Prostitution is one of those topics that incites very strong reactions–making it very difficult to discuss in the classroom. In the Fall 2007 issue of Contexts, Ronald Weitzer provides us with a balanced, classroom-friendly way to get your students thinking about this issue beyond their gut reactions. Read the article here!
Use the discussion questions and the activity below to get the conversation started:
1) Define the oppression and celebratory models of prostitution. How would you characterize the alternative model proposed by the author?
2) What is your reaction to Weitzer’s claim that some prostitutes are empowered by their jobs? Do you agree that sex work can be empowering for women or do you agree more with the oppression model?
3) The article states that 17 percent of American men have paid for sex at some point in their lives. Do you think this is a high or low number? Why do you think there is a stigma against paying for sex?
ACTIVITY: Organize a class debate with one side arguing that prostitution should be legalized and regulated in the United States, and the other side arguing that it should remain illegal.
Comments 4
Marie — March 25, 2011
Countless sources indicate that the average age of entry into prostitution in the United States is between 12 and 14. The United States Department of Justice is one of the sources that cites these ages. The DOJ says that for girls, the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 and for boys and transgender youth, the average age of entry is 11-13. Weitzer refutes claims about the average age of entry by citing one study from England. He says: “Regarding age of entry, the oppression model’s claim of 13–14 years is clearly not the norm. A recent British study by Marianne Hester and Nicole Westmarland found that 20 percent of their sample had begun to sell sex before age 16 while almost half (48 percent) had begun after age 19.” Why would Weitzer cite a study from England in order to refute claims about prostitution in the United States?
MRS ROBINSON — April 8, 2011
Child prostituion and consenting adults who meet in private are two differnt things. Most of these studies are done by human trafficking adovocates that are really anti prostituion groups in disguise and if they really believe these women need to be saved then why are they creating more laws to criminalize the women and not provide them services to exit the industry.
The legal definition for prostitution is agreeing to engage in any sex act for something of monetary value, ironically that is what MARRIAGE IS.
Just today you have a man arrested for exploiting a minor and crossing state lines, which means he could be charged with the MANN act and get a 25 years prsion sentence yet he is free on a 25,000 bond. Many escorts are arrested with little or no evidence and given the same bond even though they have not been charged with a felony, we are also creating JOHN school so men can walk away with no criminal record, yet we have 2 teachers recently fired because they use to escort and do porn even though they have never been arrested yet the cop in Vegas got paid leave and was allowed to keep his job after he got caught trying to solicit a undercover officer for sex.
Why these laws are applied differently depending on ones gender and standing in the community is WRONG. When they found the 5 escorts buried in Long Island the cops told the media that serial killers rarely murder hookers, and we are still encouraging society to hate these women, with the "they get what the deserve attitude".
The cops brag to the media that they will continue to run these women from their communites and these women are stalked by police daily, many are exploited by cops and abused while in custody.
I am a 46 year old escort who did not enter into this lifestyle til I was 18. These teens that are exploited are returned home with no intervetnion to runaway again, even though we have juvinile courts, child protective services, fosterhomes, reform schools and boot camps. Yet the parents are not being held responsible for their UNGOVERNABLE TEENS.
In 2010 the FBI spend a 800,000 grant to do a 3 day nationwide sting for child prostituion. They arrested 884 people, 69 teen RUNAWAYS, 99 pimps and over 700 consenting adults looking to meet with another adult in private were arrested.
We spend 250 million to arrest 80,000 people last year, OVER THE MORAL WITCH HUNT, and are origanal prostitution laws were created to "stop a women from showing her wares in public".
The cops are illegaly arresting escorts daily even if they can not solicit them for an illegal act. These women are only trying to escape poverty and you would think we could show them more compassion that to jail them and then release them to be homeless, with no services, so they continue the cylcle.
SHAME ON SOCIETY.
dgl — June 18, 2012
No they are not "two different things". Where do you think adult prostituted women come from?
dgl — June 18, 2012
Let us work together to institute the very successful Nordic model, which criminalizes the johns, pimps (managers, husbands, boyfriends, drug dealers) instead of the women, and make it possible for them to get out into work that does not involve providing sex to men they would never willingly have sex with. Weitzer fails to look at it from the women's perspective, but instead from the perspective of the john.
http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/documents/Briefing%20Law%20and%20policies%20on%20prostitution%20and%20THB%20Sweden%20120308.pdf
http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/documents/Briefing%20Law%20and%20policies%20on%20prostitution%20and%20THB%20S
www.sccjr.ac.uk