Feminist views on prostitution

As with many issues within the feminist movement, there exists a diversity of feminist views on prostitution. Many of these positions can be loosely arranged into an overarching standpoint that is generally either critical or supportive of prostitution and sex work.

Anti-prostitution feminists hold that prostitution is a form of exploitation of women and male dominance over women, and a practice which is the result of the existing patriarchal societal order. These feminists argue that prostitution has a very negative effect, both on the prostitutes themselves and on society as a whole, as it reinforces stereotypical views about women, who are seen as sex objects which can be used and abused by men.

Other feminists hold that prostitution and other forms of sex work can be valid choices for women and men who choose to engage in it. In this view, prostitution must be differentiated from forced prostitution, and feminists should support sex worker activism against abuses by both the sex industry and the legal system.

The disagreement between these two feminist stances has proven particularly contentious, and may be comparable to the feminist sex wars (acrimonious debates on sex issues) of the late twentieth century.

Newman and White in Women, Politics and Public Policy argue that feminist perspectives on prostitution agree on three main points: “First, they condemn the current legal policy enforcing criminal sanctions against women who offer sex in exchange for money. Second, they agree that authentic consent is the sine qua non of legitimate sex, whether in commercial or non-commercial form. Third, all feminists recognize that commercial sex workers are subject to economic coercion and are often victims of violence, and that little is done to address these problems.”

They go on to identify three main feminist views on the issue of prostitution. The sex work perspective, the abolitionist perspective and the outlaw perspective. The sex work perspective maintains that prostitution is a legitimate form of work for women faced with the option of other bad jobs, therefore women ought to have the right to work in the sex trade free of prosecution or the fear of it. The sex work perspective also argues that governments should eliminate laws that criminalize voluntary prostitution. This, the sex work perspective asserts, will allow prostitution to be regulated by governments and business codes, protect sex trade workers, and improve the ability to prosecute people who hurt them. The Abolitionist perspective holds that governments should work towards the elimination of prostitution. The Outlaw Perspective views work in the sex trade as a “stepping stone to a better career or an expression of sexual freedom”.

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Wikipedia