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Beatrice Miller
Professor Olding
College Writing II
13 May 2016

Prostitution
Prostitution is prevalent in the United States and continues to thrive as an industry, this
form of work is caused by many different factor and it also has various effects on a womans
mental, physical, and emotional well being.
People have different interpretations of what exactly prostitution is, to start the dictionary
definition of prostitution from Merriam Webster prostitution is the act of having sex in exchange
for money or the use of a skill or ability in a way that is not appropriate or respectable.This is a
fair definition but it is not through enough to encompass all aspects of prostitution. That
definition can be considered the bare minimum and basic at best. Prostitution is broad and there
is various types of prostitution and the way it is interpreted can vary as well.
The interpretation of what chose to engage in can be categorized differently and there is
various forms of prostitution and settings in which these activities can occur. In some cases these
women voluntarily become prostitutes, they do it because they need money or drugs. Other
women get involved involuntarily because they are being trafficked, have been kidnapped, or
have a pimp the situation the young women can be different it just depends. Economically
women who are poor or unemployed are more likely to exchange sex for money or drugs
because they lack financial stability. Prostitution is a business so in all forms financial gain is the
driving force. The men need sex and the women need money, if the demand for money was not

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high for these women then prostitution rates would decline at a significant level. Money is the
main concern and motivation for sex workers or women forced into prostitution by pimps.
In the United States prostitution was not always illegal, women were allowed to be street
walkers and brothels were prevalent. In the beginning it was completely with little to no rules on
what could and what could not be done, but overtime limitations were prostitution and more
states started to ban brothels and prostitution all together. The limitations started in 1870 when
St.Louis where all women engaged in prostitution had to get examined and had to register as
prostitution by law. Later the United States restricted that any female being imported from a
different country be brought over for the sole purpose of being a sex worker or prostitution. For a
long time prostitution was legal and nobody had fought against it until the early 1900s when a
Dr.Price A Morrow formed the American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis to fight the
spread of sexually transmitted diseases and prostitution. Many different regulations were made
over time until finally any form of prostitution was illegal except in Nevada. The state of Nevada
has regulated brothels as well as regulated sex workers.
Although all forms of prostitution are illegal that does not mean that it is not happening
within the country despite all efforts to stop it. Prostitution is a sex industry where there are
different types and it can happen anywhere, places where it happens often are places such as
massage parlors, stripclubs, hotels, private homes, truckstops, warehoused and mostly right on
the street corners. The places where prostitution happens can change because people who run the
businesses change where they conduct business due to legal reasons and avoiding law
enforcement. The end goal with all forms of prostitution is money, financial goal. Despite all the
legalities prostitution continues to prosper in all areas of the United States, urban areas, suburban
areas, and even United States military bases. Forms of prostitution include but are not limited to

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street walking, escort services, and hotel services. There is not just one set kind of prostitution ,
they can vary and include an array of things, the sex industry is large and it encompasses more
than people think. Prostitution continues to thrive because some of the people who run and
contribute to the sex industry. Prominent figures in the community such as law enforcement,
lawyers, judges, and business people who contribute to the justice system also contribute to the
success of sex businesses. The fact that the people who promote prostitution also are supposed to
be the people who protect women from prostitution makes it hard to stop and regulate
prostitution effectively.
Prostitution can be a voluntary act or it can be forced upon women and young
children. People look down on prostitution, the exchange of sex for money as a shameful thing
but the sex industry is high in profit. It was previously mentioned how leaders in community run
sex businesses but they also participate and pay top dollar to receive sex and perform sexual
activities with prostitutes. Women who come from a low economic status often do it because
they need the money and have no other choice. On the other hand there is the feminist side where
these women feel like it is their body and they can do whatever and whoever they choose with
their body and do not feel trading their body for money or materialistic items is an issue. The
voluntary side of prostitution is popular among young women as far as children go they are
usually forced into the business without an option. Children in the United States are especially
fragile and vulnerable to becoming involved in the sex industry. A childs home life can have an
impact on if and how they become involved in prostitution. There are factors that make women
more susceptible to becoming a prostitute. Women who were abused as children often as young
as 10 years old is more likely to be a prostitute . The abuse at such a young age can mentally
make a person feel that being sexually assaulted and being forced into sexual activities is normal

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and is something they are supposed to be doing. These young women were taught at a young and
impressionable age that having sex is not their choice anyways making prostitution highly likely,
not to mention their mental status may not be in good condition to make good decisions
regarding their well being. Runaway children as well are more likely to get involved in
prostitution in some form at a given time in their life. These young women runaway at the
average age of 12 most have experienced some form of abuse or neglect at home and because
they are so young and have been effected by the abuse they already experienced they are at high
risk of turning to prostitution to cope with their past experiences. With running away young
children do not have access to necessities while they are away from home, they have no shelter,
no food, or any money therefore prostitution and being vulnerable to people who run sex
businesses such as a pimp like the only option and they do not know any better. Runaways are
one of the most vulnerable populations in getting involved in the sex industry due their
situations. Women who have a history of drug abuse their prostitution rates are higher than
people who have never used drugs. Drug abuse and being addicted to drugs can have ill effects
on the brain and the addiction can cause someone to do whatever they need to do to get their next
fix. Being in jail is also a risk factor for prostitution, women who have been incarcerated and
convicted may not have any resources when they are released from prison they do not have the
proper access to resources or even qualify for health care and due to lack of mental health
treatment or money they turn to drugs and prostitution because they have to find some sort of
income, they can not get a job so they are left with no other option but to turn to prostitution for
money or drugs. All of those things usually happen to women with low socioeconomic status and
a lot of women are effected by all these things drug abuse, being sexually abused at a young age,
running away, or being incarcerated make it almost impossible for a person with that background

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or in that situation to avoid getting forced into prostitution or choosing to get involved. This is
probably one of the worse case scenario not all situations are as bad as this one.(McClanahan,
1999).
It was mentioned before that there are different types of prostitution, women previously
described are usually street walkers working for a pimp of some sort where they basically wait
for their next customer to approach them or walk around until they do. Some women who choose
to be apart of the sex industry on their own will who do not have any previous history of abuse or
drug use they just need the money. These women can work out of their apartment or hotels they
can also be escorts. These women are usually attracted to large amounts of money They can
make upwards of a couple thousand dollars on any given night because they have clients who are
considered to be wealthy, people who are leaders of the community, politicians, professional
athletes, and even actors which can guarantee a self employed sex worker a large payout. This
job is a form of income for these women, a method to make sure their bills are paid, pay for their
college education, and even just to get ahead and have money for their future the quickest and
easiest way possible for them. The young women involved in voluntary prostitution often claim
that they plan on leaving the business but they become greedy and money hungry from
performing sex acts, they actually like what they do. This is probably one of the best case
scenarios in terms of prostitution, they work on their own terms and do what they want to do.
They do not have to answer to anyone, and although they are still selling sex they are doing so
their way, at their price, often at the location of their choosing, and one of the biggest advantages
is they keep all profits, they do not have to give their earnings to a pimp. This is considered to be
the luxurious sides of prostitution if there ever was one but when people think of prostitution is
not the first thing that comes to mind. People think of the women addicted to drugs and being

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pimped out or doing these things because they have to not because they want to as the only form
of prostitution. Not all women are forced and they are not all drug addicts, some of them are
sober and just want more than a day job can offer for them so they take advantage of powerful
wealthy men who pay high prices to do sexual activities with them that does not even have to
mean having sexual intercourse with the man. Some of these women see it as a way to get out of
poverty, they just need the bare minimum their families. (Territo ,2010).
Women have their reasons for being involved in prostitution, some do not have a choice
but as far as men go, why do these men pay for sex or sexual acts there are reasons for that as
well. Men can have low self esteem they do not feel attractive and they usually get turned down
by the women they chase after so they go after something easy. Prostitutes do not have to find a
person that they are attracted to to give them sex all they are concerned with is getting paid for
the acts they are performing, does not matter what they look like. The men may have the
impression about themselves that there is no other way of receiving sex unless they pay for it, so
men sometimes pay for sex and promote the act of prostitution simply because they do not have
any other way of fulfilling their sexual needs and desires. Self esteem issues can also mean being
insecure about his penis size and that a regular woman would not want to engage in any sexual
activity with a man whose penis is small and they fear rejection because of their penis size and
prostitutes typically do not reject men so they know it is guaranteed they will have sex with
them. Another reason may be is that men often do not want an attachment emotionally to a
woman or a commitment. A prostitute will give sex and anything that the man asks for and needs
but the girl is not his girlfriend, will not be his wife, they will not start a family, he will simply
have sex or sexual things with her and then will most likely not have to see the person ever
again, literally no strings attached. Other situations are as simple as these men work and travel

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most of the time and they do not have the time. They have no free time to find a companion or
someone to consistently have sexual relations with so they turn to prostitutes in the city they are
in for the simplicity, accessibility, and convenience they can not get it anywhere else so they feel
like they have to get it somewhere. Morally why these men choose to engage in and participate
in the exploitation of women because they do not feel like they are enabling the problem. They
feel that participating in prostitution is a womans choice so why would he stop her from doing
what she wants to do. This is true in some cases, some women do choose to be a prostitute and
technically are not being exploited but for other women this is not their choice, men thinking like
this is the reason why prostitution is apart of a billion dollar industry in the United States. The
exploitation will continue if the men still participate and take advantage of these women who
have no say in what is being done to them but these men who pay for sex do not see it as their
fault, they simply see a woman selling her body and she must be willing to do so on her own
will.(Territo, 2010).
Prostitution is not an ideal occupation to have, it can be a dangerous job and woman are
not always safe when they do their work with these different men. When indulging in these
sexual acts women may experience physical violence and be abused by the men they are having
sex with and because they are prostitutes and are engaging in illegal activities they can not go to
law enforcement for help. These women experience an act of violence against them at least once
a month and have nowhere to turn to receive help. In the United States out of every 100,000
prostitutes 204 of these women will die doing their job. The woman also get arrested more than
their pimps do about 7 out of 10 women get caught prositituting. Police officers can respond to
advertisements and women in the street obviously selling themselves so catching the women in
action is far easier than catching the pimp. The women get no help but to get arrested however

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the women are safer in prison than they are out on the streets, which is a sad situation for them.
These women being in and out of prison is not cost effective for the United States where 200
million dollars of the citizens tax dollars are spent on the jail expenses of prostitutes. Some
people argue that these are reasons prostitution should be legalized. Violence against these
women would most likely decline. Women are being assaulted and even raped at high levels
because of what they do and with no regards for the law and that makes it nearly impossible for
them to go and seek help from the law. If it was legal they would most likely feel more
comfortable in going to the police for help. The women involved would have a better health
status because often times pimps encourage their girls not to use condoms which makes the
likelihood of the women of getting and spreading sexually transmitted diseases. If it were legal
the government would probably make it a law that these women make the men wear condom or
provide services for the women to get routine check ups and testing for diseasing. Prostitution is
not safe for a person physical, mental and emotional well being and if it wa legal it would
hopeful turn the victims into victemless women of prostitution doing these things by choice and
not being forced. Whatever a persons opinion on prostitution is can be their own it is just
difficult to fully define and and assess the meaning of prostitution because there are different
variations and some women are put into different situations and nobody really knows how or
why they got there. (Fuchs, 2013).

Works Cited
Fuchs, E. 7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution.2013.
www.businessinsider.com/why_america_should_legalize_prostitution_2013_11
Territo, L.International Sex Trafficking of Women and Children:Looseleaf Law Publication,
2010. Print.
McClanahan, S. Pathways to Prostitution Among Female Jail Detainees and Their Implications.
1999. Print.