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Prostitution Essay

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Prostitution

The concept of prostitution is one that causes a visceral revulsion in conventional Western morality -- a symptom of which is how the many colloquial terms for a prostitute, such as 'whore', or 'harlot', are commonly used as denigratory pejoratives towards women. Although a persistent phenomenon throughout human history , it remains difficult to view prostitution in an objective light -- various cultures have alternately tried to ban it on religious or moralistic grounds, or stigmatise it under a "don't-ask-don't-tell" sort of veneer which was a barely-tolerated but necessary evil of society. It is interesting to note that despite an increasingly secularised attitude towards sexual relationships, as seen in society's …show more content…

I will also omit discussions into the morality of third-party soliciting, such as pimps or madams, for brevity's sake.

Moral vs. Legal justification.

When considering the issue of prostitution's morality, I would like to begin with a distinction between morality and legality. There are many instances in which the two concepts have existed independently of the other -- and whether the law should apply itself to moral issues is a subject beyond the scope of this essay. However, with regards to prostitution, it may very well turn out that prostitution could be immoral and yet legally tolerated, if not sanctioned. The contemporary liberal view, in the Millian tradition, is that such acts are essentially private contracts between consenting adults which is beyond the purview of legal enforcement because they(according to some) do no harm to other parties.

However, the issue at stake here is not so much whether the law should come down in favour or against prostitution, but whether prostitution itself is inherently morally objectionable. In a that vein, I will also therefore avoid arguments about the enforceability of any proscription against prostitution -- whether prostitution can be stamped out or not is irrelevant to whether it is morally objectionable or not.

There is also, of course, the age-old ethical question raised about definitions of morality, and by what moral benchmark one uses to judge an issue such as prostitution.

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