Teagann Nickel

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Men and Women of the Night: Exploited or Empowered

Hooker, street worker, slut. These are just a few names that are thrown daily at

prostitutes. What you don't think about is they're also Mom, Dad. Brother or Sister.

Ordinary people just like you and me are criticized daily for their choice of work. Even

with centuries of existence, the decriminalization of prostitution is one of America's

most taboo topics that tends to remain in the dark. Lacking information and personal

opinions being thrown in from both sides, has lead us into a deep uproar. The benefit for

some has been shy to present itself when compared to exploitation and human

trafficking. Contrary to popular belief not all prostitution leads to such drastic episodes

and negative outcomes therefore not all cases are the conventional belief.

To fully understand the pros and cons to legalizing prostitution it is extremely

important to be educated on both the for and against side to this touchy topic. Pros

cover everything from flexible work hours all the way to confidence boosting and safety.

With every good argument knowledge of the opposing side is mandatory so this article

also informs you about the exploitation of men and women in this line of work as well as

the secrecy that this job currently requires. Summarizing both sides you will see my

compromise of these opposing sides into a new viewpoint.

 Riddled with fear and pain a prostitute will silently pray her next customer will
not be any worse than her last. Hoping to come home to a house of children or family
and not have to wear sunglasses or loads of makeup to hide the black eye their customer
graciously provided them. Prostitutes are supplied with close to none, if any background
information on their next customer. Anyone who picks her/him up could have any
Commented [1]: I would add a transition! something
like, "but there can be no doubt that there are valid
critiques of the current black market for sex."
Commented [2]: Would you want the transition in the
end of the other paragraph or the beginning of this
one?
Commented [3]: Also, with my road map talking about
how i'm going to show them both sides is it necessary
to put the transition? Thank you so much so for all the
fantastic critique.

cocktail of problems that the average person would need help controlling such as,

psychopathic thoughts, cruel intentions, and even violent tendencies. Alone locked in a

room with someone who is out of control or taking advantage of every weakness you

have is the reality that sets in when starting a job in this field.

Wash your hands, take showers, cover your mouth, all ways we are told to stay

healthy from the minute we take those first steps. What about the diseases and

infections that you can't just wash with a little bit of soap and scrubbing? More than 50

million adults will have genital herpes, and more than 1.5 million cases of gonorrhea in

just 2016, things seem dark for women who cant get any medical help leaving them in a

revolving circle. When you cant go to a professional for help then you are left to self

diagnosing which can potentially be fatal with no medicine available or any healthcare

to heal themselves. When we get sick the first thought is to visit a professional to get a

sure diagnosis on what is riddling our bodies; this much desired comfort that a simple

answer provides is stolen from the men and women who work in this field. While most

work gives you benefits for medical care, this line of work prevents all care. The secrecy

that comes with being a prostitute leaves many men and women lacking the help they

need in the health care system and legal system. Justice is being stolen from these
workers simply because they have decided to pursue a controversial profession that is

illegal, and thus cannot be regulated or monitored to ensure quality working conditions.

The relief you receive at a doctor's office can be received at the police station as

well. Although many studies have been conducted one study found a slightly lower rate

sitting at 74% of sex-workers reported having experienced some form of physical abuse.

That study was only conducted of reported incidents that means that there is still a 36%

chance that more men and women have been abused. There is no one who deserves to

get away with sexual abuse, but with prostitution being illegal and prostitutes unable to

report the crimes of domestic abuse without admitting to committing crimes of

prostitution, these men and women have no one to go to if they have dealt with a

customer who is aggressive or exploitative. The only way for workers to get the the word

out about bad customers over the internet and by word of mouth.

Human trafficking is an commonly avoided subject that America hates to reveal

because of the drastic measures that must be taken to fix it. With prostitution being

illegal in the United states the human trafficking rates are extremely high. But this is a

worldwide issue; The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.5

million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally. There have been many

cases where men women and children have been trafficked were the victim gets

punished because they were categorized as prostitutes. Does that seem right to you?

After being taken and sold to a complete stranger and then having to do unquestionable

actions without any ability to refuse and then getting arrested, that seems extremely

backwards to me. Legalizing prostitution will set strict rules on not only the brothels and

pimps who sell children but those who buy the children. Most disturbing is that
pedophiles that have paid to have sex with a minor knows ahead of time that their

victim has to protect themselves from law enforcement because, they can be charged

with the crime of prostitution. It will always be a crime to have sex with a minor, but

when the child is charged like an accomplice that aids only one person: the customer. By

legalizing prostitution it will leave us to focus on setting strict rules on brothels, pimps,

and rapists rather that convicting the victims.

Do you ever feel that warm giddy feeling and uncontrollable smile that creeps

onto your face when you get a compliment? Well that's what prostitution gives to some

people. The confidence of being chosen out of all the other men or women is a large

confidence boost for some prostitutes. "They basically just want self-esteem boosts and

like to see you naked, which is just a self-confidence boost for me Quotes Chris Griffith.

Prostitution is a game of choosing between different people like clothes you choose at a

store. Men and women all different sizes shapes and colors we choose like a new shirt.

When you are chosen being seen as appealing in different ways is a huge confidence

boost. Most sex workers I've spoken to who choose sex work as a first choice are happy

with their choice, they enjoy their work and it is a career move for them. If they don't,

they just leave with a few more dollars in their pocket. The confidence boost and just

over all love of their work is what is keeping the business of prostitution alive.

The stress of rushing through traffic just to barely make it to the Parent teacher

meeting at their kids school is routine in most parents lives. A lot of parents go through

the struggle of rushing their kids around to school, sports, or work. With the freedom of

choosing the hours they want to work the prostitutes who are parents get to make a

deeper connection and relationship with their child/children because they can choose to
work when their kids are at school, asleep, etc. ..We have more time to give to them, we

can go to their schools and do the parent-teacher helping, or volunteer at their canteen,

or go down and look after a kid full-time three days a week if you are working one day a

week, Ashley said. With the excessive freedom and time to spend with their kids and

family prostitutes miss out on much less family time and parent to child connections.

The developmental stage is one of the most important and attention seeking time in a

child's life. This is when the kids are going to school making friends and learning about

the world. These are the stages of most childrens lives that parents working a 9-5 are

missing out on. The flexible schedule leaves prostitutes with time to take care of their

children and themselves.

The average amount that an adult working a 9-5 office job makes per year is

roughly $40,000 paying minimum wage; the professional prostitute makes around

$700,000 annually. The increase in pay that professional prostitutes make is around

$300,000 more than the average job per year. The extra money that those men and

women can put back into their lives as they'd like. The increase in pay allows these men

and women to take care of their personal needs, College, family, food and more. By the

time I started working as a dominatrix, I had less than two weeks to make rent. I made

the money in two days. When Mark Miller really brought our minds up to speed with

the incredible increase in pay that this job brings.

Alcoholics anonymous, narcotics anonymous, alateen, why not a prostitutes

anonymous? Criminalizing a work field leaves the men and women who were forced

into it, to advocate solely for themselves with a lacking amount of help. When you have

an issue that you need to get help with you can almost always find group of others to
help support you with tools and other to go to, but not with prostitutes. They are left

with the mere experience and minimal information on the internet. If we were to

legalize prostitution then there could be groups set up specifically for the help and care

of prostitutes. Supporting those who have gone through an abusive or dangerous client

and warning other about them so that no-one else is put in that position. Creating a safe

space for these men and women to talk about their experiences and connect with one

and another will make a safer, cleaner, and more reliable work force to be in.

Normalizing prostitution can be a simple task that carries many challenges. The

first step to normalizing anything that may vary from one difficulty level to the next is

talking about it; leaving a subject in the dark gives us no time to hear from other sides

and hear their opinions and facts. With a lack of knowledge comes secrecy and biased

opinions that weigh on large decisions like creating laws for or against something.

Insufficient understanding of a subject leads us to making rash decisions based on our

opinions and little persuasion from different sides. Talking and informing others on

subjects like this especially those who can give you personal stories without any bias, is

the most important thing we can do to take the baby steps of a safer more normalized

community for those who chose this workforce.

Victims or business professionals? Exploited or empowered? Prostitution like

every debatable subject has its pros and cons. The freedom of walking into a police station or

getting medical help from professionals without any accusations are just two very important

reasons why we need to legalize prostitution. Keeping the men and women on the streets safe

with a plethora of reliable information, medical and police help, and transparent clientele will

make an enormous difference in these workers lives. There will always be prostitution we cant
get rid of it nor is it something that technically needs to be gotten rid of. Our past has boldly

shown it: criminalizing prostitution has just made the men and women who turn to the streets

for help and support commonly get shoved into exploitation and dangerous situations. If we

were to compromise and legalize it but set strict rules against any and all exploitation, non-

consensual violence, and most of all human trafficking. In conclusion keeping this topic in the

social realm, and the top of our minds, is what can help us lead to a brighter safer and most

importantly an inclusive country that respects and protects prostitutes.

 Works Cited

Bazelon, Emily. "Should Prostitution Be a Crime?" The New York Times. The New York Times,

05 May 2016. Web. 26 May 2017.

Bodenner, Chris. "Should Prostitution Really Be a Crime?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media

Company, 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 26 May 2017.

Feuer, Alan. "Ex-Police Officer Sentenced to Prison for Running Online Escort Service." The

New York Times. The New York Times, 04 May 2017. Web. 26 May 2017.

Gardner, Lyn. "See Me Now: The Show Exposing the Everyday Lives of Sex Workers." The

Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 Jan. 2017. Web. 26 May 2017.

Moynihan, Colin. "$2 Million Bail Set for Woman in Brothel Case." The New York Times. The

New York Times, 26 Mar. 2008. Web. 26 May 2017.

"Point Taken." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 26 May 2017.

"Prostitution at Age 52: Questions Linger." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Jan.

2012. Web. 26 May 2017.

"A Personal Choice." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 07 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 May

2017.