Revelation 17:...the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
A whore is not a prostitute. A whore doesn't require payment but only personal pleasure.
That she is sitting doesn't imply ownership but rather...authority.
That she is sitting implies a casual assumption of authority.
When a person is said "To stand up" it is meant that they are putting into action a function of their authority and power in it's fulness.
Compare, for example, when Daniel says...
Daniel 11:4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken...
Which refers to Alexander the Great.
Note that WHEN he stands up is WHEN he is broken.
Thus when we look at Alexander we note that he is considered to stand up, not when he first left Greece but, after achieving the fulness of his kingdom's power.
Also note that "he shall stand up" denotes that it is his own perogative.
Thus the whore's sitting denotes a comfortable assumption of power. That is, she sits only after the fulness of the final world kingdom is obtained.
When one remembers that she sits upon the beast, then one can note that, the "peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues" correspond to the beast, as a kingdom. (not as a person)