John Macionis Arguments To Legalize Prostitution

Maressa McClintoc
3/31/14
Hilwig
Second Essay The term deviance is used to describe “behavior that is recognized as violating expected rules and norms.” (Ashley Crossman) In other words, deviance is “simply more than nonconformity, it is behavior that departs significantly from social expectations.” (Ashley Crossman) Prostitution is a controversial topic among many cultures and countries around the world today. Though is it most commonly viewed to be immoral and wrong and a deviant behavior in most societies, “some women and academic feminists contend that prostitution should be legalized.” (John Macionis) Activists are strongly opposing these arguments and believe that legalizing prostitution would increase a women’s sexual exploitation
around the world and that “prostitution is many kinds of violence against women. “(John Macionis) While there are many kinds of violence in the business of prostitution there are a few that are largely important. First, prostitution is harmful because many of the women that partake in it and the observers that see it are in denial about it.
For instance, in many cases girls are trafficked at gunpoint and most observes don’t see this. Instead all they see is “a streetwise teenager who says, I like this job, and besides, I’m making a lot of money.” (John Macionis) When they hear a young girl say this then they aren’t actually seeing the harm that women are being put through on the job. The women are also in denial because there is good money in prostitution and it’s an easy way for some to be able to support themselves and their families. They ignore all the bad things that come with the job, like being beaten or drugged and controlled by their pimps and merely accept it as part of what they do in the
business.
Next, prostitution is pervasive violence and consists of child abuse.
“Sexual violence, physical assault and verbal threats are normal experiences for women in prostitution” (John Macionis) and in fact almost three quarters of the women that participate are raped and usually on an average of “once a week.” (John Macionis) It’s becoming so common that people in this day and age “assume that when a prostituted woman is raped, it was part of her job and that she deserved or even asked for the rape.” (John Macionis) Child abuse is also a common form of mistreatment in prostitution. In the United Kingdom 97 percent of the prostitutes are under the age of 18, making them legally minors and many kids partake in prostitution because the money they make pays for the expensive clothes, jewelry and any other items they might want. Child prostitution is so common in underdeveloped countries and it is a normal job for the kids and not looked at as deviant behavior. “In many parts of the world, a younger rather than older person is a preferred commodity, for several reasons.” (John Macionis) The desire for young girls amongst men is high, children are easily controlled by adults making it easier for the customer to get what they want, and customers have mistaken belief that younger children are safer because they are less likely to carry sexually transmitted diseases or HIV and
AIDS.
Lastly, prostitution has a lot of physical consequences. Deviant behavior with prostitution leads to health problems from abuse, neglect, battering, sexual assault, stress and sexually transmitted diseases. A lot of women in the prostitution go untreated because they want to keep their engagement in the business as secret. Many women also suffer from poor nutrition, gastrotestinal problems from poor eating habits and beatings.
As you can see, “commercial sex businesses are a multibillion dollar global market.” (John Macionis) Even though it is mot commonly viewed to be deviant behavior among most countries and cultures around the world there are also a large number of people that believe it should be legalized. Activists are working to teach people about the negatives behind the business and how harmful this deviant act is to women.

Works Cited
1. Crossman, Ashley. "Sociology Of Deviance And Crime." About.com Sociology. About.com, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
2. Macionis, John J., and Nijole V. Benokraitis. "Prostitution: A Worldwide Business of Sexual Exploitation." Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-cultural Readings in Sociology. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. 167-79. Print.