Prostitution in the 19th and 20th Centuries Essays

In the late nineteenth century women were beginning to find a place in the more public spheres of life. Larger numbers of women than ever were in paid employment; by 1874 twenty percent of females over fifteen were employed. Many

When manufacturing plants started booming, they found business. Women became valuable factory workers because of their ability to complete complex tasks in the work place. Also, having willingness to labor for an inexpensive pay rate because they were in need boosted their chances of employment. In fact, employers needed them and were happy at the fact that they weren 't too costly to hire. In the document, Morals of Manufactures (1837), it states, “Many of the girls are in the factories because they have too much pride for domestic service.”(Chapter 9 Page 223) As stated before, women were looked over as far being capable of anything else other than a house wife and or mother. Some women worked for pay, as well as to prove that they were more than what society labeled them. This allowed women to make their own money and not be forced to completely live off their husbands. Also, this gave women a freedom and sensibility to become more independent.

Many of the women fit into this category. Donna, a young worker, began her work at mustang ranch in order to care for her husband (age forty-one) and her two young children (pg.65). Her husband, due to his age, was unable to obtain a decent job and told Donna that she needed to get a job at the Brothel. Carrie, another worker in her early thirties, was working to care for her mother and Ivy whose mother-in-law- was tired of her freeloading attitude so she packed Ivy’s belongings and dropped her off at the ranch (pg.69). Many of the women would say that prostitution was just a “job” but the one thing that almost all of them had in common was “financial hardship” and turned to legalized sex workers to financially support their family or someone else. Although a number of women solicited sex in order to meet financial goals, countless of them greatly exceeded their goals but still found themselves working as at the ranch.

Robert L. Daniel, author of, American Women in the Twentieth Century, explains that women were being recruited to work in various jobs (122). Single women, ones that did not hold responsibilities to a husband or family were employed first and women that had families were taken only as a last resort (Daniel 123). Daniel further explains, "The nation's need permitted an expansion of women's economic role without it being perceived as a feminist threat" (123). What women could offer was now found as valuable and useful. The public opinion of women made a drastic turn around from their previous attitudes. The government and the media no longer looked down upon women for entering the work force, but gave much encouragement (Chafe, 134). In magazines such as "Lifetime" there were even advertisements promoting women to work.

Many women wanted to change and get an education in order to put themselves in a better position.For those who wanted this, they were most likely single and were unmarried. Women did not have much of a choice back then, but those who had the courage, stood up for themselves and tried to make their voices heard. Although getting married and having a family is traditional, many women sought to change these stereotypes of women being useless useless besides staying at home as caregivers to their children. In some cases, not all men truly provided for their family and this action caused women to suffer more because they were not allowed to work.This therefore would end up leaving the women without a choice and causing them to go into prostitution to make easy money in order to provide for their

Abel, Gillian, et al. Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers fight for decriminalisation. Policy Press, 2010. Part two: Implementation and impact of the Prostitution Reform Act (2003): the first five years: Review of the PRA

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

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 demand is the result of a simple biological appetite. When all other sources of gratification fail, due to defects of person or circumstance, prostitution can be relied upon to furnish relief” (Davis, 753). Prostitution in a latent sense saves marriages and allows men to fulfill their sexual desires. “Prostitution embraces an economic relation, and is naturally connected with the entire system of economic forces” (Davis, 749). One societal function that prostitution fills is a release for those who desire the prostitute (latent) and a source of income for the prostitute (manifest).

In those days, so many people were forced into prostitution to earn an income. The living conditions were very low. People were poor, homeless, enemployed. There was crime and desperation. Mostly people were forced into prostitution to survive.

In 1870, nearly two million women and girls worked outside the home. Domestic work was an important source of income. Some girls even dropped out of school to help make money. One in fifteen American homes employed live-in servants that were mostly immigrants or African American. Working from dawn to dusk, these women cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed, and cared for children. A lot of them supported their own families who lived elsewhere. Most of the women that were working were single because then they did not think that married life and careers for women mixed. Many of the single women workers were between the ages of 16 and 24. Employers thought that they would leave when they got married so they rarely gave them supervisory jobs or advanced training. They also paid women an average of $3 to $5 a week, 30 to 60 percent less than men. Self-supporting women were discouraged from entering the fields that would put them in competition with men. There were many educated young women that wanted or needed work became nurses or teachers where they wouldn?t be competing with men.

Latent lesbianism, low intelligence, a home life of abuse, and desperate poverty head the list of possible reasons. Nevertheless, no one has been able to isolate a specific set of social factors that leads to prostitution. Current books by prostitutes and new scientific studies have prompted Vern and Bonnie Burlough, from the book The First Sex, to conclude that prostitution is, largely, "simply another occupation"(Fisher 208). If in fact, prostitution is looked upon as another occupation, then why not create a win-win situation. Prostitutes would contribute monetarily to society and would have in return rights to health benefits and retirement would be ensured. According to the "World Charter For Prostitutes' Rights," prostitutes themselves believe that they should "pay regular taxes on the same basis as other independent contractors and employees, and should receive the same benefits."

Prostitution is a profession that has been around for thousands of years despite being a controversial topic in many parts of the world. In the modern world, the ethics of prostitution have been debated with many people viewing the profession as immoral. Prostitution is an exploitative and harmful profession for the sex workers. Since women account for a majority of those who engage in prostitution, these negative impacts affect women more. Also, prostitution is a gendered institution that strengthens and

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,

One of the oldest known jobs in history is Prostitution, otherwise known as the sex labor industry. It is a major part of our society as an illegitimate source of income and employment. The prohibition of Prostitution creates a larger number of issues in society. Before, prostitution was a more individual decision, where countless women picked it as a last resort in emergencies; whereas now these women are coerced into the industry and experience abuse, murder, etc. The involvement and trauma prostitutes experience results in mental disorders. Furthermore, I investigate how the prohibition of prostitution has greater drawbacks on our society and introduce three policies that may help resolve the social issue within sex workers. Some policies I believe will provide the most benefits are first, the legalization of prostitution, second, enforcing and strengthening the law enforcement for human trafficking, and third, development of availability of medical resources.