On Love and Intimacy
Short Paper 3
Riana Nigam
Due Tuesday, May 9th, 2017
Exchange
“We live in a predatory capitalist society in which everything is for sale. Everybody is for sale, so there is ubiquitous commodification.” This quotation by Cornel West, an American philosopher and political activist, conveys the widespread objectification of human beings in our society. The narrow, traditional image of prostitution has experienced a dramatic shift in the post-industrial American society. Sex workers are not automatically considered to be from low-income, marginalized groups, and instead, they have come to also include individuals from the educated, middle-class category. This demographic transition reveals the gradual
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Consequently, sexual relations between individuals occurred increasingly to satisfy the desire for recreational experiences and less for reproductive and long-term purposes.
The growing inclination to escape the complexities of interpersonal relationships has been reflected by a tendency towards more bounded and delineated modes of sexual contact. This pattern also reveals transformations in the social structure of private and public spheres, as it allows individuals to have the feeling of a genuine sexual experience while still allowing them to bypass the obligations that are often expected or required in a more committed relationship. Bernstein labels this redefinition of sexual intimacy “bounded authenticity,” which entails the sale and purchase of authentic and physical connection, all within the realm of predefined limitations (Bernstein, 127). Bounded authenticity demonstrates how traditional romance has metamorphosed, as it has become centered around recreational sex beyond the confines of the family unit. Moreover, it has contributed to the view of heterosexual male desire as problematic. There is an expectation that heterosexual males engage in sexual commerce to fulfill a need that is left void within the home. However, it is more and more transparent that their participation in this industry is not a replacement for a sex life within the privatized family home, but instead, it is an additional component to it. As
In her argumentative essay "Enough Already, It's Time to Decriminalize Prostitution," Patty Kelly asserts that decriminalizing the practice of prostitution is in America's best interests. Her essay begins with several statistics to prove her claim that prostitution is a long-standing "part of our culture," will likely remain as such, and should, therefore, be legalized, as warrantable (Kelly 436). Following this, she draws upon her personal experience as an anthropologist closely studying regulated commercial sex in Mexico and reports that prostitution is an often conscientious and profitable decision for the women involved. She also argues that while prostitution
“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned.” Within the article the tale of Cornel West`s ascension to fame and his descent into despair is rehashed all because he allowed his love for President Obama to turn sour. Giving a brief overview of the article it begins by discussing the distain that Cornel West harbors toward President Barack Obama, as the article continues on the initial tone that Dyson set is lost amongst the admiration and praise that Dyson holds for West. As the article persists Cornel west`s brilliance is highlighted by his personal works. However, toward the end of the article as Cornel West allows his contempt and hubris to cloud his judgement his vision of the future becomes shrouded in darkness. His work begins to stagnate and his descent into despair from fame drives him “mad”. West`s coup de grâce to his career was turning against his supporters in a fit of rage. The article The Ghost of Cornel West by Eric Dyson reads like a Greek tragedy written from a firsthand perspective. It is possible that the reason it reads like a Greek tragedy is because Dyson`s has a personal grudge against West.
After listening to Cornel West’s ideas of examining life, I found myself thinking a lot about his ideas on romanticism, even though his emphasis is more focused on stepping out of our comfort zone and examining our lives. We are all beings headed towards death and analyzing our lives can help us maximize our potential. So as I listened to him talk about how to make the time we have important, the first step in making this change is having the courage to analyze ourselves and assess how we live our lives. All of this seems like pretty standard philosophy, but he eventually brings up the idea of Romanticism. Romanticism is something every american is obsessed with and it’s understandable since this country was founded on the idea of ultimate
An extremely interesting, but ever-contradictory sociological study of sexual relationsis presented in the Kathy Peiss book Cheap Amusements . The reason I say that it is ever-contradictory is that the arguments are presented for both the benefit of cheap amusements for a woman s place in society and for the reinforcement of her place. In one breath, Peiss says that mixed-sex fun could be a source of autonomy and pleasure as well as a cause of [a woman s] continuing oppression. The following arguments will show that, based on the events and circumstances described in Cheap Amusements , the changes in the
In a decade that will be surely known as one of grand feminist success it seems worthwhile mentioning that prostitution is a new feminist issue. According to “Women Have the Rights” many sex workers and feminist activists see the decriminalization of prostitution as a human rights initiative for women to regain control over their bodies. These third wave feminists find sex an issue that should be more widely discussed. Large leaps in pornography such as female filmmakers and feminist porn stars point to an ideal that consensual sex work is just another fore front in the battle for gender equality. Legalization of prostitution leads to more government oversight requiring
Since the beginning of time prostitution has been a part of our world 's culture, and it is said that it is the world 's oldest profession. Man has always been equally participated and felt the need to pay for services of a sexual nature since the beginning of time, whether it was legal or not. During 19th century woman who belonged to lower class family might have worked in order to support her family, in harsh times. During that time as farther away a woman moved from the mother and home, the lower her status became. Prostitution was clearly seen as disrespectful; the prostitute was at the bottom of society’s status chain. “During the late 19th- and early 20th century, the nature of society forced the working class women of Eau Claire to take advantage of any means to support themselves, including prostitution. Each woman had to decide herself which work option best supported her financially.”(Schaar.A) The wages these women earned were unbelievably low, and at times as much as 80% lower than the wages men earned. Back in those days there weren’t many jobs
This article by Cheryl Butler applies Critical Race Feminism to the issues of prostitution and sex trafficking in the United States. In doing so, Butler explores the debate on prostitution and sex trafficking through an intersectional lens, and thus acknowledges the role that race and class play in prostitution in America. She fully considers prostitution from a critical race perspective, i.e., one that considers how race and gender intersect with other systems of oppression together to marginalize people of color in America. She proposes policy changes that may help address prostitution from a position of intersectionality.
Abstract: This paper explores the world’s oldest and most controversial occupation and puts forth a foundational plan for legalizing and regulating sex work in a safe way that satisfies both radical and liberal feminists ideals. To understand how prostitution has evolved to where it’s at today, this proposal travels through the history of prostitution in the United States (heavily focusing on the twentieth century.) Prostitutes were initially accepted and openly sought after. A shift in societal norms and values placed sex work in a heavy degradation. The regulation of prostitution in Nevada began in 1970 and resulted in the first licensed brothel in 1971. Fast forward nearly fifty years and prostitution is outlawed in 49 out of 50 states. Vast amounts of money are being spent annually in failed attempts to stop prostitution all together. Radical feminists are those who would identify as conservative. They are against prostitution on the belief that it victimizes and degrades women in poverty. Liberal feminists strongly agree that the government has no place in a women’s body and that the right to perform sex work is human right. This paper analyzes these different perspectives and incorporates a model that will resemble the current working regulation in Nevada. Stricter stipulations such as health requirements and the legal age should help influence radical feminist to expand their perspective and acceptance.
Policies and laws fail to stop prostitution, and it will not stop. It is more costly to keep prostitution illegal. Prostitutes will be more vulnerable to getting criminal records, which then makes it harder for them in society, to obtain legal jobs. Also, with prostitution being illegal the workers may not be able to protect themselves from crimes against them. As prostitution is not legal, then they have to find discreet places to work, which usually is not in a safe environment. If some kind of crime against them did happen, they may feel that, they aren’t able to go to the police for help, as their work is illegal. It actually makes it harder on the worker, in turn making it harder for the client. There are all sorts of people who turn to prostitutes. From blue collar workers to high executives of companies, business owners and more. With prostitution being illegal, the clients are facing criminal charges as well. This does not only hurt the client, but communities as well. The author believes that people around the world have changed their older views and sexual norms to adapt to a more modern society. Brents, B.A., Jackson, C.A., & Hausbeck, K. (2010) concludes that prostitution is better being legalized than being criminalized (p.233). And with this change, people should reevaluate and learn from Nevada’s policies on prostitution being legal. While the author has shown many reasons why
“Prostitution is one of the worlds oldest professions” (Kipling 1) and still has quiet a relevance in today’s society. However, unlike this primitive profession, a not-so-old debate is whether or not the United States should legalize prostitution. Prostitution is seen from many different viewpoints and although there is clear evidence of the damage that it puts on society, along with tarnishing the morals of Americans. Concerning America and its people, prostitution should not be legalized in any way.
(Jacobin, 2013). Prostitution is then commonly labelled amongst the low-lifes of society, such as alcoholics and thieves. It is ironic that prostitution, an act of consent from both parties involved, are categorized with those who actually harm and steal from others. Criminalizing sex workers in the United States was implemented at the same time there was the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920’s (Grant, 2013). Both industries faced legal battles and underground operations to continue to boom today, but unlike alcohol, prostitution was never legalized. The laws for prostitution has hardly changed since then, and these outdated laws reflect an impermeable pattern of controlling what a woman can do with her body, despite changing times that are supposed to promote acceptance of liberal sexuality. How people view prostitution as a crime (but not
The sex industry is highly divided between those who call themselves “sex workers”, and former prostitutes who call themselves “survivors” (Glazer 340). Women should have the right to choose what they do for a living, including prostitution. The criminalization of prostitution does more harm than good when often women are left unprotected, both socially and legally, and therefore, the United States should make efforts to decriminalize and regulate prostitution instead.
Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.
This article became an interest to me as the author, Teela Sanders, focused on the indoor prostitution industry, and how within this, the ways in which women manage their emotions. She was able to do so by talking about different scenarios where women have to manage their emotions appropriately, in order to satisfy their customers. I had never looked at prostitution in a sense where women must act a certain way in order for their customers to be completely satisfied. Even though the act they are committing is very insensitive and is just part of their job, many women who work with higher class men must act more sincere and pretend like they are enjoying the act they are committing. Sanders did a good job at breaking up the article into different
Women made vulnerable by poverty are most susceptible to the sex industry because they lack the resources, the education, and the economic alternatives to pursue other work possibilities. The lack of education diminishes women’s potential to gain paid employment, and desperately consent to prostitution as their survival strategy.