Patty Kelly, “ Enough Already, It’s Time We Decriminalize Prostitution’ depicts the compelling, entertaining and mind captivating skills this well-known writer and professor in anthropology captures her audience. However, the essay fails to justify its thesis that prostitution should be decriminalized in so many ways. Firstly, she shouldn’t base her argument on the findings done on this particular social environment as the focus is too narrow to offer all needed information for an unbiased conclusion.…
Lydia’s Open Door by American Anthropologist Patty Kelly is an intriguing case study about both the hidden and not so hidden aspects of sex work in Chiapas, Mexico. Her book proves the usefulness of ethnographic works where she engages with unconventional ways of knowing in order to determine the complex relationships that help to reproduce gender inequality. Lydia’s Open Door contextualizes prostitution within a political and economic framework revealing how it is impossible to diagnose one without the others. She uses both macro and micro-analysis to deconstruct the variability in how prostitution is practiced, regulated and perceived through space and time. Throughout her ethnography she discusses how globalization and neoliberalism changed the economic climate of Mexico and in turn transformed prostitution into an issue of social hygiene as well as a modern form of exploitation. The retelling of the diverse personal experiences of sex workers in the Zona Galactica, a state regulated brothel, aids in her exploration of how prostitution is constantly being shaped and reshaped by politics, economy, and culture. Through her ethnography it is made clear that explaining prostitution, gender relations, and structural violence is inadequate without deconstructing the complex relationships created by lingering manifestations of repression, violence, and government policy in this region. In this review of Lydia’s Open Door I will first discuss Kelly’s effectiveness in conceptualizing state regulated prostitution as a by-product of neo-liberalism. I will then illustrate the potency of her argument in which she contends that the government regulation of prostitution serves the purpose of further controlling an already marginalized population. Finally I will discuss her strength in advocating for the decriminalization of prostitution all while maintaining a feminist standpoint.…
How to understand and deal with prostitution is the issue expressed in “Enough Already, It’s Time We Decriminalize Prostitution” by Patty Kelly. The thesis of this essay is that criminalizing prostitution is not eliminating the issue but causing more of them. Prostitution is becoming so familiar that we need to decriminalize it because it is not going away anytime in our lifetime or the next. This is shown by the fact that in 2005 eighty-four thousand people were imprisoned for prostitution or prostitution-related offenses. Patty Kelly pleads that where it has been legalized people are more satisfied with their jobs and are more often there voluntarily instead of being forced to be there. This is supported by the fact that out of one hundred…
When you hear the word prostitution what kind of image pops up in your mind? Is it a malnourished drug addicted woman? A woman possibly controlled by a pimp? When you hear prostitution, do you think of someone forced against their will? I wanted to know what you all thought before I told you the definition. Prostitution is the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations for money; the unworthy or corrupt use of one’s talents for the sake of personal or financial gain; the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for money (Legal Dictionary). I’m not related to any prostitutes, and I am not a prostitute, but I have done much research on the topic and watched a documentary on the subject. I feel that…
Among all the controversial topics, prostitution is one of the most scandalous. Being one of the world’s oldest professions; prostitution uses the sin of adultery to lure clients into spending money on sexual pleasure. Although many prostitutes are controlled by pimps and social pressures, the act of prostitution is a lucrative way to make quick and relatively easy money. If one were to take in the positives and negatives of prostitution, it’s clear to see that legalization, though frowned upon, would have a progressive outcome.…
Do you believe that prostitution should be legalized? This paper will examine the pro and con and my point of view on should prostitution be legalized. Condemnation of prostitution is as old as prostitution itself. Sex workers have often been stigmatized and isolated from mainstream society. Prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. Advocates of sex workers have called for the legalization of prostitution in an effort to provide sex workers with regulatory protection. They think legalizing it would encourage a higher demand.…
In her expository essay, “Enough Already, It’s Time We Decriminalize Prostitution,” Patty Kelly debates the controversial issue of the legalization of prostitution. Discussing her research of the involvement of American male adults in prostitution, Kelly successfully quotes the large number of males who are involved in paid sex services. She also uncovers the reasons sex workers are in this specific field which are: after leaving a distressful marriage, a disturbing pre-marital relationship, financial catastrophe, etc. It gives women the choice to work make their own hours and set their own rates and gives them the flexibility to decide the acts they will perform, which can be different for each individual. She sheds light on the behaviors of male customers as well, such as the willingness to pay more for unprotected sex and how they can be violent towards sex workers. Moreover, she pinpoints the law of different lands and states for prostitution to uncover the realistic approach to provide legal rights to sex trade workers. However, she discourages most of the laws due to their inability to provide protection to women, but she highly appreciates New Zealand’s 2003 Prostitution Reform Act which is based on core human values to live in a safe environment as well, it gives protection to sex workers. The law not only decriminalized prostitution, but it put firm rules in place to insure safe sexual activities and bind all the people and organizations involved in such business to be equally responsible for minimizing the risks of STD transmission. In the end, Kelly’s essay urges that more protection for prostitutes and their customers be put in place so that sex workers and the men who use their services can be safe, and work in a respectful…
In the 21st century, the profession of prostitution has been a target of great controversy as far as the ethical and moral issues are concerned. Prostitution is one of the oldest professions of this world and the critical debate with regard to the moral and ethical values of this profession are not a surprise for anyone. “Prostitution can be defined as “The act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money,” and is usually provided as an underground service” (LaBossiere). A comprehensive majority of the world’s population believes that prostitution is an immoral and unethical profession and it is also considered to be an illegal practice in most parts of the world. However, the profession has only grown dramatically over the past few decades and many…
The term prostitution refers to any situation in which one person pays another for sexual satisfaction or pleasure. In recent discussion of prostitution, a controversial issue has been whether prostitution should be legal or not. Prostitution is the oldest profession existing in the world; it is rapidly growing with or without the government help. After all these year’s prostitution is still looked at as dirty or nasty, many people do not want to face the fact that prostitution exist. However, the prostitutes’ rights movement, begin in the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s. As we know during that timeframe the perspective of women viewed in society was based on gender roles. Women were to stay at home and take care of the kids and house. During…
This step is completely the right step in America. When the minority’s “moral” values are jeopardized by the betterment of the non-partisan country, then what is there to lose? Millions of women every year are trafficked and sold into sex slavery. Daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers have all been stolen from their lives and forced into almost inevitable death. Legalizing prostitution diminishes the market for sex slaves, helping with this problem immensely. Furthermore, instances of rape in Rhode Island decreased when prostitution was legalized. Instead of spending millions of dollars on the enforcement of this needless law, the government could do so much more important things! It would also be able to tax this institution to garner revenue…
O 'Connell, Davidson, J. "Prostitution." International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Stanford, CA: Elsevier, 2001. Print.…
Anti-prostitution law will imperil prostitutes and in most scenarios makes thing very difficult for them. In countries like Canada and Nevada, prostitution is not considered a crime. Nevertheless, communication and some other activities related to prostitution like human trafficking has been prohibited. Prostitutes who are Street based are the most visible and receive the most attention. This represents only a small section of the sex industry, which also incorporates brothels and escort services. Capturing to arrest and punish prostitutes mirrors our overall population's hesitation concerning sexual activities and male desire and sexual freedom. (Boels, 2015).…
There is no profession in this world that has lasted longer than prostitution- the selling of sexual services. Despite the age of this field, there is a lot of controversy over whether it should be legal or if it is even morally correct to do. There are places all over the world where prostitution is legal, but in the United States only two of the fifty states have legalized it-Rhode Island and Nevada. But there is a lot of evidence to suggest that Prostitution should be legalized in all fifty states because it is a perfectly legal and beneficial career.…
They examine legal components that address and define trafficking, pointing out that distinctions between prostitution and trafficking in women are relatively recent and have been promoted by organizations and governments working to legitimize and/or legalize prostitution as work. With all the violence, drugs, and negative effects that contribute to prostitution, these are the many reasons why prostitution should not be…
Thesis Statement: While supporting the legalization of prostitution I will provide you all with accurate and up to date statistical information concerning prostitution and how the anti-prostitution laws are clearly not working. I will give you some benefits on is to why prostitution should be legal, and why we can make prostitution a safe job for males and females.…