Clients of prostitutes or sex workers are sometimes known as johns [ citation needed ] 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 , [ citation needed ] although the vast majority of prostitution clients are male in almost all countries.
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. In some places, men who drive around red-light districts for the purpose of soliciting prostitutes are also known as kerb crawlers.
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. 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.
In Canada, the average age of a client is between 38 and 42 years old who has purchased sex roughly times over their lifetime. The clients of prostitutes in most countries are overwhelmingly male. The affordability of prostitution greatly varies from region to region. The prices are lowest in areas where it is legal due to competition within the sex trade that seek to court both sex tourists and local clients.
