Term Paper on "Man Has Evolved, From Times Immemorial"

Term Paper 15 pages (5105 words) Sources: 10

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Man has evolved, from times immemorial, because of certain instinctual traits. Each of these is to ensure the survival and spread of the species. The need to eat and find shelter is instinctual. That is necessary for survival. The need to procreate is also equally important. Without procreation, mankind cannot survive. As a higher species, man has also evolved the needs that stem from sexual urges to the satisfaction that arises from the pleasures of sex that is different from other lower species. The female of the species does not go into estrus once in a breeding season, merely for procreation. Humans can participate and enjoy sex at will, and not necessarily for the purpose of procreation.

Man's higher faculties have also allowed the species to develop a system of economics. This system also ensures survival of the species. One can even go on to state that this means for survival is instinctual. Human beings will barter and use other modes of exchange (which, in modern times, is represented by paper money) in order to get the materiel necessary to complete any deficits an individual or a group of individuals might experience. Some of these exchanges come from services that a person uses his professional skills to obtain. Consider the notion then, that "prostitution is the world's oldest profession." Women (and in a smaller number of cases, men) have used sex, which (for the most part) is already in the possession of an individual, without additional effort or training), as a commodity to acquire materiel that they did not possess.

Over the years then, prostitution has evolved alongside the family structure; the latter was used to ensure that women and children were well cared for. It also ensured that children would be raised to become contributing members of society, a microcosm of how civilizations developed. Despite all this, prostitution flourished, and became the epitome, of, if not criminal, but certainly amoral behavior. Eventually, depending on the moral nature of society of the times, vis-a-vis, the Victorian Era, the prevailing mores of the times resulted in the criminalization and marginalization of prostitution and those that plied this trade.

This essay will argue that legalization of prostitution is necessary in today's society. There is a significant difference between the legalization, regulation and decriminalization of prostitution -- this will be discussed. The beneficent consequences of such an action are manifold. It preserves the right of prostitutes; it provides a safe and healthy environments to ply their trade; it ensures that they do not become victims of abuse; it will ensure that human trafficking, especially of minors for sexual purposes will be reduced, if not completely stopped; it will prevent the spread of deadly diseases; it will result in significant economic benefits to counties, municipalities, cities and even the state.

This essay will also present, to the reader, the arguments put forth by opponents. It will also assess why these opinions are premature. This is not because they do not make strong points and back it up with relevant data; but because they do not offer preferable alternatives to legalizations. Then there are other entrenched lobbies in today's society who seek to define prostitution in terms other than purely economic. Prostitution shows us that sex has and will always be traded, just like any other commodity. The market forces of supply and demand work in every aspect of prostitution. Simply put, remove the demand; the supply will go away. Alternatively, if a commodity is not available, it is not very clear how demands will be met. Some believe that instances of rape will increase; also, that the physically disabled or people who are unattractive for one or another reason will not be able to obtain sexual recompense. These lobbies however, tend to portray prostitution as solely a woman's issue. That is, they believe that prostitution can be seen only as abuse of women by men, and that women have no control whatsoever in any aspect of prostitution.

Indeed, Sweden, for a while, espoused this view for they believed that the selling of sex was legal, but the purchasing of it was not. (Bazelon, 2008) to be fair, this law indicated that selling was legal even if the seller was a man. But one can imagine how such a notion would unfairly prosecute men. These and other such issues are responsible for confounding any statistics that seek to show how legalization or at least decriminalization can be useful. One has to recognize however, that prostitution has always been there and will continue to remain, and will decidedly outlast all other societal institutions no matter how deeply rooted they are. And this is because of the instinctual nature of sex and its use as a commodity. The best way to deal with it is to come to accept it.

Definitions and Descriptions of Key Terms

What is a Prostitute

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Prostitution as, "the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations, especially for money." It is perhaps the most complete definition but quite lacking in specifics. The American Heritage dictionary on the other hand defines prostitution as "a performance of sex acts for hire." While from a conceptual standpoint, the average person on the street will have a good idea of what a prostitute is, in trying to succinctly encapsulate the notion of prostitution those that try to, unambiguously, define it fall short.

Consider the definition from Merriam-Webster. One cannot be sure what constitutes promiscuity. Women and men can be promiscuous, but not exchange sex for money. While prostitutes might, in large part, be promiscuous, so are perhaps the many couples that engage in open marriages or the process of swinging. These acts are not mainstream, but they exist and those engaged in swinging in large part lead very normal lives with the couples having good careers, stable homes and rearing children. (Cauthen, 1999)

Indeed, a Middle Age definition of prostitution from Johannes Teutonicus argues that a woman can be termed a prostitute if she had sex with 23,000 men, though a smaller number such as approximately 50 would also suffice. (Noer, 2006) the definition of prostitution has been revised by some as "is the act of rendering, from the client's point-of-view, non-reproductive sex against payment." Some of the confounders for this issue are then people who work in strip clubs -- where direct-contact sexual favors might not be available, or massage parlors, where erotic stimulation is does not involve penetration, or even those that provide other services such domination, where the perception of sexual satisfaction comes from being humiliated and physically and emotionally abused, and does not involve specific sex acts.

In was mentioned in the previous section that some entrenched lobbies often confound the issue of prostitution because of a biased and very narrow definition. A feminist organization based in Minnesota, Breaking Free Inc., defines prostitution by squarely placing the blame on customers, whom they consider abusers, while giving women the benefit of the doubt that they consider as the abused and unwitting victims of a patriarchal society. (BreakingFreeInc, 2008) This group defines prostitution as the "systematic sexual violence and oppression against women and girls." And this so called violence is directed not against prostitutes who engage in sex for money but also extends it to saunas, strippers, pornography and mail order brides, something most people wouldn't ascribe to prostitution. Clearly, one can see that this group has an overt agenda, which most prostitutes, no matter what their reason for engaging in prostitution, would not espouse -- unless they very specifically met the strict definition put forth by this organization. This would include minors who had been forced into prostitution to escape abuse and had no recourse for a livelihood; this might also include sex workers who are transferred from one location to a culturally and geographically foreign one for the purpose of sex, most often, under the guise of legitimate employment.

The very term prostitution has metamorphosed in recent times into "sex worker." (Ditmore, 2006) This is to remove the stigma associated with prostitution or whores or harlotry as an amoral act. Calling it a sex worker then categorizes the act of prostitution as any other form of employments that raises revenue and ensures a livelihood. Within the framework of this broader definition then, the concept of a sex worker has to be redefined as sexual favors for remuneration that do not involve an intervention of a third party. These sexual favors have to be available from a specific location; and like all economic services, the negotiation of the sex act should reflect the laws of supply and demand.

Within this framework then, three tiers of prostitutions are possible. (Van Mechenel, 1992) the acts are the same, but the setting and the amount of money exchanged is different. At the upper tier are the call girls, who are affluent, well educated and often serve as escorts. They are available also for longer term services. Their services are also very… READ MORE

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