Friday, January 25, 2013
by Miguel G.
Maria lives a simple life in a small town. She has a
boyfriend, thoughts of kids in the future, and a mean strut in her step. Every
day she wakes up, gets some dinner, squeezes into some booty shorts and a pair
of tight leather boots, and leaves for work. She greets the policeman guarding
the entryway with a warm smile and enters, mentally prepared and emotionally
distanced for the clients ahead. A tall, dark and handsome figure walks in; her
smiles come more naturally. The next man smells of sewage and dirt cakes his
fingernails. No matter, both these men used condoms. With her shift over, she
waves to the officer and starts her way back home. Hard to believe she could
live a life so casual at a Mexican brothel.
Mexico's system is well regulated. Police will protect a brothel
with the same dogged determination that they’d protect any other business.
John’s use condoms, and the workers are in no more danger than many other
professions. This serves as a contrast to the United States, where 82% of
prostitutes report being physically abused since starting their job and 46% had
reported being. These statistics show an immense level of fear amongst an
entire group of individuals just trying to make a living. Who’s to care for
them?
Mexico isn’t an isolated case. Most of Europe, South America, Australia and even
Canada are on the prolific sex-wagon. Why is the United States, one of the most
developed countries in the 21st century, still adhering to a
practice that is damaging to a mass of people?
People will often refer to prostitution as a morally
reprehensible, shameful action. To these people, the act of marketing one’s own
body would cause irretrievable damage to one’s being. The problem here is that
these people aren’t putting themselves in the prostitute’s boots; while they’re
imagining themselves in those positions, they’re projecting their own feeling
into the situation. They don’t actually feel what a large portion of these
workers feel. Much like a waitress or airline hostess (both jobs that require
gross emotional control), a prostitute develops mental boundaries in order to
distance them from the otherwise anxiety-inducing condition. This nifty mental
trick effectively protects their emotional state. Most others fail to grasp
this concept, thus misinterpret the group’s emotions. One conclusion to draw
from this: some people actually like being prostitutes (shocking).
While we’re on the topic, when did prostitutes get such a bad
rep anyways? Prostitutes do serve a vital purpose in society, providing comfort
for whoever wants it. Sexual frustration can lead to a number of issues.
· emotional distress
· chronic anxiety
· attachment issues
· humiliation
These issues build upon each other; in some cases being a
main cause of depression, in many other cases leading to dissatisfaction in
life (or perhaps even more crippling, disinterest). How could anyone label a
person who alleviates such issues as ‘bad’ or ‘amoral’? These people should be
respected with the utmost regard, or at least be given the common decency of
safety.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blind to the immense difficulty
of setting up safe, socially acceptable, and institutionalized prostitution
practice. Even in Spain-where prostitution is both legal and so popular that
39% of guys have report usage- the always abhorrent issue of human
trafficking saw to the selling of 493 people in Spain's 2009 alone.
Institution doesn’t
mean complete safety. Workers report that while some institutions mandate the
use of condoms, the regulation gets downplayed into more of a negotiable
nuisance. Even when using condoms, violence between worker and client is bound
to erupt sometime, and those sneaky STDs will still find some bloodline
transit into infection station.
Despite the unfortunate presence of these baddies, I believe
that over time these nuances can be reduced to negligible (but still
unfortunate) levels. Switzerland tried
to abolish prostitution, and they paid dearly. Some effects were wanted (i.e.
fewer johns), but violence increased, condom use decreased,
and prostitution continued nonetheless.
What do you think? Should prostitution be legalized? Should
morality enter into the argument, or is the effect all that matters? Is there
some other way to reduce prostitution besides legalization/criminalization? Post
a question yourself! Leave a comment below.
Davidson, Julia. The
Rights and Wrongs of Prostitution. 2. 17. Hypatia inc., 2002. 82-92. eBook. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3810752?seq=4
Kelly, Patty. "Legalize Prostitution." Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar 2008. Web. 24 Jan 2013. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/13/opinion/oe-kelly13
Fotheringham, Alasdair. "Spain, the world capital of
prostitution?." The Independent. The Independent, 05 Decem 2010. Web. 24
Jan 2013. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spain-the-world-capital-of-prostitution-2151581.html
It's so crazy to me that a woman can have a boyfriend and still distance herself emotionally for a job like prostitution, and that there are countries other than America who actually regulate this sort of business. I feel that if the government were to regulate prostitution more closely and legalize it, there might be less of a female population who choose this sort of job. Sort of like how having the drinking age be 21 almost motivates underage drinking even more. On the other hand, the spreading of STD's is huge among prostitution, that might be enough of a concern for the government to keep it illegal.
ReplyDeleteAlso, do you think that prostitution is so taboo because of the idea that a WOMAN is giving herself out like that? Would it be different if male prostitutes were more common?
--Cheryl
As a disclaimer, Maria was a fictional character that I used to describe the situation in Mexico. I mean, she could exist, but I don't know her.
DeleteI don't believe legalization of prostitution would necessarily decrease the amount of practicing workers. Sure, with regulation people who don't want to be in the industry (like the young girls as said by Grace) would leave, but the decriminalization should remove some of the stigma associated with prostitution leading to greater social acceptance. This would remove a hefty barrier preventing many adventurous souls from entering the business. In summary: some go in, some go out.
On the taboo, please refer to Bonita. I agree with her.
I feel like criminalizing the sex industry actually creates ideal conditions for exploitation and abuse of the sex workers. Instead, the existence of prostitution needs to be recognized. In a way, its inevitable. Legalizing it could guarantee legal and social rights for the prostitutes. Would having rights and regulations REALLY make it any less dangerous, though?
ReplyDeleteIt IS pretty interesting how talk of prostitution always revolves around how dangerous it is for WOMEN, and not men. I 'm not sure the idea of prostitution would be less taboo if male prostitutes were more common, but the idea as a whole would change. However, I doubt this would ever happen simply because of the gender roles that have been constructed. It's "normal" for a man to have an apetite for sex. Women have been conditioned to surpress this hunger, which is probably why male prostitution isn't as common.
Bonita
I think it is important to mention that not everyone CHOOSES to work in the commercial sex industry ("prostitute" is no longer considered politically correct, actually). I have done months of research on this very topic for another class, so I feel like I am knowledgeable about this topic. The average age of entry into the commercial sex industry in the United States is 13 years old. Many of these young girls do not independently decide to lead this life; they are coerced into it by family members of pimps. Once they have started, it is almost impossible to escape. Their pimps have made them drop out of school and have gotten them addicted to drugs to make these girls completely financially and emotionally reliant. Society has ostracized them for being "whores". They are arrested multiple times on prostitution charges, even though many of them are below the age of consent, cannot legally consent to sex, and therefore should be seen as victims of statutory rape. Instead, they are arrested and have criminal records for the rest of their lives. Because of this, when they are beaten or raped by Johns or pimps, there is no way they will feel comfortable reporting it. The commercial sexual exploitation industry is a vicious circle that is impossible to escape from.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bonita's point that legalizing prostitution would be very beneficial for the young women involved. They would gain legal standing as workers and would gain labor and union rights. More importantly, though, legalizing prostitution would allow it to come out from behind closed doors and into the rest of society. People would no longer be allowed to secretly coerce young girls into the commercial sex industry. Therefore, I think legalizing prostitution would result in a decreased occurrence.
-Grace
Sharp point. I hadn't realized that the industry was so saturated with girls so young. 13 is the average age? So then there must be a large underground ring of pedophilia that typically steers clear of the public. I know when I think of prostitution, my prototype is a middle aged woman working the streets. Even if those girls made it out of the system, the physical and psychological damage from abuse would give therapists nightmares.
DeleteI completely agree that with the legalization of prostitution, ending this revolting pedophilic practice should be a top priority. As a general statement though, would you say that the "commercial sex industry" is a business with great potential for social benefit (physically, emotionally, economically), but has turned grotesque due to criminalization?
-Miggy G-
I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that "these people aren't putting themselves in the prostitutes boots." This is an important way to look at the issue of prostitution because while one person may think it is a morally wrong and diminishing job, others may see it as the job they were born to do. It seems ridiculous to say such a thing, but everyone was born to do something, right? I think the fact that prostitution is illegal causes more issues than it does help the institution. There are many things to be considered when we think about institutionalizing prostitution, and it will be a long way until we see police officers protecting brothels in America.
ReplyDeleteI found this blog post very interesting. The fact that the U.S. is not recognizing a problem like this is not surprising. The large population driven by religious roots often look over realism and focus on their "idealistic" society. Unfortunately, their ignorance is causing many young women to be abused and put in unsafe conditions. I think at the very least, prostitution needs to be recognized in our society and give more control to the young women partaking in solicited sex.
ReplyDeleteAlso, certain precautions would benefit both men and women who are involved in the sexual activity. For example, mandating condom use could prevent the spread of STDs. Based on the model of other countries, I think legalizing prostitution would have many benefits for our society.
-Katherine S.
I've been thinking for a while now that prostitution is an issue the United States will have to grapple with eventually: we have a surprisingly large network operating via the black market. The USA has a history of entirely banning things that people don't like or want to deal with, creating a hugely prolific black market. Demand doesn't decrease and without regulation, specifically in the realm of prostitution, those who get entrapped in the cycle will and have been suffering enormously. Legalizing prostitution seems counter-intuitive to some, but it's the best way to ensure that all parties who partake in the given activities-- regardless of whether or not it is legal-- can stay as safe and protected as possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anni. Prostitution is the world's oldest profession for a reason. Regardless of the laws that are created to prevent prostitution it will still exist. The only problem is that it won't be regulated. An example with be the prohibition during the 1920's and 1930's. Not legalizing prostitution is ignoring the real problems that come with prostitution such as child prostitution and the mistreatment of female sex workers. These women become faceless and voiceless because they have to hide from the law and don't receive the benefits that sex workers in other countries(The Netherlands, Germany) receive.
ReplyDeleteHi, a couple of comments..
ReplyDeleteIt's wierd that you supply a list of consequences of sexual frustration (emotional distress, chronic anxiety, attachment issues, humiliation) without mentioning the most obvious one: aggression. The antinomy of satiation and aggression is particularly apparent in the social behaviour of bonobo or pygmy chimp (Pan paniscus). It is also the motive for social controls on polygamy, including obligate monogamy, in human cultures. The single most significant predictor of recidivism among male prisoners is failure to establish a stable sexual relationship on release.
I'm also surprised by your characterization of clients of underaged prostitutes as an "underground ring of pedophilia that typically steers clear of the public". Paedophilia is sexual attraction to prepubescent children, who may be involved in child prostitution but rarely in the mainstream industry. Most men have some capacity to be attracted to or aroused by pubescent girls, and many are preferentially attracted to very young prostitutes. This is nothing to do with paedophilia, it's normal and typical. The only way to bar young girls from prostitution is by legalization and regulation.
Early in my life I counted several working girls among my friends. Some did the job, at no obvious personal cost, for the money or even because they just liked the sex or they liked making their clients happy. Others were on heroin or meth and had no other way to fund their habit. Some were solo mothers with money issues.
Prostitution does perform a useful social function and a less stigmatizing name for it might be sexual surrogacy. Those who enter this industry by choice are often very caring and empathetic people who take pride in their work.
On the other side of the coin, the powerless and vulnerable are driven into it as a last resort. Among the most powerless and vulnerable people I know of are young girls who run away from home (often because they're being abused there) and wind up living on the streets. Those who decry thirteen year olds working as prostitutes need to realise that they are doing it because nobody is prepared to care for them, so don't blame their clients, blame the society that turned them out.
sean