How Prostitutes Benefit Society.

How Prostitutes Benefit Society

Deviance involves the violation of social norms or the accepted standards of society. This definition is objective, yet subjective when questioned. It is broad, yet limiting. Deviancy is dependent on the norms set by the society. Some norms or rules of expected behavior are so important to society that they become formalized into laws. When these laws are broken, it is then considered that a crime has been committed. This paper will discuss the main themes laid out by structural-functional and feminist theories that relate to the Toronto Star article on June 7, 2003, regarding Mr. David John Allen’s conviction and sentencing as one of Canada’s biggest pimps.

The oldest profession in the world is said to be work in the sex industry, and with it comes a lot of background that rationalizes why this line of work has sustained in history as a functioning part of society. Robert Merton and Davis Kingsley, both scholars within the school of structural-functionalism made some very important, yet different, contributions to the theory of functional unity deviance in society. Merton brought a more left-winged perspective to the structural-functionalism, illustrated with his analysis of anomie. He defined anomie as a feeling of discomfort and confusion as one’s position in the social structure creates a “disjunction between the cultural norms and goals” (Ritzer, p252) and how one is capable in achieving those societal aspirations. In the case of the article, Merton would view prostitution as a dysfunction; a negative consequence developed out of the adaptation or adjustment of this capitalistic and patriarchal society whose values are places upon material success and male dominance, respectively. The position of women has always been and still pertains to a lower status than men, and as so, women are not given the opportunity and access to achieve the same desired material success that society repeatedly demands. Due to this reason, a feeling of anomie develops and women must think of another way to reach the same level of success that men can more easily achieve in Western capitalistic society. The alternative road of prostitution is often viewed as a deviant acts as they do not comply with society’s traditional methods of achieving success and go against cultural norms and mores. However, as a woman’s role is often focused on the female reproductive system, it can only be justified that women’s power lies in their use of sexuality. Women are often placed in the private sphere of the home and family as wives and mothers, functioning to provide society with more laborers and therefore more economic stability, therefore, referring back to the article, Merton would view the dysfunctional consequence of prostitution as women’s responses to frustrations, tensions, and stresses generated by conflicts between the patriarchal culture and capitalistic structure of western industrialized societies. To Merton, it is social stratification that creates this feeling of anomie, therefore, leading towards deviant behaviors of those of lower positions in society.

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On the other hand, another sociologist taught in structural-functionalism, Kingsley Davis, viewed social stratification as “universal and necessary” (Ritzer, p235) to the overall function of society. As the author of “The Sociology of Prostitution”, Davis argued that stratification refers to “how certain positions come to carry with them different degrees of prestige and not on how individuals come to occupy certain positions” (Ritzer, p235). Therefore, women who fulfill their nurturing roles as mothers and wives are just as important as women who release men of their occupational, familial and emotional tension by way of sexual services. Established in the 1950s, this very sexist view argued that women who work in the sex industry actually helped maintain the traditional family structure by allowing men, who are naturally more sexually charged, an outlet to release this drive through a non-emotional physical interaction with another individual, thereby lowering divorce rates as the need for extramarital relationships is lessen. As mentioned in the article, prostitution is an operative chain, supplying various jobs and services to many people thereby sustaining economic, social, and even political stability as a scapegoat for campaigns and/or legal action. It enables a small amount of women to take care of the needs of a large number of men, as a convenient way to maintain order and control within armies, community of strangers and those mentally and physically repulsive in society (Davis, p755). The services of prostitutes, according to Davis, are necessary for the maintenance and functionality of optimal societal operation.

On another spectrum, in the relatively new school of feminism, an ongoing debate on whether prostitution has positive or negative effects on society also occurs. The remainder of this paper will relate the article on issues developed from a variety of contemporary feminist theories that have developed since the second and third wave of feminism, most notably radical and liberal feminism.

The radical feminist establishes their arguments on the patriarchal backdrop of society today. They feel that all women are oppressed, and it is the hierarchal system of domination and subordination of women by men that have created these feelings of universal devaluing of women. The inequality caused by patriarchy causes feelings of “guilt and repression, sadism and masochism, manipulation and deception, all of which drive men and women to other forms of tyranny” (Ritzer, p462). These feelings consist in, and are maintained by violence towards women; enforced heterosexuality; institutions like churches and the traditional family model which supports the domination of women by men; the social construction of femininity and female sexuality; and also compulsory motherhood and constraints on reproductive freedom. Radical feminists believe the only way to counter the oppression caused by patriarchy is to abolish it. To these theorists, Rachel Allen’s affirmation as a professional prostitute was not seen as distasteful, but as a way of challenging and rejecting traditional gender roles in which women are represented or constructed in language, media, as well as in women’s personal lives. By acknowledging and reporting that she “freely chose to become an escort. It’s [her] body and it’s [her] choice” (Brazao & Palmer, 2003), she was fighting against patriarchal constructions of female sexuality by rejecting a submissive role and voicing her sexual power. Although radical feminists see pornography as patriarchal violence, Allen’s comments showed that she acknowledges her own value and strength as a woman and refused to establish herself as “weak, dependent, and second-class” (Ritzer, p463). However, how true is that? Rachel Allen was being pimped by her own husband, working for an organization headed by a man, and working in an industry that, regardless of how it is argued, is still very much male dominated. Although from one standpoint, we could say that Allen’s confidence and “independence” is a positive step towards the elimination of patriarchy, in reality, the profession of prostitution will always serve men’s interests in making women as compliant sexual tools.

Another feminist perspective that is undecided on this issue is liberal feminism, which agues that men and women are equal and should be treated fairly in all aspect of the public sphere. Those who study within the older regime view prostitution in more positive light, as it is seen as freedom and control of one’s own body. Just as Allen said, “I have no problem with the job that I do. I don’t feel that I’m a victim of anyone” (Toronto Star), these liberal feminists view prostitution as a victimless crime, an activity involving consenting adults within the free-market which allows a woman the ownership of her own body and choices. Prostitutions are women who are in control of their sexuality and economic freedom as they set the price, the place and the timing and circumstances of their exchange. It is a way for women to move from the private sector of the home and form their own independence in the public sector of work, power and money. It can be argued that women in the private sector are responsible for sexually servicing men; it would only be reasonable that they take this to another step and take prostitution as a force in developing equal economic opportunities in both genders.