In the words of Salt N Pepa, “the difference between a hooker and a ho ain’t nothin’ but a fee.”

Apparently, with today’s struggling economy, that ‘fee’ can come in many forms. Gas is well over $4 a gallon, and after a Kentucky woman sold her body for a full tank, a prosecutor commented that it’s sad when people are selling their bodies for gas. (Uh, duh?) Of course, there are plenty of other sexual behaviors out there that border the fine line between “hooker” and “ho.”

Look at aspiring “actress” Ranae Shrider, whose most prominent role to date is opposite Mini Me, Verne Troyer, in a scandalous sex tape. Reportedly, Shrider has been shopping the tape all over Hollywood, asking for $25,000 or more for the vid. What do you think, ladies? Hooker or Ho?

Of course, we also have the glamorized portrait of the “prostitute with a heart of gold.” You know, Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. We hate Jason Alexander for trying to solicit poor Julia, and we cheer when Richard Gere shows up in his limo to whisk her into the sunset. Then we call our ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend a “whore” behind her back.

A recent article in American Sexuality Magazine uses a unique approach to answer the question,
“What is a Prostitute?” Here, anthropologist L.L. Wynn asserts to a friend that “according to the broad definition of ‘prostitute,’ all of the women [at the dinner party she is attending] are prostitutes.”

The article explores the different associations of the word Sharmouda, or ‘whore.’ Ironically, much of the behavior described here made me think of college. Wynn’s Egyptian friends label some pros based on their style of dress…but I’ve definitely had some nights where I pointedly “ho’d it up” to hit the bar scene. Another friend points out a woman who is independently wealthy and has sex with men for sheer pleasure. The friend labels this woman a prostitute; I think her lifestyle sounds like a blast!

Is the difference here really only a fee, or are there shades of gray involved? In either case, I think that both terms definitely do originate at what Wynn calls “the intersection of female sexuality and independence.” Women are more free than ever before, which really only opens doors for others to judge and point. We are doing it all wrong; liberated women should stand together, rather than throwing the term around at each other.

Unless it’s Ranae Shrider. She really is a ho(oker).