A Bottom Girl, also known as, a Bottom Woman[1] or Bottom Bitch[2], 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.[3] Being the bottom girl gives the prostitute status and power over the other women working for her pimp.[4] However, the bottom girl also bears many responsibilities. In U.S. v. Pipkins,[5] 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."[6] Similarly, the PIP Training Manual explains the bottom girl’s obligations may include handling finances and training and recruiting other prostitutes.[7] Bottom girls may also instruct and advise new pimps on the ways of the prostitution business.[8]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,"[9] and explains that, like the NBA coach, she is "the least paid on the team, but the one who works the hardest."[10] She also has the most interaction with her pimp's prostitutes, giving them "pep talks" and keeping them in the game.[11]
^ Mickey Royal, et al., The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide 37 (1998).
^ Sisters Offering Support, Prostitution Intervention Program (PIP) Training Manual 18, available at [1]. 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.
