What makes Pretty Woman different from all the other films named above is that the woman in question is a sex worker , someone whose proverbial love is technically available to the highest bidder. She’s “clean” and responsible, yes, a heavy-handed point made when she pulls a stash of multi-colored condoms out of her boot. She flosses her teeth after every meal. (“You shouldn’t neglect your gums!”). But she’s not an ingenue, or a virgin seduced by expensive gifts under the guise of generosity and feeling, a la Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey . The transactional aspect of such an imbalanced relationship is out in the open. In that sense, Pretty Woman is actually revolutionary, and more closely fits into the way sex work is thought about now among certain feminists. As long as the consent is there, why should Vivian feel ashamed? Rom-coms have always been about an exchange of goods, so why not have the cash up-front?