Prostitution

Question 6: Prostitution

Most feminists believe that prostitution exploits and objectifies women. Simultaneously, both Simone de Beauvoir and Andrea Dworkin felt that the institution of marriage was also a form of prostitution. They both agreed that both marriage and prostitution are extremely oppressive and dangerous for women. In Simon de Beauvoir's Prostitutes and Hetairas, she said, "The only difference between prostitution and those who sell themselves into marriage, is in the price and length of the contract (de Beavoir, pg. 555)." In Feminism: An Agenda, Andrea Dworkin said that in marriage women lose rights over their own bodies. "You must have sex with your husband when he wants. That is his legal right and your obligation." She went on to say that "In marriage you only have to make a deal with one man (Dworkin, pg. 146)."

Both feminists seemed to agree that as long as we live in a predominantly patriarchal society, many women will be economically dependent on men, and there will always be those forced to use their body as a commodity. Dworkin said that "The economic exploitation of women as a class (unequal pay for the same work as men) means that we have to sell sex and that makes us, as a class, not irrationally viewed as prostitutes by men whether they call us a prostitute or not (Dworkin, pg. 146)."

This is the very reason why egotistical rich men think they can buy trophy wives, and in many cases they are right. Many women perpetuate the idea that women can be bought; they marry solely for money and become financially dependent on a man.

Beauvoir mentioned how some people believe prostitutes must exist in order for other women to be treated respectfully in society. In both Prostitutes and Hetairas, and Feminism: An Agenda, the authors listed unemployment, poverty, incest and sexual abuse as factors influential in a woman's decision to take up prostitution. These conditions are usually rampant in ethnically diverse neighborhoods. In Dworkin's The Night and Danger, the author mentions that the United States' distinctly racist character manipulates the fear of the dark. From this she believes that people associate the dark night, with danger, and therefore also associate a dark man as danger. She says that the stereotypical rapist is a black man. Just as the black men become scapegoats, so too do the black women. "In the urban United States, the prostitute population is disproportionately made up of black women, streetwalkers who inhabit the night, prototypical female figures, again scapegoats... (Dworkin, pg. 15)."

In Prostitutes and Hetairas, the author describes the high-class hetaira as slightly better-off than the common prostitute because she could become a public celebrity of sorts, and also she was skilled, and free to gather with poets and philosophers. However, she did not condone their behavior as she thought they also objectified women. In Dworkin's Feminism: An Agenda, she mentions that the porn industry is closely related to prostitution. She essentially said that porn actresses were high-class prostitutes. She too could not condone these women or the pornography industry for that matter. Dworkin felt that pornography was hate propaganda of women, and that rapes and sexual abuse of women stemmed from pornography.

While Simone de Beauvoir discussed how women could free themselves from their objectification and transcend a patriarchal society by making creative and significant contributions, Dworkin didn't explain a specific way in which women could overcome this economic exploitation and eliminate the need to sell themselves. She did say that promoting feminism would promote change, help to eliminate rape, and only then would women be free and equal.

Many radical feminists believe that prostitution reinforces and perpetuates oppression. Radical and liberal feminists are divided about the role of prostitution, seeing it in a range of perspectives from that of an ordinary business transaction to an activity that degrades all women. They have not yet developed a cooperative strategy to handle prostitution.

I believe we must accept that prostitution (not called the oldest profession for nothing), is likely to be around for a while, it will never be completely solved or eradicated. Even though it is illegal in the United States, with the exception of certain counties in Nevada and Rhode Island, it is still widely abundant. Prohibiting an act in society by making it illegal has never been a solution to controlling crime, and those who engage in the act will do so regardless, even if it means operating in a black market.

One example in history is the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s. Prohibition was an attempt to reduce crime and corruption, and improve health and hygiene in the United States. This legislation failed miserably, although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; "bootlegging" and "speakeasies" were commonplace, crime increased and became "organized"; the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point; and corruption of public officials was rampant. In addition, prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending.

Today the criminalization of prostitution makes it an underground activity, only further propagating the dangerous and violent working conditions; it also makes monitoring more difficult and diverts law enforcement away from more serious problems. I think it's time we find a solution as prohibition is clearly not working.

Dworkin