“prostitution
the oldest profession
in the world
that’s what they say
from their tax deductible
penthouse apartments
washing off
the semen
of another extended
business day
bathed in the stench
of forced labour
masquerading
as a pleasing smile
as a willing hole
to be used
abused
and filled…” an excerpt from the poem globalisation: it’s good for the world by cunt
The issue of prostitution is a divisive one that often falls into two camps fighting it out against each other- the arguments are
- Prostitution is a choice
or
- Prostitution is exploitation of womyn
My opinion. Prostitution is legalised violence against womyn perpetuated by the patriarchal arrangement of inbuilt sexism and paradigms of power we call gender “norms”. As Shelia Jeffreys points out “the more men become involved in prostitution behaviour, the more impossible the ideal of egalitarian relationships between men and women inevitably becomes.”[1] This is so because the act of prostitution, that is, purchasing a woman’s body, is akin to sexual slavery.
On the surface though it may be argued that a woman is choosing to sell her body, in a society where the power structures are so unevenly distributed towards men and the maintenance of male privilege and power, “even if women express their ‘consent’ to prostitution sex this will not be real consent. Under worldwide conditions of male supremacy and endive male violence, women are essentially unfree.”[2] Unfree you say- no way. But when women feel they have no other choice but to sell their bodies and we say that’s ok, it’s legal, you can do it if you want to, there is something terribly wrong with the way in which we view women and men.
“From a radical feminist perspective, prostitution should be addressed as rape and to do otherwise is to falsely separate prostitution from rape.”[3]
As O’Connell Davidson notes, “if prostitution is rape, then it is logical to define prostitutes as women who are publicly available to be raped, and this is precisely the position taken by many police officers, judges and jurists around the world who refuse to accept that a woman who works as a prostitute can ever be raped.”[4] In actual fact, the burden of proof is placed on the victim to prove that she was raped, and not on the perpetrator to prove his innocence, so unlike other crimes, it is the victim, rather than the perpetrator who is the target of interrogation. Does anyone else see the blatant sexism and suggestion of the age old but she was asking for it defence here? It is blaringly obvious to me that built into the legal process is the understanding that men are entitled to sex whenever and however they desire it. Spew.
The reality is that prostitutes are publicly available slaves who can be purchased to satisfy any whim as long as you’re willing to pay. Civil rights bus ride anyone?
Who are the majority of prostitutes? Women who are struggling to make it through the week, women who are desperate for money in a system that won’t support them, that willingly exploits their need for money; and says- open your legs- you’ve got a goldmine in there. Women who are usually disadvantaged across multiple categories. That is, gender, race and class. The triple whammy of our heterosexual, white, middle class male world.
Give us your cunt and we’ll take your mind, play dead, lie there, pretend you like it, don’t forget to smile and you better cum, oh yes you better appeal to my ego and tell me I’ve got a big dick, no matter what, otherwise, I’ll call you scum, right to your face, cos that’s what you are- no man would want a whore like you, no man, no woman, no one. You slut.
In a society where women were valued there would be no prostitution because the notion that it was a right and a choice to pay for the use of someone’s body would be null and void. It would be deemed abuse and exploitation. Prostitution is not a career choice, it’s a downhill course to mental and emotional disconnectedness. Imagine, just image what it’d be like to service 600 men and not get paid, to have to pretend you like the stench of his ass, and the twist of his fingers around your nipple, just so you can eat tonight. Imagine the shell of a person you’d become… There is a shame associated with prostitution, it’s not something you’d proclaim at the dinner table, it’s silenced, it goes unsaid.
The industry is based on a power structure where the women are sluts and the men can use their inherent power under the patriarchal arrangement to possess and use them as they please- are even encouraged to do so as a rite of passage into manhood. Sick. Sick. Sick.
No father or mother would want their child to be a prostitute or a stripper, so why do we deem it ok? Why does society continue to condone such blatant exploitation in the name of a career choice? Cos that’s the way it’s always been- always has been always will. No more. No more. No more. Equality can only function when all people are seen as human- when no person is deemed less than another, when no person is seen as an object to be used. Humanity must prevail, even in these dark ages.
Love and respect is the answer, the need for power and domination is not. Our current environmental demise is the perfect example; look how it shivers under the weight of our egotistical domination. Slavery still exists. It must end. We must tap into our right brain where the site of unity is manifest to overcome our right brains trained process of objectification where we can rationalise anything and make it ok, cos exploitation should not be normalised should not be a matter of choice, should not be the only justifiable economic way.
So let’s take Sweden’s lead and prohibit the purchase of sexual services, “to do otherwise is to allow that a separate class of female human beings…who are economically and racially marginalised, is excluded…from the universal protection of human dignity.”[5]
[1] Sheila Jeffreys. “Prostitution Culture: Legalised Brothel Prostitution in Victoria, Australia”. http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/catwaust/web/myfiles/prostculture.htm. accessed 16th August 2008, p. 6
[2] Barbara Sullivan. “Rethinking Prostitution and Consent”. University of Queensland, p. 3
[3] Barbara Sullivan. “Rethinking Prostitution and Consent”. University of Queensland, p. 3
[5] Gunilla Ekberg cited by Kathleen Maltzahn in Trafficked. UNSW Press, Sydney, p. 112
Tags:
discrimination,
equal rights,
prostitution,
sex,
sexuality,
slavery
Comments
11 comment(s) on this page. Add your own comment below.
A selection of facts refuting/ questioning the above:
1) A significant amount of prostitution - possibly as much as a fifth - does not involve women at all.
2) Of the remainder, a significant further slice consists of male ‘subs’ paying female ‘dominatrices’ to inflict pain and humiliation upon the males.
3) In a small further slice, women are the clients and pay men or other women.
4) The practical consequences for prostitutes of the so-called ‘Swedish Model’ puts them in danger by driving prostitution further underground. In practical terms they find themselves in darker, ill-lit back alleys, their street networks relied on for safety destroyed, unable to carry condoms lest seized for evidence, inaccessible to health outreach workers, having to make hasty decisions with little time to appraise clients, and working longer hours with more clients to make ends meet.
5) Your statement that men “purchase” prostitutes’ bodies is silly, and conflates and confuses the issue with trafficking. Someone who hires the services of a prostitute for a session no more buys the prostitute than someone buying a haircut buys the hairdresser/barber.
6) If a woman can hire out her womb in surrogacy, how does it follow that she should be disempowered from choosing to hire out her vagina? Or are you just arguing that men should be disempowered from availing themselves of her services? If so, why shouldn’t women be similarly disempowered?
"having to make hasty decisions with little time to appraise clients"
How does a prostitute "appraise" whether a man is going to rape her or not? No other category of human being is capable of spotting sadists on sight.
You don't want prostitutes to get used by punters in dark alleys? Where do you think the exploitation of women in Sweden has been going down, in well-lit public streets?
Dark or light alleys, car or hotel, condoms or not- there's no way a prostitute can be raped unless she is near a rapist. When you argue that Sweden's law change to respect what prostitutes say over what johns say (go Sweden!) meant that previously nonviolent men suddenly got the overwhelming urge to rape where none existed before, your insincere concern for sexually exploited women's wellbeing falls flat.
Dear Suzanne,
yes I agree that woman are not the only people in prostitution, however the majority are, regardless, whether it is men or women paying for the "services" of a prostitute my argument remains the same- prostitution is legalised violence against women and a considerable number of men. No person should be sold as a commodity item, or purchased as a piece of meat.
joanne responded to 4)
in regards to point 5) comparing prostitution to hairdressing highlights only the economic issues involved where it is held up as “merely another service”. It carefully side steps the reality that prostitution revolves around the hijacking of the body and its most intimate experiences in the name of economic stability and completely ignores the fact that the majority of women in prostitution are those who are marginalised by their gender, economic status and ethnicity. Furthermore, prostitution contributes to the world-wide phenomena that is human trafficking- again justified for the demand and supply retort. No man or woman should have to enter into an arrangement where they have to sell their bodies for money, it only contributes to the already hugely unequal societies in which we live.
6) disempowered?!?! Drawing a comparison between surrogacy and prostitution again you fail to take note of who the women are that constitute the majority of “workers” in the industry; those who on account of their social economic status, ethnicity, etc have no other choice. This is not just an economic issue!! It is one of social value in what is a hugely misogynistic culture and they ways in which women (and an increasing number of men) are “kept in their place” as objects of pleasure.
Power is not the choice to “choose” to be a prostitute and the argument that it is ignores real-life structures of power where women are daily denied full personhood on account of their biology and sexualized as objects as a result. Power is the right not to be seen as an object of sexual gratification. It is not the right to be bought and sold like a slave. It is never ok to choose slavery, even if you are given a so-called choice.
Prostitution in all its guises is exploitation and contributes to the ways in which we objectify the body as a site able to be disconnected from the person as a whole, which is utter absurdity.
Prostitution is the extreme, but in the same manner commercial nudity should be recognised much like it. I assume you are against strip clubs as well and yet surely this type of commercial activity is slightly better, being more empowering for womyn than prostitution.
yep that's it Justine.
Excellent Brigitte, I completely agree with your every word!
May I respond to another commenter?
1,)"1 in 5 prostitutes not women" A. Gay men, or male transvestites STILL are male, and have the privileges of living in a patriarchal society. And male sex drive & aggression is generally greater than females. In my city, many male prostitutes are only boys, who do NOT want to be selling themselves to men but are too poor to do anything else, or are addicted to drugs.
2)"a significant further slice consists of male subs" Complete myth. A small, teeny tiny slice is more like it. I know it may sound like fun to whip and humiliate men, but let's not make up pleasing fairy tales for ourselves, OK? Only a few men will pay a prostitute for that.
its a choice period,,
I agree 100% with u Sick N Tired! It's a choice to sell your body for sex and its a choice to purchase sex. Besides, men basically want sex from women. Therefore, even in marriage, dating etc. the woman is looking for what he has to offer emotionally but more importantly FINANCIALLY in most cases. The man on the other hand is looking for a sexy LOOKING, good in bed woman with intelligence to supply him the occasional need for companionship etc. In every city i've lived in (not even talking about prostitution)women have chased men for money and men/women for sex. big deal
I am in Australia and I was single for 9 years after my fiance died in a car accident. After being rejected time after time because I'm not rich and am just an ordinary normal guy (ie not a Brad Pitt) I eventually, to my shame, turned to prostitutes. Was I proud of it? No. But you know what happened? I met a woman, a working girl, and we became close friends - no not because I was paying her (though I was initially) but we went out to dinner, to shows and had fun. She's not a stereo typical "whore" but is someone who realized that she could make lots of money doing this trade however she has now decided to leave (she works in a parlour but has, albeit briefly, worked on the street). She is a normal person, has a 19 year old daughter, had a husband for many years but split up. Now that she wants to leave I am right there with her - she and I have spoken about marriage and things are going great. Do I like the fact that she has been a prostitute for about 18 years (she is 40 now, I am 27), no I don't, but she hasn't been screwed up by it and, as horrible as it sounds, if she hadn't been a prostitute, I would never have met her and we'd never have found each other.
The point I'm trying to make is not all prostitutes are desperate women who have drug habits or are scum. Some are yes. Some are rough, some are just doing it for easy money quickly, but they're still people and, truth be told, so are their clients. We're not all looking to hit women or rape them or any such things, some men, such as myself, were driven to it by loneliness (you try being single for 9 years like I did - I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be ever ever engaging a prostitute) or simply for a desire to have some fun - the author of this article would probably get a shock to find out many working girls have regulars that bring them flowers/buy them drinks and genuinely like the company of the woman. I think it's silly to demonise the profession - it is shameful and it's not nice but it isn't this horrible thing that some like to paint it as.
I don't see the lady I am with as a "whore" or as a lesser person. I love her for who she is and feel so lucky to have found someone as wonderful as her.
Ok seriously... There is so much wrong with this post that I don't even know where to begin.
You're a typical screeching Feminist, who just wants to exert her own opinion on women who, frankly, don't want it. Women DONT want your protection. Prostitution is not legalized violence. If a woman enjoys being a prostitute and enjoys it, who are you to say she isn't allowed to? Who are you to say that your opinion is right? It's not.
In this case, whats right or wrong is based on the individual. Not your opinion.
If a woman is unhappy, poor and turns to prostitution to get rid of her problems, she needs help. But if it's simply someone who enjoys making money off her body, and is 100% ok with it, you have no right to tell her she isn't allowed. Keep you hands off of people's freedom please. Screw ethics and morals. Not all moral is right. Some of it compromises each individual's happiness.
And I'm absolutely shocked at your statement at it being wrong to choose slavery... What about people from the BDSM world? Are you one of those people who deem that whole community as mentally ill?
You need some serious opening up, lady.
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