Social Theories Examination of Prostitution

Prostitution is the sale of sexual services for money or goods without emotional attachment. Systems of prostitution can include any industry in which women and/or children’s- and occasionally men’s bodies are bought, sold, or traded for sexual use. Prostitution has been referred to as the “world’s oldest profession” because proof of prostitution can be found from up to four thousand years in the past. Prostitution has been neither totally accepted nor condemned. Sociological perspectives can be used to examine prostitution as a social problem in Canada. Structural Functionalists focus on how deviance-including prostitution-is an important element of society. Symbolic Interactionalists investigate micro-level concerns, such as how or why people become involved in prostitution and how prostitution affects their self-esteem. Social- Conflict perspectives explain how patriarchy and capitalism is related to prostitution. Feminists focus on prostitution as a gendered labour.
Article One Summary Article One: Activists launch challenge of prostitution legislation, was found in the Hamilton Spectator and was written in March of 2007. The article activates for law against bawdy houses to be terminated, communicating for the purpose of prostitution and living on the avails of prostitution. The Safe Haven Initiative, led by Osgoode Hall law professor Alan Young and volunteer law students claim laws make it illegal for prostitutes to work in their own homes or hire a body guard for protection, women are deprived of their right to liberty and security. The article reiterates that while there is no wording in the criminal code that specifically outlaws prostitution, nearly all aspects of a transaction- including hiring a prostitute, scouting potential customers and making money from sex- are made illegal by those three provisions. After hearing testimonies from more than three hundred witnesses, ministers of parliament from various parties or the sub-committee couldn’t agree