Loverboys in the Amsterdam Red Light District: A realist approach to the study of a moral panic

Abstract

In the Netherlands the English word 'loverboys' describes pimps who use their seductive skills to exploit young girls as prostitutes. Public interest and concern has been enormous. But no images of or interviews with loverboys have appeared in the media. This article examines the 10-year-long history of the phenomenon as a classic moral panic constructed by the media, social workers and politicians. Our analysis also seeks to get behind the media representations, using discovery research methods from urban ethnography to show that a subculture has grown in the world of prostitution where this recruiting method is used. Our dual track investigatory approach demonstrates that both developments -the rise of a moral panic and the emergence of a new type of prostitution -are inexorably intertwined.Keywords moral panic, pimping, urban ethnography, youth subculture Loverboys, do they exist?For more than a decade now, the Netherlands has been plagued by the criminal practices of what are referred to as loverboys. This English term has a unique definition in Dutch: loverboys are young men who use their seduction skills to eventually exploit young girls as prostitutes. From the start, the term has been ethnically loaded. Loverboys are portrayed as second-generation Moroccan and black Antillean Dutchmen. Their victims are predominantly white Dutch girls. It seems to be an exclusively Dutch phenomenon, since no other language appears to have a special term for this type of prostitution.The loverboys phenomenon has been the focus of an enormous amount of media attention. When we recorded the first results of our study on this phenomenon in 2006, it had generated

Designing Prostitution Policy : Intention and Reality in Regulating the Sex Trade

“…A more measured report by the criminologist Bovenkerk and colleagues concluded that loverboys were a modern incarnation of the traditional pimp and that the phenomenon had been overstated. However, the report also concluded that the legalisation of brothels had not eradicated pimping from the licensed sector (Bovenkerk et al, 2006). By 2005 a veritable media industry had emerged around the issue of prostitution.…”

“…A bestselling book by one of the alleged victims (Mosterd, 2008) turned the loverboy phenomenon into a national moral panic, and many schools and welfare agencies started campaigns to warn young girls for the dangers of loverboys. A research study by a leading Dutch criminologist (Bovenkerk et al, 2006) concluded that the loverboys were a contemporary version of ordinary pimps and that the phenomenon was probably not as widespread as suggested. When the Mosterd book turned out to be a hoax, the loverboy panic subsided somewhat.…”

Secret seducers

“…Other girls entered into a business relationship with a young man and subsequently went on to work as prostitutes (see for research on relationships between pimps and prostitutes in Amsterdam and in particular business relationships also [21]: 42-49, 160-161). In short, there are many variations to the stereotypical story about loverboys that are constantly being repeated in the media (see [3]). Some instances of behaviour consistent with the stereotype of the loverboy appeared to have been inspired by either the popular media or the example of other more successful pimps.…”

“…Regardless of the diverse ethnic origins of both perpetrators and victims, public opinion is mainly concerned with Moroccan (or Antillean) perpetrators overpowering white, innocent girls with their charms in order to exploit them ruthlessly [2,3]. The popular music of famous rappers and the violent and promiscuous youth culture coming from the American ghettos to the Netherlands via the media have created an atmosphere where the sons of immigrants feel justified to 'make their move'.…”

“…We have argued elsewhere [3] that what began as a moral panic about loverboys became a reality when young men started to re-enact and copy the moral panic. This is probably one of the ways in which a real social problem develops: the panic becomes a self-fulfilling example or, as Young [24] phrased it: fantasy is translated into reality.…”