Abstract
Feminist thinkers have long been concerned to explore parallels between marriage, prostitution, slavery and wage labour, as well as the sexual, political and economic relations that underpin these institutions (see Jackson, 1994). For those radical feminists who foreground the sexual domination and political subordination of women by men in their analyses of gender inequality, prostitution is the unambiguous embodiment of male oppression. It reduces women to bought objects, it allows men temporary, but direct, control over the prostitute, and increases their existing social control over all women by affirming their masculinity and patriarchal rights of access to women’s bodies (Barry, 1979, 1984; Dworkin, 1987; Pateman, 1988). Prostitution is, for such commentators, a form of slavery: ‘Free prostitution does not exist … prostitution of women [is] always by force … it is a violation of human rights and an outrage to the dignity of women’ (Barry, 1991, quoted in Van der Gaag, 1994, p. 6). Since no person willingly volunteers to have their human rights and dignity violated, it follows from radical feminist analyses that the decision to exchange sex for money is always and necessarily forced and irrational. The logic of such arguments, combined with the liberal use of military metaphors, produces self-contradictory, but equally unpleasant and patronising, visions of the prostitute woman. One moment she is a tragic, front-line casualty, the next she is a self-serving collaborator betraying her sisters.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alexander, P. (1988) ‘Prostitution: A Difficult Issue for Feminists’, in F. Delacoste and P. Alexander (eds), Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry ( London: Virago ).
Barry, K. (1979) Female Sexual Slavery ( Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall).
Bart’y, K. (ed.) (1984) International Feminism: Networking Against Female Sexual Slavery (New York: International Women’s Tribune Center).
Bowker, L. (1978) Women, Crime and the Criminal Justice System ( Toronto: Lexington Books).
Bracey, D. (1979) Baby-Pros ( New York: John Jay Press).
Brussa, L. (1991) ‘Survey on Prostitution, Migration and Traffic in Women: History and Current Situation’, Seminar on Action Against Traffic in Women and Forced Prostitution as Violations of Human Rights and Human Dignity, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 25–27 September.
Delacoste, F. and Alexander, P. (eds) (1988) Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry ( London: Virago ).
Dworkin, A. (1987) Intercourse (London: Secker & Warburg).
Collins, P. Hill (1991), Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment ( London: Routledge).
Hooks, B. (1981) Ain’t I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism ( Boston, MA: South End Press).
hooks, b. (1992) Black Looks: Race and Representation ( London: Turnaround Press).
Jackson, M. (1994) The Real Facts of Life: Feminism and the Politics of Sexuality, c. 1850–1940 (London: Taylor & Francis).
Jaget, C. (1980) Prostitutes: Our Lives ( Bristol: Falling Wall Press).
Jarvinen, M. (1993) Of Vice and Women: Shades of Prostitution ( Oslo: Scandinavian University Press).
Kennedy, H. (1993) Eve was Framed: Women and British Justice ( London: Virago).
Kinnell, H. (1989) Prostitutes, Their Clients and Risks of HIV ( Birmingham University: Department of Public Health Medicine).
Mackinnon, C. (1982) ‘Feminism, Marxism, Method and the State: An Agenda for Theory’, in N. Keohane et al., (eds), Feminist Theory: A Critique of Ideology ( Brighton: Harvester Press).
McLeod E. (1982) Women Working: Prostitution Now ( London: Croom Helm).
Mama, A. (1992) ‘Black Women and the British State: Race, Class and Gender Analysis for the 1990s’, in P. Braham, A. Rattansi and R. Skellington (eds), Racism and Antiracism: Inequalities, Opportunities and Policies ( London: Sage ).
Marx, K. (1977) Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (London: Lawrence & Wishart).
Mr A. de Graaf Foundation (1994) ‘Prostitution in the Netherlands: The Current State of Affairs’, Westermarkt 4, 1016 DK Amsterdam.
O’Connell Davidson, J. (1994) ‘British Sex Tourists in Thailand’, paper presented to the Women’s Study Network Annual Conference, Portsmouth, 8–10 July.
O’Connell Davidson, J. (1995) ‘The Anatomy of “Free Choice” Prostitution’, Gender Work and Organisation, 2 (1).
O’Connell Davidson, J. and Layder, D. (1994) Methods, Sex and Madness ( London: Routledge).
Pateman, C. (1988) The Sexual Contract ( Cambridge: Polity Press).
Patterson, O. (1982) Slavery and Social Death ( Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
Roberts, N. (1992) Whores in History ( London: Grafton).
Sayer, D. (1991) Capitalism and Modernity ( London: Routledge).
Small, S. (1994), Racialised Barriers: The Black Experience in the United States and England in the 1980s ( London: Routledge).
Stoller, R. (1991) Pain and Passion: A Psychoanalyst Explores the World of S&M ( New York: Plenum Press).
Van der Gaag, N. (1994) ‘Prostitution: Soliciting for Change’, The New Internationalist, 252 (February): pp. 4–7.
West, D. J. (1992) Male Prostitution ( London: Duckworth).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1996 British Sociological Association
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Davidson, J.O. (1996). Prostitution and the Contours of Control. In: Weeks, J., Holland, J. (eds) Sexual Cultures. Explorations in Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24518-5_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24518-5_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-65004-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-24518-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)