Prostitution : The World 's Oldest Profession

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

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).

In order to answer this question, it is important to first understand the histories of both prostitution and human trafficking. Often dubbed “the world’s oldest profession”, prostitution can be found in the records of most major civilizations throughout human history. The first known reference to

Prostitution is said to be “the world’s oldest profession” (Ramchandran par. 1). The Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines prostitution as “the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money” (“Prostitution” par. 1). Many people argue that prostitution should be legalized, but it hurts people more than it helps. Legalization of prostitution condones sexual behavior for profit. Not to mention, the increased risk of illness or infection via sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), or death. It also does not “enhance women’s choices” (Raymond par. 45). This means that whether

Whether or not the United States should legalize prostitution is a highly debated social, political, ethical, and cultural issue. Prostitution by definition is to engage in sexual activity with someone for payment. Although many countries and even some rural counties in the U.S. have legalized prostitution, it still has dire effects on the women involved and is an immoral and exploitative act. Prostitution is an unethical and immoral act of exploitative, degrading, and abusive work that the United States should not tolerate. The abolition of prostitution is a legal approach with proven positive results that could dramatically reduce the amount of illegal prostitution and human trafficking taking place in the United States.

Defined by Merriam-Webster 's Concise Encyclopedia, Prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual activity, usually with individuals other than a spouse or friend, in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables (Merriam-Webster, 2014). When looking at this definition, most would agree that prostitution is the epitome of deviance. Prostitution is also one of the oldest professions in history, dating back to the bible and the old western days. Depending on the time in history, the society involved, the culture of the people within those societies, prostitution has been considered legal, illegal, acceptable, or deviant. This view changes depending on the time,

Legalizing prostitution would allow the copulating partners to have basic work rights that everyone else in the workforce obtain. Legalizing prostitution would allow the sex workers to have basic human rights that everyone else obtain (Top 10 Pros and Cons). Currently, sex workers are under no regulation, since it is an illegal profession. With the illegal status of prostitution, sex workers are vulnerable to crime, corruption, and abuse. If prostitution were made legal, regulations could be placed in the profession that could make prostitution a safe and healthy profession. Legalizing prostitution would allow those in the profession to properly address the issues in the field, and be backed by organizations promoting their rights. Such organizations already exist, such as Hooking is Real Employment, or HIRE for short, and Prostitution Laws Are Nonsense, or PLAN for short. Prostitutes are seen as lesser than status of those who are in other professions, such as bank teller, author or truck driver, because prostitutes are selling their bodies. Let me ask you this, what is the difference between someone who sells their voice, as in on radio or live shows, someone who sells their hands, as in a court reporter or maid, or someone who sells their body, as in professional dancing or prostitution. All the professions listed are selling their body, but only one of these have been slammed with a status of illegality

Prostitution is regarded as the world’s oldest profession; however, every state, except Nevada, currently prohibits it. According to Dr. Shumsky, “in the nineteenth-century police departments...confined prostitution to certain locations” to segregate prostitutes from other citizens (Shumsky 668). Many people see prostitution as a fountainhead of vice, and numerous religious leaders have argued that it leads to other crimes such as adultery. One common misconception about prostitution is that most prostitutes come from low socioeconomic classes and are forced into prostitution at a young age to support their family. While some prostitutes come from poverty, given that the total number of prostitutes is unknown, it’s impossible to conclude that prostitutes from lower classes constitute a majority. Ideally, the new colony would create a system in which nobody would feel compelled to prostitute themselves in order to feed their family. However, numerous people enjoy being prostitutes and there will always be a market for prostitutes which is why prostitution legislation is necessary for the new colony. Prostitution should be permitted and regulated in our new colony because legalizing prostitution ensures freedom of jurisdiction over your own body, freedom of privacy, and the right to attain equal justice.

If we begin to focus our time and money on the real criminals, not the consenting adults who chose to trade a service for money like any other business we waste far less. Legalization would help focus our persecutions on the ones who force other human beings into a life they do not want to be in. This refocuses on protecting those who deserve a choice over their own body, what to not, or to do with it. Prostitution could also potentially bring in thousands of extra dollars of taxable revenue per worker for the economy. Money is better spent pursuing the real criminals. Would you rather your tax dollars be

The history of prostitution is one that presents with many discrepancies, and despair. However, as Christians, we know the bible speaks of prostitution and even mentions the story of Rahab a prostitute who was guilty of sexual sin. Deuteronomy 23:17-18 states, “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God (ESV). This is only one of many verses that speak of prostitution. This may in fact be the reason that prostitution is considered one of the “oldest profession” to date.

Prostitution has been highly regarded as the “world’s oldest profession”, some evidence even dating back thousands of years before Christ (Forrest Wickman, 2012). Prostitution, in its simplest term, is the act of having sex in exchange for payment (Merriam-Webster, 1828).

Prostitution is the oldest profession in America. And it is the first profession for women in history of America. Prostitution started in early 18th centuries, some of the women followed the Continental Army served the soldiers and officers as sexual partners to keep troop morale high. Prostitution was flourishing in the 19th century, especially in big cities like New York, Los Angeles and

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.

For many centuries, people have worked under many different professions as a way to earn a living and satisfy their needs. Over time, many of these professions have become outdated due to emerging technologies or changes in morals. One profession that has not become outdated, but rather heavily debated upon over time is prostitution, a rather taboo topic in the 21st century. Defined as “the business or practice of engaging in sexual relations in exchange for payment” (Webster). As odd as that ‘profession’ may sound to many people, prostitution has been a branch of the sex industry for countless years and, for long, has been deemed “the world’s oldest profession” (Kipling). Despite its history, prostitution has been criminalized in various

In France, prostitution is legal but it may not be for much longer due to the amount of reform that has taken place over the past 70 years. Since 1946, France has slowly but steadily gone through the process of abolishing prostitution altogether with groundbreaking legislation and controversy at the focal point. Throughout history, France has been known as the model for regulatory prostitution in terms of having it be a legitimate enterprise. However, controversy and issues of illegal activity, disease, and public outcry questioning the morality of the business has led France to where it is today; an abolitionist country with the goal of abolishing prostitution altogether.