i have to agree with you here. i don't understand why they ever resurrected that whole prostitute business. it doesn't have anything to do with her being a thief and opens the character up to a lot of disrespect from some writers/readers.
From a pure sales/marketing perspective, it doesn't make sense to do that to a popular character. My view is that it's a cheap way to goose sales but overall ends up eroding the Catwoman brand over time.