Exam

Okay, it's not done, it isn't sourced yet, and it needs alot of filling out, but here goes!



Prostitution is commonly called the world’s oldest profession; the practice of selling sex for compensation has existed across cultures since man has been recording history. Social tolerance for it has varied widely; some cultures and times have accepted it as natural, others regulated it only for the sake of disease control and to prevent the abuse of women. More recent societies have turned a blind eye; criminalizing it but not enforcing the law. While prostitution must involve two people, elimination efforts have always focused on the prostitutes themselves, never their customers. Nearly all prostitution (heterosexual or otherwise) serves the sexual whims of men; very little prostitution has ever served women of any class anywhere.

Most analysis of prostitution suggests that both men and women enter prostitution mainly for monetary reasons. Historically there have been very few professions open to women outside of the sex trade, especially if they lacked family support or class status to aspire to one of the other few professions women could participate in.

An economic argument has been boosted in the past few decades by the development of East Asian sex trades, which form significant portions of their nation’s economies. American military installations during the Vietnam War helped begin sex trades as the global economy forced agrarian cultures to move towards capitalist systems. Sex trades boomed as young girls were sold or forced into urban prostitution to support struggling rural families. Currently it is common for men from First World countries to join tours in East Asian countries that consist entirely of patronizing the sex industry. Many nations have made crack downs and expanded jurisdiction of such crimes into foreign countries. But the crimes are seldom reported and even less frequently prosecuted. The mythologies surrounding virginity and the thrill of the power differential between a grown man and a young girl also ensure that children, sometimes as young as six, are also included.

International feminist coalitions are working to eliminate prostitution on the grounds that sex work is an extreme manifestation of patriarchy. Women’s social positions are in subservience to men, and their work connected to the servicing of men for support. Even further, prostitution holds up the good girl/ bad girl dichotomy. Limiting and repressing female sexuality to maintain the social “good girl” status, and degrading sexual expression outside of the patriarchal marriage.

Even since Mesopotamian time, attitudes surrounding prostitution have changed multiple times from an embraced necessity to a cultural evil. The Victorian era (1840-1900) experienced the same fluctuations in their thoughts; empathy in the beginning and complete rejection towards the end. Modern America has kept the Victorian outlook because the social problems and debates around prostitution remain the same.

With the 1800’s came a “war on prostitution.” Although many of the practices used were abusive and ineffective, it is important to note the ideas they gave birth to. Nineteenth century feminists including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Martineau, and Margaret Sanger were inspired by this movement to view prostitution not in male terms but see the women (and men) involved as victims of male society. Victorian feminists saw prostitutes’ not as horrible, fallen women (as some Christian groups portrayed them) but as victims of men’s desire to keep women oppressed.

Victorian women became prostitutes for simple reasons, they had no other choice. Dr. William Sanger (husband of Margaret Sanger) was one of the foremost researchers of prostitution at the time. He examined the identity of the average prostitute and attempted to understand why they had chosen that lifestyle. He found that most prostitutes were in their late teens and early twenties; illiterate, usually coming from poor or broken families. Poverty, social disgrace, and lack of education left few roads open to them. Many expected to remain prostitutes only until a better option revealed itself. Many immigrant women who had come to America without money or by force had only prostitution open to them. It was a means of survival.

Prostitution soon became a very visible, industrialized business. With the growing middle class and increased standard of living (for male factory workers mind you) the demand grew; women were bodies for hire, and businesses stood to profit. Soon societal views changed from pity to disgust. At the turn of the century, many Christian organizations such as the New York Female Reform Society offered to shelter prostitutes if they would repent and turn to religion. Those who refused received no aide. The issue was complicated by society’s inability to discuss such an unacceptable issue. It was society’s double standard and its male view of the functions and duties of women that was sick, not the women themselves. Because they could do nothing about it, prostitution eventually became an industry they could no longer ignore; yet they could not (and would not) stop the men from perpetuating the business.

The few solutions offered to prostitution in the Victorian Era caused more problems than they solved. The Christian organizations only offered help to those willing to convert and conform, and the economic support ended shortly thereafter, which only delayed the return to the sex trade as there was no other source of income. Police abuse was already an issue and the government felt that divvying them more power would only exacerbate the problem. The medical professionals involved were only concerned with protecting men by stopping the spread of diseases, which they dealt with ineffectively at best. The ‘First Contagious Disease Prevention Act’ in 1864 worsened women’s situation. In towns with military populations women suspected of being prostitutes had to subject themselves to invasive and involuntary periodical genital exams. The law applied to women only because military doctors believed that these shameful examinations would destroy a man’s self-respect. (The act was finally repealed in 1886)

Today, women are prostitutes for many different reasons, the roots of which remain in the Victorian era. Unjust economic conditions continue to place women in positions of dependence on men, many slipping through the cracks into prostitution for survival (especially those living on the streets). Some prostitutes explanation for becoming involved in the trade include having a history of sexual abuse, having grown up without love from significant adults (or an absence of significant adults altogether), being enticed by male peer, and those involved with drugs prior to their involvement in the sex trade attribute the addiction as a major cause for their choice.