Decriminalization Of Prostitution Essay

Pat Kelly's, "Enough Already, It's Time We Decriminalize Prostitution," discusses the scandal that occurred when a New York Senator, Eliot Spitzer, was revealed to have spent thousands of dollars on prostitutes. Pat Kelly's, who studied sex for profit, essay provides arguments for why prostitution needs to be decriminalized. This essay provides important points about the safety and health of sex workers, but fails to provide arguments that are compelling reasons for decriminalization while passing off legalization as a bad choice without any argument as to why. Pat Kelly reports that 1 in 10 Americans have paid for sex in their lifetime and that it is not an uncommon practice. She writes that Spitzer's resignation will convince voters that

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

Prostitution has been a part of our world's culture since the beginning of time, and is the world's oldest profession. Prostitution is defined by the Webster dictionary as “the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money.” If prostitution were legalized, there would a reduction in sex crimes, American citizens would have the freedom to choose any profession within the sex industry and it would provide economic benefits for the local and federal governments, as well as the population.

Prostitution is one of the oldest and most controversial professions on earth. According to records, prostitution was a normal practice of the earliest known civilizations. Ancient Greeks and Roma governments went as far as sponsoring brothels to ensure their citizens could afford a prostitute. The emergence of religions like Christianity and Islam transformed the moral views on prostitution. Following a tremendous pressure from the religious authorities, many European countries started to ban the practice on the bases of being immoral and harmful to society. The king of Spain made prostitution punishable law. Those caught could face a harsh punishment or they could be exiled. Pope Sixths of Rome went as far as making prostitution punishable by death .Despite the laws drafted by the authorities, people continued to provide and use sexual services. In this modern era, we are still debating the ethics of prostitution. Most people claim that prostitution is morally degrading and harmful to the wellbeing of society. While others claim that legalizing prostitution can help create tax revenues, undermine organized crime and reduce the spread of disease. Using utilitarianism, virtue ethics and Kant deontology I will prove that prostitution is immoral and it should be banned.

Patty Kelly’s article, “Enough already, it’s time we decriminalize prostitution”, takes the reader into a fascinating behind the scene look into one of Mexico’s legalized brothels. Although it is apparent that her research and investigation into this social experiment are well defined, it is too narrow a focus to gather all the required information to support her argument. Kelly begins with a half hazard analysis of Elliot Spitzer infidelity, then continues down the path that is far too laser like to see the overall effect on these women; failing to see these prostitutes as real people with hearts and souls. Instead, she produces an impression that the prostitutes are just commodity, bought and sold on the open market, lacking feeling

Prostitution is an issue that has been debated in many countries. 22 countries have legalized prostitution. In the United States, prostitution is only legal in 11 rural counties in Nevada. It used to be legal in Rhode Island due to a loophole, but since 2009, it has been illegal 1. Women are not the only ones who are prostitutes, about 20 to 30% of prostitutes are male 2, which means both genders are affected by laws against prostitution. Men and women should be allowed to choose how they want to use their bodies how they wish, and that includes prostitution.

Patty Kelly wrote the persuasive essay "Enough Already, It's Time to Decriminalize Prostitution" while she was an assistant professor of anthropology at Washington State University. She wrote this essay in response to the 2008 scandal of New York Senator Eliot Spitzer, who was found to have spent over $80,000 dollars on expensive prostitutes and consequently, was forced to resign. Kelly takes a positive stance on the decriminalization of prostitution. Arguing that because prostitution has been and always will be prevalent in our global community, she declares that our first concern should be about maximizing the safety and well-being of sex workers. The appeals to pathos, ethos, and logos are all used effectively in creating a well-rounded

Because proponents of anti-prostitution rhetoric try to misconstrue what is meant by the term prostitution, it is important to clearly specify the definition of the word, when discussing whether it should be decriminalized. The term prostitution refers to the voluntary act of engaging in sexual activities for the purpose of material gain. Often times, prostitution is falsely characterized as sex trafficking; however, these are tremendously different

In his book Love For Sale, Nils Johan Ringdal wrote, “If nobody wants to sell sex, it is a crime to force anyone to do so. But when men or women do want to sell their bodies, they should have that full right without encountering punishment or discrimination.” Prostitution, often described as the world’s oldest profession is a legitimate criminal offence in 109 countries of the world today (“Human Trafficking Statistics”). Laws on prostitution vary considerably from country to country: in some countries it is punishable by death penalty ("Iran - Facts on Trafficking”), in some it is a crime punishable by prison sentence, while in other jurisdictions, it is a lesser administrative offense punishable only with a fine ("The Sentencing and

Prostitution and human trafficking are taking place all over the world despite the legal restrictions put upon them. According to Ronald Weitzer, “The sex industry refers to the workers, managers, owners, agencies, clubs, trade associations, and marketing involved in sexual commerce, both legal and illegal varieties” (1). There are many questions that arise when discussing the sex industry. Should prostitution be legalized? If it were to be legalized, would anything change? Is prostitution morally acceptable? What is being done to stop human trafficking? There is not one correct answer for any these questions, but each question can be analyzed by scholars who have different opinions on the issue. Prostitution should be legal while

Legalizing prostitution would be beneficial to the government and sex workers by creating tax revenue, bettering medical care, and protecting prostitutes against violence. Prostitution is viewed differently throughout society and holds a lot of negative opinions but no one really discuss’ the benefits of prostitution being legalized throughout America. Many people believe in legalizing Marijuana not knowing its positivity and negativity. When legalizing prostitution you should look at the overall impact and the influence it would have on the government. Legalizing prostitution could generate more tax revenue in the government, protect prostitutes from harm and also lower STD and health risks.

Prostitution is defined as the act of “providing or receiving sexual acts, between a prostitute and a client, in exchange for money or some other form of remuneration” (Hock 557). The idea of exchanging sex for valuables has been around since the beginning of human society. The first reported data about prostitution was reported around 3000 B.C.E in one of the first known civilizations, Mesopotamia (Caraboi and Fierbinteanu 362). It is often referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.” Today, even though prostitution is illegal in most parts of the world, it is still prevalent worldwide with different ways to exchange sexual services for payment and many different types of prostitutes. One of these types of prostitutes are brothel workers; brothel workers work in “a house of prostitution,” a brothel, which are normally in areas where prostitution is not criminalized or is legalized (Hock 560). Like prostitution, human trafficking has been around for thousands of years and is still present today.

One of the oldest legal debates comes from one of the world's oldest profession, prostitution, there is no denying that the sex industry has taken international dimensions and is recognized as an economic motor for many countries. As countries around the world debate the merits of legalizing or at least decriminalizing prostitution. The following questions should be addressed. Would legalization reduce some of the inequalities and abuse suffered by the women involved? On the other hand, by legitimizing prostitution, would society reverse decades of work to promote human rights and improve the status of women? On the surface, this looks like a rehashing of a timeless debate. However, it is not. The question is no longer about

In terms of sociology, Prostitution is a way for an individual to maximize their monetary intake or in other words “benefits” by selling the thing that they have readily, their bodies. In other words, it is the act or practice of participating in promiscuous sexual activity especially for money. Prostitution has been in existence for ages, going back to the Byzantine, Roman, Greek, and Egyptian Empires. Ironically, the ancient religions of those eras dealt with the needs of the group and consequently developed protocols for dealing with sexual relations that have propagated throughout time to the modern era. As a result, prostitution is not about to disappear anytime soon, despite relatively recent local laws. Also throughout centuries,

Prostitution has frequently been touted as the world's oldest profession, for the simple fact that it has been prevalent in society for quite some time. In order to properly discuss the many social ramifications of this particular crime and possible ways for dealing with them, it is first necessary to define prostitution and to explore the reason why it is a crime. Prostitution is the exchange of money or monetary assets for sexual favors and pleasure. It is the paying for sex in all of its myriad facets, from conventional coitus to a number of lewd and arcane acts from which people derive pleasure. Prostitution is part of the sex industry, which includes legal business such as strip clubs (Weitzer 7). There are a couple of different reasons as to why exchanging money for sex is deemed illegal. One principle reason is that if it were legalized, it would be exceedingly difficult for the government to tax and to capitalize off it, which is one of the reasons in which marijuana is widely considered illegal. More importantly, however, prostitution is illegal because it promotes the objectification of women and their bodies, and inherently reduces the degree of parity between men and women in which the latter are viewed as things simply for the fulfillment of men's sexual desires. Additionally, there are a variety of noxious activities that accompany prostitution such as trafficking in which the will of another is subjected to someone else's.