Prostitution
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Prostitution is the selling or trading of sexual favors and a prostitute is the person (usually female) who engages in sexual activity for money (or, sometimes, to barter for other goods or services).
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[edit] The bad side
It is presently considered a "sin" by a number of religions - particularly Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Historically, however, religion and prostitution have often been combined, with church run brothels being common in many areas up until only a few hundred years ago. Because of this, it is an often illegal and therefore dangerous, underground profession. Prostitution can be a bad occupation to be in for several reasons:
- Most people in the business are there because they had nowhere else to turn.
- Some clients treat you like property.
- Society treats you like you're subhuman.
- Those not lucky enough to be extremely hot and/or ambitious tend to wind up being practically slaves where prostitution is illegal.[1]
- The illegality of the profession makes reporting abuse impossible as police will arrest hookers more readily than the people who attack them.
The issue of whether prostitution should be legal in many areas, however, is intertwined with human rights issues, especially as many sex workers (especially in poor areas with limited law enforcement or areas where prostitution is effectively or de jure illegal) live as virtual slaves to their pimps and have often been brought into the business against their will or under false pretenses, in violation of informed consent.
[edit] The good side
It may be argued that, as in the case with drugs, many of the wider social issues associated with prostitution arise from the criminalisation of the occupation, and not the occupation itself. Prostitution can be a lucrative profession, and is even legal in some countries and localities.[2] Where it is legal, it is a far safer profession for those who choose to enter it due to the addition of police protection, regular testing for HIV and other STDs, and the ability to screen clients.
[edit] Views on prostitution
As a general rule, conservatives say they don't like prostitution because it's immoral, and feminists don't like prostitution because it's exploitative (while this is often true, informed consent never seems to enter into the equation). Liberals are divided on it, libertarians are fine with it as long as their kids don't get into it. Socialists are fine with it, although it cannot be a profession one must take if available as a condition of getting unemployment insurance. Communists think that it's bad, because it is an opportunity for the bourgeoisie to exploit human sexuality and profit from it. In any case, the issue of prostitution is often tied up with matters of slavery, illegal immigration, and sometimes child molestation, vastly complicating the moral issues involved. Legal or no, however, prostitution continues everywhere and is often known as marriage.
Prostitution is often referred to as "the oldest profession", George Carlin once wondered why it was illegal to sell something that was perfectly legal to give away and Maddox maintains that not paying a hooker should be considered shoplifiting[3].
Prostitutes who service rich customers, make a lot of money, and can choose their clients are known as "call-girls" or "escorts", referring to the way that they contact and become involved with their clients, as opposed to "streetwalkers", who, as their name implies, walk the streets to find clients, typically make little money per job, and are much more likely to be involved in the more unsavory activities that are most often associated with prostitution. Male prostitutes may be heterosexual, homosexual, or even bi-sexual. Male prostitutes who service wealthy women are often known as "gigolos".
Some conservatives who are against prostitution, like for example Jimmy Swaggart, have a history of not practicing what they preach.
[edit] Legalized prostitution
Marriage is considered to be legalized prostitution by some philosophers like feminist scholar Dale Spender[4] and women's rights activist Victoria Woodhull.[5] Despite this claim many men and women are happily married in loving relationships.
Disclaimer: RationalWiki takes no official opinion on the legalization of prostitution, but it's probably a safe bet that we all have a big problem with sexual slavery and human trafficking.
[edit] Not to be confused with
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Which dead-end job isn't a bit like slavery?
- ↑ Like, for instance, Nevada in the United States.
- ↑ By that logic, shouldn't free preview be available from all prostitutes as "Window shopping"?
- ↑ Wendy Shalit, A Return to Modesty, pp 230, ISBN 9780684843162
- ↑ David A. J. Richards, Women, Gays, and the Constitution, pp 168, ISBN 9780226712079
