Summary Of Whether From Reason Or Prejudice By Martha Nussbaum

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Prostitution is a topic that has been the subject of fierce debate and seemingly endless controversy. Martha Nussbaum addresses this topic in-depth and touches on many arguments against legalized prostitution in her article “’Whether from Reason or Prejudice’: Taking Money for Bodily Services.” One of Nussbaum’s main points in her article is to address one commonly used reason to justify the stigma placed on prostitutes – which is that they sell their bodies. Nussbaum points out that virtually everyone will sell their body for a living in one way or another, save for the few people with inherited wealth. Nussbaum’s principal motive in this article is to “investigate the question of sexual ‘commodification’” by discussing prostitution (412). …show more content…

“The prostitute has no autonomy; her activities are controlled by others (Nussbaum 425).” There is legitimate reason to be concerned about the level of autonomy that prostitutes have – seemingly they have very little. However, when put into a broader context and compared with other professions, the amount of autonomy possessed by prostitutes is not so small. Nussbaum brings in the examples of factory work and domestic service to help illustrate her argument. She points out that a factory worker will have little to no autonomy at all – typically, they do the same motions repeatedly for the entirety of the shift and have virtually no variation, nor any power to do something different. The domestic servant, similarly, does not possess much autonomy. The domestic servant works at the behest of the client(s) and will typically have a list of things to take care of, leaving little room for any decision-making by the servant. So while a prostitute might not have a great amount of autonomy, there are many legal professions that have a similar, or even smaller, amount of …show more content…

“The prostitute alienates her sexuality on the market; she turns her sexual organs and acts into commodities (Nussbaum 426).” This is plainly untrue. The nightclub singer does not alienate her voice when she receives payment, and the professor does not alienate her mind when she receives her check. Just as the professor is able to use her mind outside of her specific profession, the prostitute is able to maintain her sexuality and use it as she sees fit outside of her prostitution. And there is nothing wrong with receiving payment for sexual services – just as there is nothing wrong with being paid to sing or write. It creates freedom for the individual to further their talents and

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