El 840: Jerga, policía y prostitución

Article

Authorship

DAICH, DEBORAH EDITH

Date

2023

Publishing House and Editing Place

ISHIR, CONICET

Magazine

Avances del Cesor, vol. 20 (pp. 1-17) ISHIR, CONICET

Summary Information provided by the agent in SIGEVA

The “840/ochocuarenta” is a widely used slang in the local field of sex markets studies. Those who enunciate it, mainly sex workers, clients and police officers, do so to refer to those who benefit economically from the prostitution of others. Used as a synonym for pimp, it is frequently mentioned in very old tangos and its origin is often attributed to an old police edict. Thus, this work tends to follow the “840”, trace its sources, interrogate its past and the ways in... The “840/ochocuarenta” is a widely used slang in the local field of sex markets studies. Those who enunciate it, mainly sex workers, clients and police officers, do so to refer to those who benefit economically from the prostitution of others. Used as a synonym for pimp, it is frequently mentioned in very old tangos and its origin is often attributed to an old police edict. Thus, this work tends to follow the “840”, trace its sources, interrogate its past and the ways in which it became a pimp or ruffian symbol. This work runs through three lines of inquiry: slang, tangos and the police. For this, I have carried out a bibliographical review, archive searches and interviews with key actors, all of which will lead us to try out some provisional answers and working hypotheses.