MISYOGYNIST AND PATRIARCH ATTITUDES FORM MEDIA DEBATES ON PROSTITUTION
Prostitution generally is a subject that embroils moral and philosophical opinions of autonomy, gender, and oppression (Beran,2012, 19). Often, media debates on prostitution are marked with relatively strong defensive perspectives of both opponents and proponents. In most instances, public debates on the subject can be tough, irate, and passionate. Proponents of prostitution who defend the action on the grounds of it being a source of income welcome their identity. However, opponents of this subject who perceive it as a social vice, for instance, the religious quarters, have decried the very term sex work as demeaning. Such opponents often underpinning their argument on the idea that there will never be dignity where sex involves monetary exchange. In this regard, most times, the debate on prostitution have been marked with misogynistic and patriarchist themes that seem to paint it as a tool that undermines women.
Misogyny
Misogyny often has been one of the core thematic issues that media debates on prostitution have illuminated. The wider social understanding, according to Beran (2012, 20), is that prostitution is primarily a female profession. This is because traditionally women make the majority of prostitutes, and the buyers, often referred to “johns” occasionally are men. First, prohibitionists of prostitution have underpinned their dissent on the subject on one key ideology; that sex work or prostitution from every angle objectifies women. For instance, Melissa Farley, the director of Prostitution Research and Education (PRE), has argued that prostitution promotes sexual attitudes and aggressiveness by men towards the female in the community. She argues further that to assume the liberty to treat a woman as a prostitute implies that it is not seen as humans and that it harms both prostitutes and non-prostitutes (Weitzer, 2010, 16). Secondly, other opponents of this act expressed attitudes of misogyny on debates by arguing that when men use women for sex trade, they are simply expressing pure hatred for the woman’s body. The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women state it on their website, “All prostitution exploits women regardless of their consent. It affects women and justifies their sale.
Patriarchy
Apart from misogyny, patriarchal issues have also often underlined debates around prostitution. Some feminist scholars seem to have arrived at the consensus that bias within the patriarchal hierarchy is one of the main challenges in prostitution. First, radical feminists, according to Beran (2012, 22) argue that prostitution is fundamentally reflective of the wider systems of gender inequality and oppressiveness in most societies. Due to the patriarchal dominance in most social hierarchies, women often have very few alternatives and are coerced into the act. Secondly, attempts to criminalize prostitution in some nations; for instance, Swedish were mostly marked with debates that seemed to have disquiet around patriarchy. Most public debates on the idea to criminalize both parties received little support.
In contrast, however, a majority was of the opinion that only the punter should be brought to punitive measures. The nation argued that by punishing the punters, it was relaying a message that prostitution is not acceptable in a gender-equal society (Gould, 2001, 443). The Social Democratic member of Elisebeth Markstrom, a prominent individual in the Swedish Association of Women’s Shelters, advanced that buying women for sex was parcel reflective of an equal society. This is likely to indicate that it is reflective of society were patriarchs have the power to objectify women.
Conclusion
Traditionally, prostitution has been a controversial issue in many societies. This subject had almost equal measure opposers and proponents with each party, arguing around it with certain opinions. Albeit proponents argue that prostitution or sex work is a voluntary choice for women, most debates around prostitution have aroused topics of inequality and dehumanization, often making arguments around this subject complex to discuss.
References
Beran, K., 2012. Revisiting the Prostitution Debate: Uniting Liberal and Radical Feminism in Pursuit of Policy Reform. Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice, 30(1), p.19.
Gould, A., 2001. The criminalization of buying sex: The politics of prostitution in Sweden. Journal of Social Policy, 30(3), pp.437-456.
Weitzer, R., 2010. The mythology of prostitution: Advocacy research and public policy. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 7(1), pp.15-29.