Prostitution

Prostitution is defined as the oldest profession in the world, because it started with the very first civilization and has continued to present day. The argument over whether prostitution should be legalized or stay a criminal act has many split on the issue, including many feminists.

I believe that prostitution is morally wrong, harmful and very degrading. On the other hand I am opposed to the government having the power to decide its legal state, primarily because they don t feel we are intelligent enough to make our own decisions. I propose that prostitution should be granted legalization. Every civilization in the world has some form of prostitutes working in their society. If it affects so many people how can we turn our heads, arrest people, slam the prison door and think that we have solved the problem. It has proved to go on whether their government condoned the practice or not. If we cannot stop this phenomenon why not make it legal to extract taxes and better assist the prostitutes and their clients?

Currently in the United States, except for places in Nevada, prostution, the act of providing sex for money is illegal. When people have a job that is against the law they are no longer contributing to the government taxes. Their act is banned so there is not a way to regulate their money, while they still enjoy the benefits of this country without the added burden. Also, the prostitutes do not get medical attention they desperately need.

A lot of people believe that if you make something legal you are agreeing with the perpratrators act or giving them permission to continue with their unhealthy lifestyle, but when does compassion come in and the understanding of people s needs. We spend too much time convicting the criminals and not enough time helping to rehabilitate women from the streets or finding options for other work.

If prostitution is made legal it should be guided under strict regulations. The prostitutes would be issued a business license for giving their services, as most in this country need a license to legally sell anything. In order to renew it each month, they would have to go to one of the specified clinics to get checked out for sexual transmitted diseases and for HIV. If the prostitutes were to get caught without their license or if theirs was expired when they were giving their services there would be a 2,000 fine.

I know that many people against legalization would argue that not all of the prostitutes would follow the regiments. Everyday nearly all of the laws in the U.S. are broken, especially in the business world. This isn t a moral dilemma; it is about accepting the facts that prostitution will be with us and legalizing it is a way to help society best survive. This is a way to start to stop the spread of disease to the working girls, their customers, and the people in their lives.

Feminists were split on the issue during the first wave of feminism, as they still are today. Early feminists, such as Elizabeth Staton and Susan B. Anthony fought for the eradication of prostitution citing the moral degeneracy of male promiscuity and they saw women as innocent victims of licentious men. I agree with them that it is degrading, but for women fighting for women s rights, why would they want to limit women s choices even more than they were during the twentieth century.

Others, such as Victoria Woodhull, felt that the eradication of prostitution was a threat to free love and to a woman s economic freedom and sexual expression. Interesting enough she viewed marriage as potentially worse than prostitution Although, I don t agree with her about marriage being inferior, I definitely can see her point about how controlled some women are after they tie the knot. I admire the fact that she went against the norm and spoke her mind.

In the twenty-first century, two arguments going against one another, one from the feminists supporting The Free Choice First approach and the others with The Sexual Equality First approach. Both approaches are striving for equality for women, but they have different paths to achieve that goal. The feminists from the Free Choice First approach, argues, Choice is at all times linked to full and equal personhood. They go on to say, Making such choices for others assumes inequality. For someone to deny a woman her option to choose reflects the very inequality that women seek to eliminate. As a woman this hits home for me and I don t want anyone to be able to limit my choices. I do not have any desire to be a prostitute, as I assume many feminists do not plan on becoming one, but we also do not want the choice to be decided for us. Women presently are still not equal with men and it seems futile for women to be fighting one another.

The feminists from the Sexual Equality First approach believe that until women are equal members of society, free choice is essentially illusionary. They view our society one who limits women because of the double standard of male sexual dominance and gender inequality. To sum it all up women s equality, sexualize and otherwise, cannot be achieved as long as prostitution continues to exist. I don t believe that prostitution is a main factor in creating equality in both sexes. There are way too many issues besides prostitution, such as pornography, the idolizing of women s bodies, unequal pay and much more to also deal with before we can really make a difference in closing the gender gap.

Prostitution is an issue that has been with us for all time and probably will be. It is up to us to decide how we chose to deal with those who go down that path. If it is legalized our money and time would be freed up to be better able to help the women of the streets.