The Sweet Life of Prostitution….or Not!
According to Frey, prostitution is defined as “acting against one’s convictions in order to get a reward” (Frey, 2003). Prostitution at one point of time and still may be a controversial issue within society, some may think it’s illegal for a woman to go out on a corner and sell her body and others may it’s an easy way to make a living. Prostitution is seen by many women as easy making money for their family, drug habits, paying off drug debts, etc. but could lead to many complications such as diseases, death, arrest, etc. In one study, 67% of a group of law enforcement officials expressed the opinion that women did not enter prostitution voluntarily (Raymond, 2003). Raymond also mentions that 72% of social service providers did not think that women voluntarily choose to enter the sex industry (Raymond, 2003).
In the United States, each state has a different law regarding prostitution. In Holland, prostitution is legal and they even offer free clinics which helps keep a low rate of AIDS. According to Morris, less than 1 percent, compared to 30-40 percent among America’s illegal but probably equally plentiful hooker population (Morris, 1989). Legalization of prostitution in the State of Victoria, Australia, resulted in massive expansion of the sex industry. Along with legalization of prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography, have all developed in much more profitable ways than before legalization (Raymond, 2003). In an article by Kissil and Davey, they mentioned that in the beginning of the 20th century, prostitution was focused on social, economic, and psychological explanations with t...
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... law enforcement looks at them as the offender instead of the victim when being raped.
Works Cited
Farley, M, & Kelly, V. (2000). Prostitution: a critical review of the medical and social sciences. Women & Criminal Justice, 11(4), 29-64.
Frey, B. (2003). Publishing as prostitution? – choosing between one’s own ideas. Institute for Empirical Economic Research, 116, 205-223.
Kissil, K, & Davey, M. (2010). The prostitution debate in feminism:current trends, policy and clinical issues facing an invisible population. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy,, 22, 1-21.
Morris, D. (1989, October 11). How holland helps its citizens turn vice into virtue. The Pittsburgh Press, p. B3.
Raymond, J. (2003). Ten reasons for not legalizing prostitution and a legal responseto the demand of prostitution. Journal of Trauma, 2(3/4), 315-322.
Kelly’s article has raised valid points regarding safety to the prostitute within a brothel, but there is so much evidence that proves the ill effects of this experiment in other countries that the evidence cannot be ignored. Although, parts of the sex trade industry may initially see positive results for some of the workers, the majority would end up worse off than before. Due to the illegal nature of this industry and the control exuded by the pimp, the physical and psychological risk to the prostitute, the highly addictive nature of sex, and the organized crime behind the scenes orchestrating and controlling ever aspect of the industry, it is clear that decriminalizing prostitution would result in significant negative affects on society, prostitutes and those with sexual addictions.
With prostitution still arising and thriving in present day America the Argument and war waged on it by media has changed from an advocated perspective, to being seen as present day slavery among women. Especially with modern practices of forced trafficking and drugged prostitution. the views have changed from one of a women's private and personal freedom of choice, to one of "the ones who weren't lucky enough to get away from being drugged, kidnapped and forced into slaved prostitution."
Library. Web. 22 Apr. 2011. Rosie, DiManno. “Prostitutes Suffer with ‘Sinister’ Law.” Toronto Star. EBSCO. Web. 8 Apr.
Prostitution, as stated by Flemming, is known as a form of sexual activity, a kind of sexual style or category, and a form of economic activity, a way of making a living through the provisions of certain services, by behaving in accordance with, or falling into such a category (39). This definition, though, is controversial. While conducting research for this project, we found that most topics regarding prostitution and its affiliates were controversial. Each author gave a differing interpretation for the same data. Due to this, our project centered on the female prostitutes, even though there is evidence of male prostitutes.
Sterk, Claire E. Tricking and Tripping: Prostitution in the Era of AIDS. Putnam Valley, NY: Social Change Press, 2000
Prostitution is one of the most debated of the victimless crimes, because the US has been "slow" in adopting it legally. Only ten Nevadian counties out of the entirety of the 50 United States have passed laws that legalize prostitution, while in Holland prostitution is a recognized occupation. Holland even has a union for prostitutes. It is argued by proponents of legalized prostitution that the business is ...
Murphy, L. S. (2010). Understanding the Social and Economic Contexts Surrounding Women Engaged In Street-Level Prostitution. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 31(12), 775-784.
Esselstyn, T. (1968). Prostitution in the United States. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 367, 123-135. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://ann.sagepub.com/content/376/1/123.full.pdf+html
Barry, Kathleen. The Prostitution of Sexuality: The Global Exploitation of Women. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Print.
Sanders, Teela, Maggie O’Neil, and Jane Pitcher. Prostitution: Sex Work, Policy, and Politics. London: SAGE, 2009. eBook Collection. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
Little do most know, but on “[a]verage [prostitution] arrest[s], court and incarceration costs amount to nearly $2,000 per arrest. Cities spend an average of 7.5 million dollars on prostitution control every year, ranging from 1 million dollars to 23 million dollars.” Prostitution is the oldest known profession. Currently in 49 countries and counting prostitution is legal. Here in America there is a stigma following the label prostitute. We would rather resort to underground markets of sex labor. Endangering health, rights, and economics. Legalizing prostitution can reduce health hazards by giving heath care, also by giving rights to those that choose prostitution as their profession. In the long term this
Raymond, Janice. “Prostitution should not be Legalized”. Journal of Trauma Practice. 2003. n.pag. Web. 27 November 2011.
Prostitution is often argued as a consequence of gender inequality (Hoffman 1997). MacKinnon agree that sexual liberation for women outside of prostitution is important in the fight for gender equality but it is crucial for the society to not replace one patriarchal view, for example that women should not have sex outside marriage or a relationship, with another similar oppressive patriarchal view. By accepting prostitution, a sexual practice that is based on a patriarchal construction of female sexuality, the society condemns sexual pleasure of women irrelevant and that her role during sex is to submit to the man’s sexual demand and control. Women become yet another submissive gender as she has to do what her customer tells her and her response or satisfaction is left neglected. Sexual liberation for women cannot be fulfilled as long as the society normalise unequal sexual practices where a man dominates a woman (Hoffman
According to ProCon.org, prostitution was a profession that dated back to 2400 B.C. Though many things since then have changed, the practice of selling sex has been more or less the same. What has changed is the way that people now view the practice. Throughout the years the debate has been whether prostitution should become legal or illegal. Organizations like Amnesty International want to push forward the idea of legalizing consensual “sex work” between two adults who are willingly participating because it would help keep those in that line of work safer than they are now. While on the other side of the issue there are
Willis, B. M., & Levy, B. S. (2002). Child prostitution: Global health burden, research needs,