Prostitution Can Be Described As Many Things Essay

Earlier in civilization we would refers to prostitution as a sex trade. Sex trades, trace back all the way up to the third millennium. The first major inhabitants of Mesopotamia were the Sumerians, who are known as the founders of prostitution. Ironically, their religious practices are what gave birth to prostitution. The Sumerians worship the goddess Ishtar, a deity that would remain constant throughout Mesopotamia’s Babylonian and Assyrian empires. Ishtar was the goddess of love and war, symbolized by the planet Venus, and was born anew as a maiden every morning only to become a ‘whore’ every evening. The etymology of the word lying in the Indo-European root meaning ‘desire’. (Fanni, 2014) Women in Ishtar’s service would help men who offered money to her temples with the ‘sacred’ powers of their bodies. Achieving a priority of communication with the goddess from their fertility, only women enjoyed this religious position. Thus Ishtar temples became knowledge centers concerning birth, birth control, and sexuality. Throughout the world prostitution was viewed as a religious act almost, a sacrifice. As time progression people swayed away from this idea and it became sometime that was no longer done for religious purposes but simply for money in a hard economic

In the past decade, it seems as if the issue of prostitution has become fairly normalized in society. With the advancements in today’s technology, a fantasy is only a click away. In modern times, easily accessible video game chatrooms, and ads online make it simple to buy into the dream of sex. Selling sex, prostitution, is believed to have been around since the beginning of time. Let’s first consider the definition of prostitution, the transaction of sexual services in exchange for money or goods. There are various forms of prostitution that range from women on the street to upper echelon call girls, and it all originated the same. In The History of Prostitution (Sanger, W.) it was said that “the most historical record of prostitution comes

When looking into Prostitution women are usually thought to be the lowest form a part of the human species, people make assumptions as to why a women would even bother with the idea of subjecting herself to harsh treatment by others, people often correlate the idea of prostitution with human trafficking. That each of these categories are of association, prostitution is “the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment.” While human trafficking is “the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.” Each of these subjects demonstrates different meanings but express the same sense of ideas, which will be looked into too.

Prostitution, sometimes referred to as “the world’s oldest profession” (Henslin, pg. 54), is defined by James M. Henslin as “the renting of one’s body for sexual purposes” (pg. 54). This arrangement, though illegal and socially deviant in most parts of the world, exists universally in many different forms (pg. 54). As a matter of fact, types of prostitutes range greatly in variety from call girls – who are said to be “the elite of prostitutes” (pg. 58), to streetwalkers – “who have the lowest status among prostitutes” (pg. 58), to sugar babies -young, physically attractive women who provide “rich, older men” (Kitchener, par.4) “…with attention (and sex) in exchange for the finer things in life” (par. 4).

Historians argue that prostitution was a form of negotiation on the part of the women involved and it allowed them to seek out alternatives to poor working conditions and low pay (Laite 734). According to Elliot West, “the oldest profession should be considered an aspect such as serious subjects as western communities, their changes, economic development and attitudes of their people,” (West 18). Prostitution was an alternative business opportunity that allowed women monetary freedom and independence. It was an economic necessity and a lucrative business model and many women chose to participate because they believed it offered them a higher standard of life than working in factories or

The act of prostitution has been a leading topic of moral and legislative debate for centuries. Sometimes referred to as the ‘world’s oldest profession’ because it dates back to around 2400 B.C., prostitution is the practice of exchanging, selling or trading of sexual acts for payment. Although this service is forbidden amongst the world more often than it is not, the debate of its legalization has remained a heated issue (ProQuest Staff).The legalization of prostitution and whether or not prostitution should be considered a victimless crime are two of the main controversies that surround the matter of prostitution.

The morality of prostitution has been debated due to its existence in nearly all cultures in history, therefore the major positions need to be discussed.

Historically speaking, prostitution is as old as civilization. Prostitution in 1949, the United Nations had adopted a resolution in favor of the decriminalization of prostitution, which has been sanctioned by fifty countries, meaning that it was approved, in that time era the average age of someone entering prostitution was an average of fourteen years old- that was during the approval of it- regardless of that there was till the fear of predators, due to that at least seventy-five percent of prostitutes worldwide were sexually and physically abused children who felt the need to turn into that lifestyle. The majority of the younger prostitutes began to acquire drug or alcohol addiction due to the abuse.

The oldest human records that are known to reference acts of prostitution occur around 4000 B.C. (Clarkson, 1939). During this period, selling sex was described as evil and the possible downfall of the social order within civilization. However, prostitution continued to gain acceptance and popularity throughout the world. Brothels or better known as “whore houses” were built that housed and employed women known as the “common woman.” These women were expected to offer themselves (sex acts) to strangers and travelers in a form of being hospitable (Clarkson, 1939). Sadly, during times of slavery the women slaves were forced to sell themselves for profit of their master. In some civilizations, the Monarch was found to be the vendor of

Prostitution, as stated by Rudyard Kipling, is considered to be known as “the world’s oldest profession,” and for good reason. Zac Fanni, a writer for Sabotage Times, wrote a documentary based on the history of prostitution and its origins. The sex-trade began with the Sumerians, who, in ancient times, worshiped Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. They believed that every morning she was “born anew as a maiden,” and every day the sky fell, be made a “whore” again. Because of Mesopotamians religious belief, women would honor Ishtar by providing services to men by “helping” them with the “sacred powers of their bodies,” as long as they paid their dues to her temples. Ishtar temples, which we now refer to as brothels, were then acknowledged as a place of birth, birth control, and sexuality. This trade began due to their loyalty to what they believed. Ishtar is now known as the protector of all prostitutes (Fanni). However, even though this is the case, prostitution has been molded into something very different than what it used to be. Today, prostitution is viewed as a disreputable deed amongst society, which is why there is so much dispute on its legalization. Because prostitution has continued to be an unsettled misconduct throughout the globe, government officials, procurers, activists, and human rights organizations remain at odds when discussing whether or not legalizing prostitution would be beneficial.

Commonly referred to as the “world’s oldest profession”, prostitution is an occupation which has seen all empires, all downfalls, and all of history itself. During the time in which the Sumerian empire was at its peak, roughly 1780 B.C.E., the oldest known written laws were created. Of the 282 laws etched in stone, six specific laws declared the rights of both women and children as prostitutes (Head). These heavily enforced laws gave protection to prostitutes, commonly referring to them as “devoted women” and “sisters of God”. Sex clients were named

Prostitution has been present in nearly all cultures throughout every period of human history. It is one of the world’s oldest professions. Prostitution has survived throughout the years as a profession based on the idea that most civilizations are driven by some form of economics and are made up of individuals who are driven by sex. Our modern society, with our improved knowledge of health and safe sex practices, as well as better screening methods and means of social control, is ready to responsibly sustain this ancient profession. By approaching the subject from a variety of angles, I will illustrate that legalizing and regulating prostitution is better than just a socially feasible option. It’s a beneficial one.

Prostitution is often regarded as the world’s oldest profession. As immoral and illegal as it may be regarded, it is still a profession that is utilized by people today. Commercial Sex, as it is sometimes called, is the business or practice of engaging in sexual relations in exchange for payment or some other benefit. Prostitution is just one of the many branches of the sex industry and is possibly the largest. Prostitution is primarily targeted towards male clientele but the profession ranges from females to males and even adults to children. Ancient Grecian history holds a large historical record of the profession and has revealed much of the experiences and behavior of the profession. Greece was a nation divided on social hierarchy, superior classes enjoyed some special rights and benefits over the inferior ones. Prostitution held its own standard in hierarchy and provided services differently to the different social classes. Pornai were at the bottom of the scale serving lower and middle class clients, while Hetaera were high-class prostitutes and escorts typically serving the upper-class clients. Male prostitutes and child slaves, although less common, were also in the sex industry at the time.

Prostitution, 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 seen 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). Also, prostitution 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 many different types of prostitutes and different ways to exchange sexual services for payment. An example of a type of prostitute is brothel workers; brothel workers work in “a house of prostitution,” a brothel, which are normally in areas where prostitution is not criminalized (Hock 560). Like prostitution, human trafficking has been around for thousands of years and is still present today.

The history of prostitution in the United States began with the arrival of early European settlers. Records show no evidence of a Native American equivalent beforehand (Barton, 2014.) As the