This subject sort of stirred up a debate among my circle of friends. We were curious about whether prostitutes of ancient Egypt had a similar shortened lifespan as modern-day prostitutes. We suppose that it may vary depending on the type of prostitute, but our knowledge on the subject is rather limited. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
Serious question to OP: Do you have any serious academic sources for life expectancy of modern-day prostitutes?
Also it's far from clear that allegedly shorter life expectancy of prostitutes are primarily caused by their profession, and not by drug addiction in general, lower education, etc.
TL;DR -
Ancient Egypt was sex positive and "prostitutes" are not paid street-walkers, but rather religious vessels to commune with gods. People use drugs and alcohol for recreational purposes (blue lotus, alcohol) and also medicinal purposes (opium) just like today. They didn't have the same "prices" or same stigmas like we have today. Of course, addiction and being abusive would be considered bad - they're still human and relationships matter. People also desired long life, but childbirth/disease meant average age was mid 50s.
Long Version -
I love this subject. I'm not a professional, but I love ancient history. I hope a professional historian / expert also answers and verifies my claims so I can learn more too. Sex was viewed differently in Ancient Egypt - and it seems like you're viewing it from this Modern Western lens with the question. These were not shamed street-walkers (like Greek, Roman, and Biblical accounts can depict sexual open or promiscuous women). Usually, these people were considered vessels that one could commune with the gods with. They would have had access to alcohol and drugs just like today - because anyone practicing this trade was often also an entertainer, like musicians and dancers. They had different drugs than we do today - supposedly used for medicine and recreation just like today - Blue Lotus and Opium being big. Egyptians had birth-control methods too, but also venerated pregnancy. This was a sex positive society.
"Prostitution" Caroline Seawright - a student archaeologist and Egyptology hobbyist comments:
"The Egyptian sacred 'prostitute' (who was probably a highly regarded as a member of Egyptian society because of her association with different gods or goddesses (such as Bes and Hathor), rather than the street walker that the modern mind imagines) advertised herself through her clothing and make up. Some of these women wore blue faience beaded fish-net dresses. They painted their lips red, and tattooed themselves on the breasts or thighs and even went around totally nude. There is no evidence that these women were paid for these fertility-related acts, so some believe that word 'prostitute' is probably an incorrect term for these women. In fact, the Victorian era theory that these women were prostitutes is not backed up by evidence at all. All archaeological evidence for women with such tattoos shows them to have been New Kingdom female musicians or dancers. ... These women do not seem to be pay-for-sex prostitutes, instead they seem to be a link with the divine, a helper of expectant mothers and singers, dancers and musicians. This is not to say that there were no pay-for-sex prostitutes in ancient Egypt, it it just that there is little evidence of this found. Considering Egypt's very different image of sexuality, the modern concept of both sexuality and prostitution do not fit this ancient society. Women operated under a totally different cultural imperative than women today, thus ancient Egyptian sexuality must be looked at without modern prejudices. It seems that these female performers, these 'prostitutes', were treated with courtesy and respect, and there seemed to be a well established link between these travelling performers and fertility, childbirth, religion and magic.
Source: http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/sexuality.html
Here's a link to the outfit they might have worn: https://didyoumakethat.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/ancient-egyptian-dress.jpg
Here's more about Ancient Drugs, and where you can get them! :O http://animalnewyork.com/2012/12-drugs-from-ancient-cultures-and-where-to-get-them/
And More info here: http://www.touregypt.net/historicalessays/medication.htm
The lovely thing is that they wrote about some of these things:) I knew of some primary sources, but I am WAY too lazy to search for them - college was a long time ago!!
For Age: ... It is not until the Ptolemaic Period that dates of birth, dates of marriage, and dates of death and sometimes burial, are added. These show the average age at death was 54 years for men and 58 for women. Source: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/oldage.htm
Edit - Added a link, formatting, answered another part of the question
Follow-up question: would a prostitute of that time be more likely to be a drug addicted/alcoholic?
Was alcohol even affordable for a prostitute?
It was exactly ten seconds.
Source: a scientist said it.