"Suppress prostitution, and capricious lusts will overthrow society," remarked St Augustine, eyeing a flagon of mead, and somewhat surprising the merry company with his fifth-century mixed morality. But then, with a Martini in her elegant hand, a distinctly less saintly Marlene Dietrich added: "Indeed darling, a country without bordellos is like a house without bathrooms." Playwright Brendan Behan chipped in with an toothy Irish grin, having dished out a big round of whiskies: "Well, y'see, the big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less." Fellow author Angela Carter wasn't going to be left out. "What is marriage but prostitution to one man instead of many?" she asked, sipping a sherry. "The whore is despised by the hypocritical world because she has made a realistic assessment of her assets and does not have to rely on fraud to make a living."

Such is the lively debate we can have here at the Readers Recommend tavern, as the four then broke out into laughter and song around the table. And this week can all do the same with nominations on what is indeed a potent subject. For, on this oldest of professions, much has been expressed in music and other genres. The sex worker must have a multitude of skills, many of which must come into play before, after, above and beyond the act itself, especially in dealing with difficult customers. The tough, complex and clever of the profession are, for example, portrayed with particular brilliance in the HBO goldrush-era series Deadwood. But, in reality, the law, and those who use and abuse it, can also be a capricious dominatrix, interpreted with as much flux as any carnal desires.

So your song suggestions may include the perspectives of cruel pimp exploiters as well the exploited, their needs and motivation, the vicious and the sympathetic, the kinky or the caring. In literature, the plights of prostitutes in early novels, such Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, and John Cleland's Fanny Hill, project the profession with a lusty humour. Later Charles Dickens was more earnestly obsessed with prostitutes and spent much of his time off walking the streets to rescue them. And James Boswell's 1760s journals are perhaps a revealing insight into the self-loathing sex addict, torn between risking infection, the unsatisfactory use of his thick sock-like "cundum", and a constant need to "pull the bell and discharge the reckoning".

But what of prostitution in the future? Will man- and womankind be serviced by sexbots? Might they resemble Gigolo Joe in the Spielberg film A.I.?

My favourite rendition of prostitution comes in the wonderfully moving and funny Midnight Cowboy (1969), in which a blue-eyed Texan in the shape of a young Jon Voight heads to New York with dreams of being a superstar stud to the city's wealthy ladies. Aided and abetted, very badly, by slithery sidekick Dustin Hoffman, this offbeat tale of an American dream turns out quite differently.

And so from strumpets to courtesans, molls to midnight gigolos, escorts to extras, suggest your song on this subject in comment below and optionally in the Spotify collaborative list. This week's guru of gratification is the outstandingly scrupulous leaveitallbehind, who will undoubtedly face a very colourful week. So please place these treasures of pleasures by last order 11pm (BST) on Monday 27 July for the results blog on Thursday 31 July.

To increase the likelihood of your nomination being considered, please:

• Tell us why it's a worthy contender.
• Quote lyrics if helpful, but for copyright reasons no more than a third of a song's words.
• Provide a link to the song. We prefer Muzu or YouTube, but Spotify, SoundCloud or Grooveshark are fine.
• Listen to others people's suggestions and add yours to a collaborative Spotify playlist.
• If you have a good theme for Readers recommend, or if you'd like to volunteer to compile a playlist, please email peter.kimpton@theguardian.com or adam.boult@theguardian.com
• There's a wealth of data on RR, including the songs that are "zedded", at the Marconium. It also tells you the meaning of "zedded", "donds" and other strange words used by RR regulars.
• Many RR regulars also congregate at the 'Spill blog.