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
Until the 1960’s, attitudes toward prostitution were based on the Judeo-Christian view of immortality. Researchers have recently attempted to separate moral issues from the reality of prostitution. The rationale for its continued illegal status in the U.S. rests on three assumptions: prostitution is responsible for much ancillary crime; and prostitution is the cause of an increase in sexually transmittted disease. These assumptions are now the question.
principles, from religious dedication to personal liberty. Some fought against prostitution as a moral or social injustice while others charged prostitution as an injustice against women. Beginning in the colonies and continuing even up to present day America, this research will present the philosophies and management behind
The world’s oldest profession. Escort. Whore. Hooker. Wench. Streetwalker. Call girl. Courtesan. Hustler. Harlot. No matter what you call it, we all know it as prostitution, and it is typically accompanied by a negative attitude. Montgomery College professor Susan A. Milstein, however, argues that prostitution is merely another job, saying, “Imagine a woman who is engaging in a specific behavior for money. Is that prostitution, or is it a job?” If we take away our preconceived notion of prostitutes as streetwalkers or whores and look at them as employees attempting to make a living, they become normal people in our eyes. Prostitution is often looked down upon as disgraceful or “dehumanizing” because it pertains to sex, a topic that is quite touchy in modern day American culture (Milstein, 2009). Depending upon the media outlet, prostitution is often portrayed to be an either glamorous or a distasteful profession, but if we begin to look at prostitution as just that, a profession, we can also start to question the legality of it. The decriminalization and legalization of prostitution would bring financial stability, safety, and health benefits to the profession.
The issue of prostitution has sparked different reactions from societies around the world, with each culture defining it in their unique way. However, most communities agree on the definition of prostitution as the act of directly engaging in sexual activities for financial gains. The practice has been in existence since time immemorial, although, the reaction of people in the society differs. Various theoretical approaches have tried to explain the concept of prostitution considering the principal causative agents and the sociological impacts and responses. This essay will describe the theoretical approaches relating to prostitution and the sociological understanding and effect of the practice to the society.
Weitzer, Ronald. 2012. Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Lawful Business. New York City: New York University Press.
Known to the world as a disgraceful, distasteful, and an immoral act of self pleasure, [prostitution] is recognized as a profession. Prostitution is also known to some people as freedom of choice and expression and those who choose that way of life and not allowing the influences of the normal sector to put a damper on their personal decisions (Spector, 2006). It has been around since the beginning of civilization. Not only is prostitution, itself is a controversial issue but defining it appears to have severa interpretations, both legally and socially. Despite the array of meanings, they all move toward defining the gender, personal gain, and the actions of the worker (Flowers, 1998). Because the definition only was pertaing to a certain gender, the term sex worker came into play to define all sexes and not excluding anyone who is associated with the sex world. There is not a specific gender in naming who is a prostitute. Prositutes can be children, women, as well as men. Sex workers come from all walks of life, from the child who was kidnapped and kept as a sex slave to the woman who need a fix, to the man who has experienced a fast way to obtain money. The environment in which prostitutes work are in all areas, the streets, bars, cars, dance clubs, hotel rooms, and private homes (Ditmore, Levy, & Willman, 2010). Sometimes depending on the home environment, the decision to become a prostitute is not a hard one, when there are many negative obstacles and variables that enhance the decision to enter the life of a prostitute (Barry, 1995). There are many
The issue of prostitution has sparked different reactions from societies around the world, with each culture defining it in their unique way. However, most communities agree on the definition of prostitution as the act of directly engaging in sexual activities for financial gains. The practice has been in existence since time immemorial although the reaction of people in the society differs. Various theoretical approaches have tried to explain the concept of prostitution considering the principal causative agents and the sociological impacts and responses. This essay will describe the theoretical approaches relating to prostitution and the sociological understanding and effect of the practice to the society. Sociologically, prostitution is
To begin, prostitution is known as one of the oldest professions, and it dates as far back as 2400 BCE (Sexton and Cushman, Web). No one can pinpoint the origin, but is it really expected? Obviously, people have been sexually active for all of our existence. This is known because we are sitting here right now. Prostitution is treated differently everywhere in the world, and it continues to change as the times change. As more and more time passes, people become reluctant to the idea of prostitution, but back in the day they were all for it. For example, Greek literature references prostitutes continuously. One type of prostitute in the Greeks writings was called Hetaera which was an educated prostitute who was able to live dual lives. One life as a regular citizen and another as a prostitute, yet both of her lives were completely acceptable in these times. According to tradition brothels, places where prostitution was held, were “government-supported” and prostitution was an acceptable job in the the Greek era (Head, Web). In previous times sex was used as a form of payment and now sex is seen as a sign of affection.
Although prostitution is illegal in the United States, it is a commonly known criminal activity. Prostitution is not something that is talked about often due to the fact that it is not the norm which makes it a moral issue as well as a legal one. Selling sex for money was not outlawed in the United States until well into the 20th century (with the exception of Nevada). There are large economic markets for things such as pornography and prostitution. Prostitution is a multimillion dollar industry, and it occurs all over the world. Prostitution is mainly a female dominated market. Prostitution is a rough subject to study because it is so stigmatized and has had such a bad reputation for so long. People have varying attitudes on prostitution because many see it as sinful or even abnormal. For centuries, the United States has attempted to suppress sexual deviation. Prostitution, brothels, etc were seen as sinful things that tear a man away from his family. The moral blames (drinking, sex, etc) were placed on criminals in the beginning. Women who are involved in such an industry are stigmatized and especially they are exploited in a variety of different ways. Solov’ev (2014) surveyed attitudes about prostitution using social networks and found that thirty four percent of the respondents had a negative attitude toward prostitution, but indicated that they understood that life can sometimes push someone into the industry. Women in the sex industry are abused and drug association is commonplace among prostitutes. The sex industry breeds violent behavior and victimization of women and men (Dalla, Xia, & Kennedy, 2014).
Out of 100 worldwide countries, fifty countries have completely legalized prostitution, eleven provide limited legalization, and thirty-nine hold prostitution to be illegal altogether (ProCon). Prostitution is often defined as the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money (Dictionary). Society’s acceptance of prostitution seems to change as time goes by. Many view prostitution as a degrading act, while to others it is thought be simply an everyday job. When deciding if we are for or against the legalization of prostitution, we must first understand the psychopathology of prostitutes, arguments of human rights and equality, public opinions regarding prostitution, endangerment of underground prostitution and countries’ prostitution status.
Prostitution, the world’s oldest profession, has been under fire throughout history for being an immoral trade. It is such that the social stigma surrounding the sex industry is devastating, with many critics calling for stricter punishment of self-marketed prostitutes to discourage the growth of the universally despised human trafficking industry. It is clear that the human trafficking industry is growing; critics have already observed that nearly one-third of all sex workers in India are child sex slaves, and the rest of the world may not be far behind India (Moran A19). However, it should be noted that many of the negative opinions of the sex industry in America result from deep-seated Christian values that lead the public to believe that
Sex work, commonly known as prostitution in our society, is one of the “oldest profession” in the history that need to be studied with full attention. Prostitution is nothing new; for centuries, women have been bounded with the fact that there are men willing to pay for their pleasure i.e. sex. Today even in 21st century, known as the modern society of the existing world when the society has expanded social views and made moral principles as much as flexible, prostitution is still seen as a taboo theme. It is considered in many different ways, mostly negative, from many different aspects, such as religion, cultural, historic, etc. Being the creators of such existing society where negative consequence of a choice by a person is not accepted
Sex is a topic that is rarely openly discussed in America. Some would say that is an example of moral decency, others might argue that this is just a prudish mindset we inherited from early puritan settlers. Sex for pay or prostitution, is one concept so at odds with this taboo that it has been declared immoral and illegal. Forty-eight out of fifty states have decided that prostitution should be illegal. On the surface, this widespread ban on prostitution may appear to combat the spread disease and sex slavery, but, upon further inspection, this assertion might not be supported by facts. The creation of a legal and highly-regulated form of prostitution in the United States could help slow the rate at which sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are spread, lower the demand for sex slaves, and improve the quality of life for the prostitutes that already operate in the United States, and should be implemented despite any moral or ethical objections some individuals may have.
Many modern views stem from the development of Christianity and its articulation in the Middle Ages. Throughout the Middle Ages, Christians, priests, scholars, and civil governments were all trying to understand where and even if prostitution fit into society. Prostitution during the Middle Ages was seen by the church as immoral, but was tolerated “…to protect respectable townswomen from seduction and even rape.” [1] It was a legal institution in most of Europe during the Middle Ages and was in obvious demand. Most attempts to abolish prostitution failed. Prostitutes were protected by laws and were safer in brothels than on the streets. They were protected in brothels, but were also regulated.