I'm also fairly sure casually talking about murdering prostitutes didn't just become uncomfortable in most circles in the last decade, although I'm not quite old enough to confirm that anecdotally myself.
You can find out for yourself, if you're curious. Grab some vernacular fiction from the time period. Watch some movies. Even better, drop by a library or used book store and pick up some popular humor magazines, you'll be pretty surprised.
It wouldn't shock if after some digging you find that people of thirty years ago were barbarians. This wouldn't be the first time someone felt that about those in the recent past, but at least you'll start to develop an understanding of how quickly culture can change. The more you read, the more you'll get a sense for what changes are superficial and which are more profound. You may even begin to recognize the currents that took us from there to here.
They say the past is a foreign country, and they say it for a reason.
It has never been a respected profession. Homicide has always been an occupational hazard.
GTA3 (1999/2000?) put it into the popular consciousness by allowing players to emulate it, but IME nobody really started getting shamed for joking about it until around 2010 (coincidental to trans issues becoming mainstream?).
