Ins and outs of prostitution

A Closer Look into a Dirty Industry

Although prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world, the U.S. continues to make futile attempts to eradicate an industry that cannot be beaten. An evaluation of the definition of prostitution, the defining of street prostitution, the positives and negatives of legalizing the industry, and the discrimination that prostitutes face should shed some light on this underground trade.

According to Wikipedia, a popular web-based encyclopedia, "prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for money or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. A person selling sexual favors is a prostitute, a type of sex worker. In a more general sense of the word, anyone selling their services for a cause thought to be unworthy can be described as prostituting themselves." Prostitution is not only a field in which females participate; it is a non-gender discriminating field.

7336 - Moscow - Bolotnaya Proshad - Children are t...

Prostitute talking to a potential customer in West...

Prostitute c.1890

Both males and females can be prostitutes, but the focal point of this paper will be female street prostitution because it is the most prevalent in the United States.

Prostitution comes in many different settings, but the most common prostitution seen today is street prostitution. In street prostitution a prostitute will dress very provocative and scantily clad and solicit their customers in public areas like street corners and sidewalks. These areas are chosen because naturally they are the places that potential customers will be able to see them. Presently, prostitutes do not approach the potential clients' vehicle, instead they wait for client to approach them, and then negotiations are made as to what the encounter will include. This system cuts down on the risk of being arrested for the solicitation of sex because the potential buyer is the initiator of the transaction.