ultimately the SoleSurvivor of the incident thanks to reigniting Julian's passion by ordering a cheeseburger, causing him to let her leave.]]

* ''Film/TheMenu'': [[spoiler:Invoked. Hawthorne doesn't allow single diners, and his ''real'' girlfriend dumped him, so Tyler had to hire call girl Margot to pose as his girlfriend in order to attend Julian's last dinner -- even though he knew everyone there would be killed. Averted in the film itself; Margot's working-class background lets her catch on to Julian's dissatisfaction with pretentious high-class cooking before anyone else and she's ultimately the SoleSurvivor of the incident thanks to reigniting Julian's passion by ordering a cheeseburger, causing him to let her leave.]]

* ''Film/TheMenu'': [[spoiler:Invoked. Hawthorne doesn't allow single diners, so Tyler had to hire call girl Margot to pose as his girlfriend in order to attend Julian's last dinner -- even though he knew everyone there would be killed. Averted in the film itself; Margot's working-class background lets her catch on to Julian's dissatisfaction with pretentious high-class cooking before anyone else and she's ultimately the SoleSurvivor of the incident thanks to reigniting Julian's passion by ordering a cheeseburger, causing him to let her leave.]]

* In ''Anime/KnightHunters'', Yohji befriends a HookerWithAHeartOfGold named Maki.... but since the Kritiker guys all suffer from CartwrightCurse, the poor girl ends up murdered by her pimp (who doubles as the episode's villain) for helping him. Yohji makes ''very'' sure that [[TheDogBitesBack the pimp pays for it]].

* In ''Anime/WeissKreuz'', Yohji befriends a HookerWithAHeartOfGold named Maki.... but since the Kritiker guys all suffer from CartwrightCurse, the poor girl ends up murdered by her pimp (who doubles as the episode's villain) for helping him. [[TheDogBitesBack And then Yohji makes VERY sure that the pimp pays for it.]]

** In one story, [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] artificially inseminates a prostitute with a perfect copy of the reproductive DNA of a senator who is in the way of his latest scheme. He then waits until she gives birth to her daughter and murders her in order to frame the senator. If things had gone Luthor's way, the public would come to the conclusion that the senator had relations with a prostitute that produced a daughter and had the mother killed to hide them -- completely discrediting him in the process. Batman, of course, manages to find a measure of justice for the murdered woman and clears the senator's name. The senator also earns Batman's respect when he decides to adopt the child despite her bizarre origin. Batman gets pissed off when Gordon refers to the woman as a "hooker" instead of her name.

%%* The trope is frequently parodied in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
%%-->'''Peter:''' ...but I'll tell you what's not cool -- killing strippers. Strippers are people too; naked people who may be willing to pleasure you for a price you negotiate later behind the curtain of a VIP room. Besides, there's no reason to kill them, 'cause most of them are already dead inside. Good night, folks!\\\
%%'''Peter:''' Whoa, it's okay, it's okay, Senator. [[Film/TheGodfather This girl didn't have a family. It'll be like she never existed.]] Now grab a hold of yourself. All right. Now, listen. You may have killed her when you shoved those dollar bills down her throat. You may have killed her when you hit her with the stool. I don't know. I'm not a doctor.\\\
%%'''Carter:''' ...as a favor to the court, I've produced this simulation of how the killing transpired. I play Peter, and I hired an Asian hooker to play my daughter.\\
%%'''Carter in video:''' Lois, I'm fat, and I'm stupid, and I fart at times that ruin my father-in-law's social occasions and that's why I'm never invited to them.\\
%%'''Hooker in video:''' You pay me now?\\
%%''Carter shoots hooker off the boat, then loots her purse.''\\
%%'''Carter:''' That's how it happened, and that Lois was no saint, either. Said she'd give me an over-under for 60 bucks. Got gypped.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]", before meeting Lestat de Lioncourt, Louis de Pointe du Lac has been ([[PlatonicProstitution seemingly]]) carrying on an affair with a prostitute named [[TheBeard Lily]]. Lestat kills Lily as part of his effort to draw Louis towards him.