What's Wrong With Prostitution? Evaluating Sex Work: Christine Overall

What'sWrongwithProstitution?
EvaluatingSex Work
Christine Overall
Two problems
T HI S ARTICLE originated
fromthe recognition
of two
problemsconcerningthe nature,meaning,value, and circum-
stancesof prostitution withincapitalistpatriarchy.
The firstof
theseproblemsis theapparentconflictbetweensome sex trade
workersand manyfeminists in regardto theacceptabilityofprostitution.
Womenwho work in the sex trade industryoftenfeelcondemnedand
rejectedby manyfeministwomen. One sex worker,forinstance,writes
resentfully of "the apparentlyimmutablefeministparty-linethat [sex]
work was degradingand oppressiveto women," adding that feminists
and sex tradeworkers"are splitinto good girlsand bad girls-just like
society'sGood Women and Whores. Only this timethe fearsof moral
inferiorityand uncontrollablesexualityare couched in feministpolitical
language."1This notion is echoed in the anthologypublished by the
TorontoWomen'sPress,Good Girls/BadGirls: Sex Trade Workersand
FeministsFace to Face, a partialtranscriptof a 1985 Torontoconference
at whichCanadian feminists and workersin the sex tradediscussedsex
work.2Both greatgood will and angerare palpable among the partici-
pants. The workersdid not want othersto speak authoritatively about
theirlives; theyresentedthe assumptionthattheirworkwas necessarily
demeaningand neverfreelychosen. Insteadtheydefendedtheir"right"
to be prostitutesand the value, dignity,and libertyof the work,which
I am gratefulto CherylMisak forher detailedand sensitivecommentson thisarticle,

to the audienceat the Queen's University Departmentof PhilosophyColloquium for
theirquestionsand comments,and to JeanneBarker-Nunnand the anonymousreview-
ers forSigns.
1
PeggyMorgan, "Livingon the Edge," in Sex Work: Writingsby Womenin theSex
Industry, ed. FrederiqueDelacoste and PriscillaAlexander(Pittsburgh:Cleis, 1987), 23,
25.
2
Laurie Bell, ed., Good Girls/BadGirls: Sex Trade Workersand FeministsFace to
Face (Toronto:Women's Press,1987).
[Signs:Journalof Womenin Cultureand Society1992, vol. 17, no. 4]

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of Chicago.All rightsreserved.
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Overall EVALUATING SEX WORK
manyof themtake to be a "profession."3Nor did theywant to be the

targetsof pityor rescuework; accordingto a statementfromtheSecond
WorldWhores'Congress(1986), "Prostitutes rejectsupportthatrequires
themto leave prostitution;theyobject to being treatedas symbolsof
oppressionand demand recognitionas workers."4As one sex worker
stated,"We want respectforour work."5
The vehemenceof thesepronouncements led me to wonderwhether
feminists mustnecessarilybe committedto the sortof positionon pros-
titutionso roundlycondemnedby manyof theworkersthemselves.Sur-
prisingly, I foundthat comparedto othertopics relatedto sexualityon
whichfeministtheoristshave writtencopiously(e.g., pornography),sex
work has receivedrelativelylittleattentionin recentyears,and littleof
thatactuallyfitsthevisionof feminist theorypresentedby sex workers.6
The relativepaucityof recentdiscussionof sex workby feminists may
well be because the topic is a difficultone forwomen; it is a topic that
dividesus. In fact,the divisionof opinionthatostensiblyexistsbetween
feministsand sex workersalso divides feministsthemselves.As Gayle
Rubin points out, "Feminismhas always been vitallyinterestedin sex.
But therehave been two strainsof feminist thoughton the subject.One
tendency has criticized
the restrictionson women's sexual behaviorand
denouncedthe highcosts imposedon women forbeingsexuallyactive.
This traditionof feminist sexual thoughthas called fora sexual liberation
thatwould workforwomenas well as formen.The secondtendencyhas
consideredsexual liberalizationto be inherently a mereextensionof male
privilege. This tradition resonates with conservative,anti-sexualdis-
course.Withthe advent of the anti-pornography movement,it achieved
temporaryhegemony over feminist analysis."7While Rubin's description
is biased byhersympathy for theliberationistapproachto sexuality8and
herrejectionof theradical feminist approach thatis primarilycriticalof
3 See esp. Margo St. James,"The Reclamationof Whores,"in Bell, ed., 81-87; and
ValerieScott,"C-49: A New Wave of Oppression,"in Bell, ed., 100-103. Also see, e.g.,
the debate in "Human Rights:'Simple Human Respect,'" in A Vindicationof the Rights
of Whores,ed. Gail Pheterson(Seattle:Seal Press,1989), 52-102.
4 DraftStatements fromthe Second WorldWhores' Congress(1986), in Delacoste
and Alexander,eds., 307-21, esp. 307.
5 Pheterson,87.
6
Compare the debates in "Feminism:CrunchPoint,"in Pheterson,ed., 144-72, and
"'The Big Divide': FeministReactionsto the Second WorldWhores' Congress,"in Phet-
erson,ed., 173-91.
7
Gayle Rubin,"ThinkingSex: Notes fora Radical Theoryof the Politicsof Sexual-
ity," Pleasureand Danger: ExploringFemale Sexuality,ed. Carole S. Vance (Boston:
in
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984), 301.
8 This as
similaritiesto what AlisonJaggaridentifies
approach also has significant
the liberalstanceon prostitution;AlisonM. Jaggar,"Prostitution," in Philosophyof
Sex: ContemporaryReadings,ed. Alan Soble (Totowa, N.J.: Littlefield, Adams, 1980),
348-68, esp. 350-51.
706 SIGNS Summer 1992

EVALUATING SEX WORK Overall
maleprivilege, shenevertheless providesa fairly accuratecategorization

of a verydeepsplitwithinfeminist on
theorizing sexuality. It is a split
betweenan emphasis on sexualfreedom andpleasurethatviewswomen
exclusively as agents, on theonehand,andan emphasis on sexualdanger
anddegradation thatseeswomenexclusively as victimson theother.The
debateis overhow one shouldlive out one's sexualityand to what
ends-forinstance, money, pleasure,security, or autonomy.
The subjectof prostitution a
provides particularly sharpexampleof
thissplitin feminist thought. While Rubin describes prostitutionas "in-
nocuous," Susan G. Cole describes it as "an institution
of male suprem-
acy ... in thesameway as ... slavery was an institution of whitesu-
premacy," an institution inwhich"lotsofwomen. . . aregetting hurt."9
AndreaDworkinclaimsthatprostitution is nota simplematter ofchoice
butis, alongwithrape,one of the"institutions thatmostimpedeany
experience of intercourse as it
freedom"; "negate[s]self-determination
andchoiceforwomen."10 To complicate thecontroversy, somesextrade
workers, especially thosewho have for one reasonor anotherleftthe
work,wouldagreewiththosefeminists who arehighly criticalofpros-
titution.In addition, sexworkers themselves areoftenfeminist in many
of theirbeliefs, ifnottheirself-identification. As a statement fromthe
SecondWorldWhores'Congress(1986) putsit,"Due to feminist hesi-
tationor refusalto acceptprostitution as legitimate workand to accept
prostitutesas working women,themajority ofprostituteshavenotiden-
tifiedas feminists; nonetheless, manyprostitutes identifywithfeminist
values such as independence,financialautonomy,sexual self-
determination, personalstrength, and femalebonding."1
To understand thisdivergence inwomen'sopinionsaboutsexwork,it
is important firstto recognize thatit originates froma longhistory of
feminist workaroundtheissueofprostitution and sexuality.12
Thisdi-
visionamongwomencan also be seenas anothercase of patriarchal
divideand conquer;althoughsucha processis notnecessarily a delib-
erateconspiracy, it functions effectively to keepwomenarguingwith
eachotherratherthanwiththosewhoperpetuate and benefitfromthe
9
Rubin,283; Susan G. Cole, "Sexual Politics:Contradictionsand Explosions,"in
Bell, ed., 33-36, esp. 35.
10 AndreaDworkin,Intercourse(New York: Free Press,1987), 143.
11DraftStatements fromthe Second WorldWhores' Congress(1986), in Delacoste
and Alexander(n. 1 above), 307.
12 See
JudithR. Walkowitz,"The Politicsof Prostitution,"
Signs:Journalof Women
in Cultureand Society6, no. 1 (1980): 123-35, and "Male Vice and FemaleVirtue:
Feminismand the Politicsof Prostitution in Nineteenth-CenturyBritain,"in Powers of
Desire: The Politicsof Sexuality,ed. Ann Snitow,ChristineStansell,and SharonThomp-
son (New York: MonthlyReview Press,1983), 419-38; and Ellen Carol Dubois and
Linda Gordon, "SeekingEcstasyon theBattlefield:Danger and Pleasurein Nineteenth-
CenturyFeministSexual Thought,"in Vance,ed. (n. 7 above), 31-49.

practice.Thus some feminists come to despisethework thatsome other

women do, and some sex workerscome to resentthebeliefsystemsthat
some feminists hold. But despitethisfunctionalexplanation,I wondered
whetherit is possible to respond more positivelyto the difference of
opinionand, indeed, to find a way to reconcile theviews on each side. In
the attemptto do so, I shall be quoting extensivelyfromthe written
words of women sex workersthemselves.
The otherproblemwithwhichthisarticlebeginsarisesfromthe fact
thatI had moreinitialsympathy withthesecondof Rubin's two feminist
factionsthanwiththefirst.In otherwords,I had a convictionthatthere
is somethingdeeplywrongwithprostitution, thatsex workis not defen-
sible. Althoughas a feministI could supportsex workers'demandsfor
recognitionoftheirhumanrights,I could notrespondto thedemandthat
I "respect"sex workitself;I believedthatprostitution is bad forwomen,
bothwomenin "the life"and womenoutsideit. In thisassumptionI was
not alone: mostwriterson prostitution, whetherfeminist or not, appear
to make the assumptionthatthereis somethingmore morallytroubling
about prostitutionthan about otherformsof women's work. But pre-
ciselywhat is it thatis wrongwithprostitution? The second aim of this
out
article,then,is to figure specifically if
what, anything, is wrongwith
prostitution, particularly with respect to the persons,primarilywomen,
who engage in the work.13
I want to make it clearthatin askingthisquestion,at thebeginningin
a deliberately naiveway,I am not condemningsex workersfordoingthe
work theydo. I want to maintaina crucial moral distinctionbetween
prostitutesas sex workersand prostitution as a practiceand institution.
I also wish to distinguishmy stance from what I understandas more
traditionalmotivationsbehindthe condemnationof sex work: a hatred
of women, who are alleged to live out an evil and sexuallyrapacious
natureat the expense of gulliblemen, or a hatred and fear of sexual
activityitself.Nor is mygoal to show thatsex tradeworkersare wrong
to defendtheirwork and theirrightto do it,but ratherto discernwhat
truthcan be foundin theirviews.I also want to challengetheus-versus-
themmentality thatsuggeststhata feminist not in thesex trademaynot
discuss the work of thosewho are, prohibitionthatbuys in too will-
a
inglyto thegood girls/bad girlsdichotomy(one that,as I shallarguelater,
thereare severalgood reasons to reject).At the same time,the issue of
prostitution impingespowerfully on myown thinkingas a feminist, forc-
criticismsprimarilyconcernedwithprostitution
13 I shall set aside nonfeminist as a
public nuisance,whichare ably discussedby RosemarieTong, Women,Sex, and the
Law (Totowa, N.J.: Rowman & Allanheld,1984), 39-46; and by the Special Commit-
tee on Pornographyand Prostitution, "Pornographyand Prostitution:Issues Paper"
(Ministerof Supplyand ServicesCanada, Ottawa, 1983), 53 ff.

ingmeto confront someofmyownbiasesandstereotypes, evenmyown

woman-hatred.
internalized Ratherthanavoidingthecontroversy over
it
prostitution, seems importantto confrontit in order
to buildfeminist
theoryand practice, in thearea ofsexuality.
particularly
Sex workwithincapitalism
Although sexworkcanbe defined generallyas theexchange ofmoney
forsex actsand services ofvariouskinds,and sex workersalso include
eroticdancers, strippers,modelsinthepornography industry,andphone
sexpartners, thisarticlefocusesmainly in
uponprostitutescontemporary
NorthAmericaandmakesno attempt to generalizebeyondthatcontext.
This prostitution takesmanydifferent forms,rangingfromthemore
visiblestreetprostitution and so-calledmassageparlorsto brothels, so-
calledescortservices, and call girloperations. Sincechildprostitution
raisesdifferent and additionalissues,I shallrestrict mydiscussionto
adultprostitution.
Prostitutionis a commercial enterprise,andevidence strongly suggests
thatthewomenwhoengagein itdo so primarily, and oftenexclusively,
foreconomicgain.14As former sex workerAmberHollibaughwrites,
"Thebottom lineforanywomaninthesextradesis economics. However
a womanfeelswhenshe finally getsintothelife,it alwaysbeginsas
survival-therent,thekids,thedrugs,pregnancy, financing an abortion,
running awayfromhome,beingundocumented, havinga 'bad' reputa-
tion,incest-italwaysstartsat trying to getby."15And,as Catherine
MacKinnonpointsout,"asidefrommodelling (withwhichithas much
in common),hookingis theonlyjob forwhichwomenas a groupare
paid morethanmen."16
Yetfemalecooks,secretaries, and universityprofessors also selltheir
laborpower,and formanyofthemeconomicgainmaybe theirchiefor
onlymotive.Undercapitalism, themajority ofadulthumanbeingsmust
selltheirlaborpowerforsomefraction ofitsvalueinorderto obtainthe
meansofsubsistence forthemselves andforthosewhoareeconomically
dependent uponthem.Whythenshouldprostitution be considered mor-
allyanyworsethancooking,secretarial service,orprofessorial work?If
14 Canadian
AdvisoryCouncil on the Statusof Women,"Prostitutionin Canada"
(Ottawa, March 1984), 42-43; Debi Brock,"Beyond Images: Hookers and Feminists,"
Broadside 7, no. 6 (April 1986): 8-9; Kate Millett,"Prostitution:A QuartetforFemale
Voices," in Womanin SexistSociety:Studiesin Power and Powerlessness,ed. Vivian
Gornickand Barbara K. Moran (New York: Signet,1971), 100, 102.
15AmberHollibaugh,"On the StreetWhereWe Live," Women'sReview of Books 5
(January1988): 1.
16 CatharineA.
MacKinnon,FeminismUnmodified:Discourses on Life and Law
(Cambridge,Mass.: Harvard University Press,1987), 24-25.

one of theseis to be condemnedforthe alienationof the selfthatis paid

labor, then all should be condemned.As Alison Jaggarpoints out, "If
thereis indeed a philosophicallysignificant distinctionto be made be-
tweenthe woman who sells sexual servicesand the individualwho sells
servicesof any kind,thenthatdistinctionmustbe givena philosophical
rationale."17
In what follows I attemptto findsuch a rationale by describinga
numberof possiblefeminist objectionsto prostitution and thelimitations
of each.18My aim hereis to discoverwhat,if anything, makes prostitu-
tionworsethanotherformsof paid labor in capitalistsociety.In orderto
do this,I mustengage,as have manyfeministcriticsof sex work,in the
somewhatartificialseparationof some of thedifferent contextsand con-
ditions of sex work. Assumingthat all labor now occurs withinthe
constraints of capitalistexchange,I am askingthedeliberately essentialist
question of whether there is anything inherent in sex work as practiced
today thatrendersit inevitablymorallyproblematicin a way thatother
formsof work are not, and whetherit is possibleto changesex work in
such a way as to overcomethose moral objections.
For thispurpose it is helpfulto use the criteriaforevaluatingsexual
behaviorproposed by Rubin: "A democraticmoralityshould judge sex-
ual acts by the way partnerstreatone another,the level of mutualcon-
sideration,the presenceor absence of coercion,and the quantityand
qualityof thepleasurestheyprovide."19These criteriaconstitutea frame-
workforevaluatingprostitution as justone amongotherways forhuman
beingsto relateto each other. First,then,and most obviously,prostitu-
tionmightbe criticizedbecause it is a sourceof danger,disease,mistreat-
ment,insecurity, indignity, psychologicalabuse, and emotionalpain for
women. In the past decade, moreover,sex workers' vulnerabilityhas
been enormouslyincreasedby theriskof contracting AIDS and fromthe
dangers incurredin requiringtheir often-recalcitrant customersto use
condoms.The 1987 anthologySex Work, a collectionof writingsby sex
trade workers,details many examples of prostitutes who are raped,
beaten,injured,robbed,and exploited in the course of theirwork. Not
surprisingly,thesewomen often to
grow despise their customers and to
hate men in general.
Some of the disagreementin the literatureon prostitutionbetween
feminists and sex tradeworkerscomes fromfocusingon different mate-
rial conditions for the work. One prostitutedescribed the differencein
17
Jaggar,354.
citedby AlisonJaggarin "Prostitution."
18 These objectionscut acrossthecriticisms In
myview,thecriticisms thatfeministsmightmakeof prostitutionno longer-if theyever
did-line up neatlyinto the categoriesof liberalism,Marxism,and radical feminism.
19Rubin
(n. 7 above), 283.

possibleworkingconditions:"When you'redoinga fuckingcar date,and

you're in and out of thereand it's dirty,thatguy is a gungebag[sic]. I
know that.But I'm talkingabout whenyou take prostitution out of that
environment-whenyou've got a guy that sees you as a human being,
whenhe is able to be responsiveand not see you thatway,when you've
got a settingaround you thatmakesyou feeldignifiedinsteadof on the
run.I've seenwhatprostitution, as a trade,can be likeat itsbest.And it's
not nearlywhat we have now."20Of course,what it would take to make
prostitutionwhatitcan be "at itsbest" deservesfurther politicalanalysis.
Nonetheless,in Good Girls/BadGirls,some of the prostitutesdescribe
pleasant, clean, even luxurious surroundingsfor their work, well-
mannered"clients," and a reasonable, civilized exchange of sex for
money.21Thus dangerand injuryare not essentialelementsof thelabor,
forsex work could stillbe done, and sometimesis, withoutthem.Fur-
thermore,theyare not unique to sex work, forwomen can be and are
subjectedto disease,injury,and psychologicalabuse inflictedby men in
offices,factories,and eventheirown homes.Hence, thepresenceof these
conditionsis not by itselfa reason for condemningprostitutionmore
thanotherformsof women's work in capitalistpatriarchy.
A secondcriterionlistedby Rubinforevaluatingsexual interactions is
"the presenceor absenceof coercion."A seriousobjectionoftenmade to
prostitutionis thatprostitutesdo not choose the work; it is a job that
women-particularlywomen doubly and triplydisadvantagedby pov-
ertyand racism-engage in onlyunderduressor whenno otherpossible
optionappearsto presentitself.As formerprostitute Toby Summersays,
"Prostitutionis not freedom,not just anotherjob. It is the abuse of
women.It is sexual slavery."22 Similarly,the Canadian AdvisoryCouncil
on the Statusof Women asks, "Can a personof minimaleducationand
financialwell-beingbe said trulyto choose a way of lifethatis stigma-
tizedbymuchof society,thatis physicallydangerousat times,thatleaves
her with littlecontrolover her earningpower, and that can cause her
considerablelegal complications?"23 Thus, such an argumentholds, the
existenceof prostitution as a "profession"constitutesformanywomen
what Thomas A. Mappes calls a "coerciveoffer."In such cases, theper-
son's situationis subjectto "severepriorconstraints," such thatprosti-
tutionpresentsthesinglerealisticchanceof alleviatingherneeds.The life
circumstancesof many women enteringprostitutionoftenseem to be
such thatprostitution is theonlypossibleway out fromimpoverishment
20
Participant,"From the Floor,"in Bell, ed. (n. 2 above), 50.
21
For example,"Cathy,""From the Floor,"in Bell, ed., 119.
22
Toby Summer,"Women,Lesbiansand Prostitution: A WorkingclassDyke Speaks
Out againstBuyingWomen forSex," Lesbian Ethics2 (Summer1987): 33-44, esp. 38.
23 Canadian
AdvisoryCouncil on the Statusof Women,84.

and lack of opportunity.24 Some criticsof prostitutionalso suggestthat

some survivorsof childhoodsexual abuse turnto prostitution because "it
is no greatleap to learn to make a livingsellingthe only part of them
whichtheyhave been taughtto believehas any value."25
The presenceof coercion,however,is a pointof disagreement among
writerson thetopic of prostitution. While some sex workersare willing
to grantthatmanywomen are not in thework by choice,theyalso insist
that some are. One prostitute,referring to possible changesin the law
governingprostitution, claims,"Very few of us are goingto stop work-
ing.Many of us like to work. It's our choice."26 A morediffident respon-
dant says,"I like to believeI have some kindof freechoice. Some choice
in mylife.That I chose a lesserevil. I wanted to do it. And somehow I
want that to be respected.I wanted to do that. Somehow theirpity
deprivesme of my freedomof choice.... I'd like so much to have the
illusionthatI had some freedomof choice.Maybe it's justan illusion,but
I need to thinkI had some freedom.Yet thenI realize how much was
determinedin the way I got into prostitution, how determinedmy life
had been, how fuckedover I was to have no confidence in myself."27
As the last quotationsuggests,the issue of choice in connection with
sex workis a particularly difficult one. Severalconsiderations complicate
it. The presenceof coercion and the absence of consent arguablyare
featuresof many of women's activitiesand roles. Yet the claim that
women'sparticipationimpliesconsentis oftenused in turnto justifythat
participation,and indeed, in the case of activitieslike prostitution, to
blame women forit. Ex-prostitute an
Sarah Wyntermakes analogy be-
tweenthoseprostitutes who say theyliketheirworkand theirpimpsand
those assaulted women who insistthat everything in theirmarriagesis
just fine.28Paula Jennings writes,"I am surprisedthepatriarchyhas not
yeterecteda monumentto 'Consent,'inscribedwiththewords,'without
whichnone of thiswould have been possible.'Perhapsno otherconcept
has confusedso manypeople forso long.Women'consent'to: a lifetime
of unpaid domesticand sexual service(she wantedto getmarried);badly
paid monotonouswork(she took thejob); clothingwhichrestricts move-
mentand damages health(no one marchedherto theshop gunpoint);at
24Thomas A. Mappes, "Sexual Moralityand the Concept of Using AnotherPerson,"

in Social Ethics: Moralityand Social Policy,3d ed., ed. Thomas A. Mappes and JaneS.
Zembaty(New York: McGraw-Hill,1987), 248-62, esp. 260, 261.
25
Megan Ellis, Broadside 8, no. 3 (December1986/January 1987): 4; cf. Donna
Marie Niles, "Confessionsof a Priestesstute," in Delacoste and Alexander,eds. (n. 1
above), 148-49, esp. 148; but see Brockon the limitationsof thisexplanationfor
women in prostitution.
"Cathy,""Unveiling,'in Bell, ed. (n. 2 above), 88-91, esp. 91.
26
27
Millett(n. 14 above), 124-25, heremphasis.
28 Susan G. Cole, "WhisperingOut Loud," Broadside 10, no. 4 (February1989): 3.

etc., etc."29So the questionbecomeswhetherin a contextof economic

insecurity,sex role socialization, and inadequate education women
choose prostitution any less thantheychoose otherformsof traditional
women's work. Surelywomen who "choose" sex work do not have the
chanceto considerand rejectalternative careersin fieldssuchas scientific
or
research,music,law, academia, professionalsport.But neitherdo the
women who "choose" to work in the canningfactory,the typingpool,
the supermarket, or the home cleaningindustry.If this is so, thenthe
problem of choice is no morea basis forcriticizingprostitutionthanit is
forcriticizing othertypesof paid labor underthelimitingand exploitive
conditionsof capitalism.
Yet it is also important,I now think,not to assume thattheveryfact
thata personengagesin a particularsexual activitydemonstrates a lack
of choice. Rubin calls this the "brainwashtheory,"one that "explains
eroticdiversity by assumingthatsome sexual acts are so disgustingthat
no one would willinglyperformthem.Therefore,the reasoninggoes,
anyonewho does so musthavebeen forcedor fooled.Even constructivist
sexual theoryhas been pressedinto the serviceof explainingaway why
otherwiserational individualsmightengage in variant sexual behav-
ior."30I assume, rather,that some credencemust be given to women
when theyspeak fromtheirown experience,and thatwomen who say
theychoose to engage in activitiesthat I personallyfindbizarreor re-
pugnantcannot merelybe dismissedas having"false consciousness."I
am not willingto assume a moreprivilegedview of theircircumstances
and motivation,norto claimthattheyare all deluded.Some sex workers
(perhapsmost) appear to have littleor no choice about theirwork; but
some do have some alternatives,are explicitlyconscious of them,and
deliberatelychoose prostitution.
Assuming,therefore, thatproblemsabout choiceare not uniqueto sex
work and thatit is not impossibleconsciouslyto choose to engagein it,
the question about prostitutionnow becomes, What if women could
alwaysand genuinelychoose whetherto join thesex trade?Ifcoercionis
not an essentialelementin prostitution, insofaras the practicecan and
does take place withoutit,thenit appears thatit too is not a reason for
condemningsex work more than otherformsof women's paid labor.
Anothercriticismof prostitutionis that it entails the surrenderof
personalpower and controland loss of independenceon thepart of the
womenwho engagein it. Prostitutes oftengiveup muchof theirincome
and autonomyto the pimps and pandererswho engineerthe sexual
exchanges.They may work verylong hours,leavinglittletimeforper-
29
Paula Jennings,"The Hunt Saboteurin Fox Furs,"Gossip 6 (n.d.): 80-91,
esp. 86-87.
30 Rubin (n. 7 above), 306.

sonal and domesticmaintenance,letalone forfriendship, leisure,and the

development of otherinterests and A
abilities. former prostitutesays: "I
was in it forthe money.I workedfiveto six days a week, almost every
week and I did not have much spare time at all, I worked twelveand
fourteenhoursa day,some days."31But,again, theseconditionsare not
verydifferent fromthe work manywomen do in factories,restaurants,
and offices,wheretheyearnlittle,havelittlecontroloverthemselvesand
theirwork, and are too exhaustedat the end of a shiftformuch else.
Suppose, instead,that the materialand social conditionsof the work
werechangedso thattheparticipantsdid havecontrolovertheirworking
conditionsand hours. For example,suppose prostitutesformedunions,
or worked in self-governing collectivesforlimitedhours, at rates that
werecomparableto thosechargedbyotherso-calledprofessionals.What
thenwould be wrongwithprostitution?
Anotherof Rubin's criteriaforevaluatingsexual activitiesis "the way
the partnerstreatone another[and] the level of mutualconsideration."
Prostitution in thisregardmightbe criticizedas theretailingof intimacy.
The prostitute sellsherselfin themostintimateway; herbody,hersexual
skills,are appropriatedforthe pleasureof the customer.She is objecti-
fied,treatednot as a completebeing but as a means to the customer's
sexual goals. One prostituteexplained,"The worstpart about prostitu-
tionis thatyou'reobligednot to sell sex only,but yourhumanity. That's
theworstpartof it: that what is
you'reselling your human dignity.Not
reallyso much in bed, but in accepting the agreement-in becominga
in
boughtperson.There's a special indignity prostitution, as ifsex were
dirtyand men can onlyenjoy it withsomeone low. It involves a typeof
contempt,a kindof disdain,and a kindof triumph over another human
being.... They [the tricks]had a tremendous fear of getting involved
because that's givingsomething."32 Anotherprostituteeven suggested
that most women must be druggedto cope with this sort of work.33
Thereis a lack of reciprocity,a one-sidednessto such exchange.Intimate,
personalacts of thisnature,it mightbe argued,shouldnot be sold in the
marketplacebut exchangedby equals withina respectful relationship.
Yet if the objectionis simplythatin prostitution, sex is nonmonoga-
mous and takesplace withoutlove,thenof courseverymanysexual acts
and relationshipscould be condemnedon comparablegrounds.It is not
clear thatthereis a moralweaknessin sex withoutlove (althoughI will
not explorethisquestionhere),but ifthereis, thenit is a weaknessin no
way unique to prostitution.Interesting, too, is the fact that,fromthe
31 ShannonBell, "Ho'ing, Sex and Power: An InterviewwithCOYOTE's Gloria
Lockett,' Rites 6, no. 6 (November1989): 6-7, esp. 7.
32Millett,104, 106, 109.
33 Ibid., 65, 67.

ofsomesexworkers
perspective thebusiness
themselves, maybeno more
intimateandpersonalthancutting
hair.Whatis beingboughtis merely
theillusionofintimacy.
One workersays,"Havinga customer fondlea
breast,forinstance,may not be pleasant,especiallyifhe's rough,but it
doesn'tfeellike beingviolated.It's part of a job, and reallyno different
than if he touched an elbow. It's not sexual; it's work."34Indeed, the
retailingof intimacyis a rathercommonfeatureof modernNorthAmer-
ican life; in that respect,the prostitutemay simplybe a pioneer.Two
clear analogies are the "legitimate"licensedmasseuse and the psycho-
therapist.Bothpersonsare offering verypersonal,intimateservices.The
masseuseservicestheclient'sbody,in workthatis highlysensual,though
notspecifically sexual. The therapistservicestheclient'sattitudes,beliefs,
and feelingsin workthatis highlyintimateand mayinvolveconsiderable
discussionof sex and the sexual.35Moreover,both roles are nonrecip-
rocal: clientsdo notprovidemassagesformasseuses,nordo theyprovide
therapyfortherapists.
What is striking is thatwe livein a culturewheremanyof us mustpay
people bothto take care of our bodies and to listento our feelings.Some
prostitutes'customersmay well be seekingintimacy,love, and nurtur-
ance thattheyare unable or unwillingto look forin otherhuman con-
texts.There is much to be criticizedin these one-waycommercialex-
changes and much to be said for mutualityin intimateactivities.
Nevertheless,I hesitateto claim thatnonreciprocity is always problem-
atic, even in a sexual exchange.And, moreimportant,ifnonreciprocity
and theretailingof intimacyare problematic,thenonce again theprob-
lem is not unique to prostitution.Of course, if thereis a real analogy
betweenthe prostituteand the masseuse or the psychotherapist, then
prostitutes have a rightto receivetheconsiderationand respectaccorded
byclientsand by societygenerallyto otherprofessionals.Buttheabsence
of considerationand respectare not groundsforcondemningthe sexual
exchangemoreharshlythanotherformsof exchange.
Prostitutionin patriarchy
At thispointthetentativeanswerto myquestion,What's wrongwith
prostitution?mightseemto be, Nothingmuchmorethanwhat is wrong
withsellingourselvesand our servicesin othercapacitieswithinthedef-
initionsand limitationsof capitalistculture.As Debi Brockand Jennifer
Stephenputit,"Is offering30 minutesofsex for,say$80 reallymoreawful
thanworkingfor8 hoursina sweatshopand earning$4.50 an hour?Some
34
Morgan (n. 1 above), 25, her emphasis.
35 Compare Millett,113.

of us don't thinkso."36By such an argument,thework of theprostitute

is no more (and no less) to be condemnedthanthework of thecleaning
woman, the factoryworker,the fileclerk,or the farmlaborer.The con-
ditionsforprostitutionin North Americamay be, in general,more in-
humanethanthoseformostothertypesof laborthatwomentypicallydo.
Rubin arguesthatthisis primarily due to itsbeingillegal.37Whetherone
accepts that or
argument not, at thispointwe can certainlyconcludethat
part of what is wrong with prostitutionhas to do with the avoidable
circumstancesthat collectivelymake the work dangerous,debilitating,
coercive,and largelyunfulfilling. These circumstances are neitherunique
nor essentialto thepracticeof prostitution; thatis, theobjectionsto sex
workso farconsideredare notpractice-specific. It is imaginablethatpros-
titutioncould always be practiced,as it occasionallyis even now, in cir-
cumstancesof relativesafety,security,freedom,hygiene,and personal
control;if these conditionswere effected,the criticismsdetailedso far
would seem to lose theirpower.
What this preliminaryconclusionimpliesis not that prostitutionis
therefore beyondmoralcriticism, butthatwe havenotyetfoundgrounds
forbelievingit to be any special and unique way moremorallyobjec-
in
tionablethanthemanyotherformsof paid labor thatwomenperformin
capitalism.As Brockand Stephenwould have it, "Women who work in
the sex tradeare workers,just like women workingat GM or in any of
the serviceindustries."38 The point is not thatprostitution is "all right"
because otherformsof paid labor are "all right"but, rather,thatpros-
titutionso farseemsnot muchworse thanotherformsof paid labor and
can be criticizedonlyand insofaras women's otherformsof paid labor
can be criticized.
Yet ultimatelyRubin's sexual liberationistcriteriaforevaluatingsex-
ual relationshipsprovide an inadequate assessmentof prostitutionbe-
cause theyoverlookthesexual politicsof humaninteractions. Examining
individuallythe circumstancesand characteristics of prostitutionis an
artificialexercisethatfailsto takeintoaccounteitherthemajorstructural
componentsof sex work or the reasons forits existence.For sex work
differsin a crucialway fromotherformsof women's labor. While wo-
men's work of cooking,child care, or nursingis oftencommoditized,
theseformsof labor can and do also existindependently of any formof
commercializationor exchange.Prostitution, by contrast,is definedin
termsof buyingand selling, or more generally, in termsof an asymmet-
rical relationshipof exchange in which the sex workerprovidessexual
36Debi Brockand Jennifer Stephen,"Which We Is Who?" Broadside9, no. 3 (De-
cember1987/January 1988): 4.
37 Rubin,289.
38Brockand Stephen,4.

services andthecustomer suppliesrecompense forthoseservices, usually

in theformofmoney, butsometimes also in theformof food,lodging,
clothing, or "luxuries."Withoutthisasymmetrical economicexchange
thesexualinteraction is,bydefinition, not sex work,buta sexualevent
orrelationship thatdoesnotinvolveserviceforthesakeofmaterial gain.
Thus,buying andsellingareinherent in sexworkin a waythattheyare
not inherent in the workof growingand preparing food,caringfor
or
children, nursing the ill.While cooking,nursing, childcareneed
and
notnecessarily be commoditized, sexworkis bydefinition thecommod-
itizationof sex. Whatis essentialto prostitution is not sexualactivity
itselfbutthebuyingofsexualactivity.
Whyis thischaracteristic significant? The inherent asymmetrical ex-
change in sex work, in which some persons sellsexual services to others,
providesthe contextforotherformsof asymmetry, all of themwith
important implications foritsmoralassessment. Prostitution is a classist,
ageist,racist, and sexist industry, inwhichthedisadvantaged sellservices
to thosewhoaremoreprivileged. It is classistbecauseforthemostpart
it usesthesex laborof poorand disadvantaged personslargelyforthe
serviceofthosewithdisposableincometo spendon sexualgratification.
It is ageistbecauseit recruits and preysuponveryyoungpeople,often
peoplewho arestillchildren, and discardsthemwhentheyarepastthe
createdstageat whichtheyareconsidered
artificially sexuallyattractive.
Itis racistbecauseitoftenvictimizes blackandAsianwomenandthrives
on racestereotypes ofsexuallyinsatiable yetsubservient womenofcolor
whoexistonlyto servethesex needsofwhites.
Last,andmostimportant, itis sexistbecauseitis an industry inwhich,
forthemostpart,womenareexploited forthepurposeofserving men's
desires.39In thesex industry womenare theworkersand menare the
bosses.Although mendo workas prostitutes, and womenoccasionally
hiremenor womenforsexwork,prostitution is,overwhelmingly, a re-
lationship (ifonecancallitthat)ofmenpaying womenforsexualservices.
Moreover, thepredominant culturalimagesof sex workers-heldnot
onlybythoseoutsidethebusiness butalso bycustomers andsexworkers
themselves-are ofwomenservicing men.Thisfactgenerates significant
criticismsofprostitution thatare specific to thepracticeof sex work.
Thereis, of course,a lot of otherexploitive serviceworkin which
womensimilarly servemen,bothin theworkplaceand in thehome:
office work,saleswork,cooking,cleaning, and childcare.According to
theprevailing divisionoflabor,then,sexualservice, likenurturing and
domesticwork,is gendered:it is partof the workthatis primarily
allottedto womenforthe benefit of men.But thoughnurturing and
39Special Committeeon Pornographyand Prostitution
(n. 13 above), 48.

domesticwork is mostlyperformedby women formen,it is also work

thatseemsto be what I shall call "reversible."That is, thereis nothingin
the nature of the work itself,insofaras we can separate it fromits
workingconditions,thatwould preventit frombeingperformedby men
formen,bywomenforwomen,or,mostsignificantly, bymenforwomen.
Moreover, the labor of officeworkers, sales clerks,cooks, cleaners,and
child care workershas a value independentof the conditionsof sexual
and economic inequalityunderwhich it is done, and much of it would
stillbe sociallynecessaryin a postcapitalist,postpatriarchalworld.
Butwhat about prostitution? and does ithave
Is it similarlyreversible,
a value independentof theconditionsof sexual and economicinequality
underwhichitis performed? Can we imaginemenworkingas prostitutes
in thesame numbersas women,or womenhiringmen as sex workersat
the same rate as men now hirewomen? In otherwords,does the work
possess a value40-perhaps (as some sex workershave argued)as enter-
tainment, sexual novelty, assertion of personal power or self-
determination,sex therapy,social work, or celebration of female
sexuality41-thatwould lead us to want to preservethe offeringof
sexual servicesfor pay, while assuringthat it be (like the comparable
servicesof givingmassagesor providingpsychotherapy) an equal oppor-
tunityservicein which women and men are equally welcome,both as
workersand as clients?
That is, in fact,the proposal that was made by CORP (Canadian
Organizationforthe Rightsof Prostitutes)at the 1986 annual general
meetingof Canada's National Action Committee on the Status of
Women: "[Prostitution] currentlyrepresents theprovisionof a legitimate
and necessaryservicewhichshouldbe equallyavailableto bothmenand
women (sincelevelsof sexual need and/oropportunity can neverbe, nor
shouldeverbe, standardized)."42 Is thisvisionof prostitutionas an equal
opportunityserviceplausible? Science fictionwriterUrsula K. LeGuin
has createda beautifulstoryin whichshe depictsthe "Festivalof Sum-
mer" held in an ostensiblyfreeand joyous civilization.As part of the
possessed in ancienttimes.See Ellen

40
A value that,it is claimed,prostitution
Strong,"The Hooker," in SisterhoodIs Powerful:An Anthologyof Writingsfromthe
Women'sLiberationMovement,ed. Robin Morgan (New York: Vintage,1970), 289-
97, esp. 290.
41 Entertainment: St.James,"The Reclamationof Whores"(n. 3 above), 86. Sexual nov-
elty:"RealisticFeminists: An Interview withValerieScott,PeggyMiller,and RyanHotch-
kiss,"in Bell,ed. (n. 2 above), 204-17, esp. 206. Assertion:Bell (n. 31 above), 6; "Femi-
nism:CrunchPoint" (n. 6 above), 160-61. Sex therapy:PhyllisLumanMetal, "One for
Ripley's,"in Delacosteand Alexander,eds. (n. 1 above), 119-21, esp. 120. Social work:
"Aline,""Good GirlsGo to Heaven,Bad GirlsGo Everywhere," in Delacosteand Alex-
ander,eds., 131-34, esp. 134; Brock(n. 14 above), 8. Celebration:Nina Hartley,"Confes-
sionsof a FeministPornoStar,"in Delacosteand Alexander,eds., 142-44, esp. 142.
42 Quoted in Ellis (n. 25 above), 4.

festivalshe imagines"beautifulnudes"-both menand women-who

"justwander themselves
about,offering likedivinesoufflesto thehunger
of theneedyand theraptureof theflesh."43 However,theenvisioned
situationis notprostitution,
forsexualservices arenotbeingboughtand
sold.We haveinsteadto tryto imaginea situation wherebothwomen
andmenbuysexandsellsex,wherethereis an equalization oftheroles
in sex work,and whereno one is choosingtheworkout of economic
desperation.
Andthatis muchmoredifficult to conceive. Thefactthatitis menand
notwomenwhobuyprostitutes' services is not,surely,
justforwomen's
lackofequal opportunity to do so. Unlikeotherformsoflabormostly
performed bywomen,prostitution is dependent bothforitsvalueandfor
itsveryexistenceuponthecultural construction ofgenderrolesinterms
ofdominance andsubmission.Whilewomenaretaughtto render sexual
servicesforrecompense and oftento regardthatrendering as partof
whatit meansto be a woman,menare encouraged to seekand expect
sexual servicesand, indeed,to regardtheacquisitionof sexual servicesas
part of what it means to be a man.
To demonstratethispoint,consideran old and drearysexistjoke. A
man says to a woman,"Would you sleep withme fora milliondollars?"
"I suppose I would," repliesthewoman. "Would you sleep withme for
fivedollars?" he asks. "What do you take me for?" says the woman
angrily,but the man responds,"We've already establishedthat; now
we're just negotiatingyour price." This joke invitesthe listener'scom-
plicitywiththenotionthatall womenare whoresat heart;we all have a
price. Prostitutionis called "the oldest profession,"suggestingthat
women have always done it,will always do it, and will choose to do it,
even ifa fullrangeof otheroptionsis made available.The implicationis
that thereis somethinginherentin women and independentof sexist
culturalconditionsthatmakes us want to sell sexual servicesto men.
Withincapitalistpatriarchalideology only women are expected to
prostitutethemselvesby exchangingtheirsexual labor. As prostitute
Margo St. James,a representative of the sex tradeworkers'rightsorga-
nizationCOYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics),points out, "The
whore stigmais attachedto women and only to women."44Calling a
woman a whoreor a slutis a way to exertcontroloverher,to remindher
of how she is definedand what she can be reducedto withinpatriarchy.
In thiscultureany woman can be definedas a prostitute,insofaras she
is regardedas beingpotentiallyavailable fora fee.
43 Ursula K.
LeGuin,"The Ones Who Walk Away fromOmelas," in The Wind's
Twelve Quarters,by Ursula K. LeGuin (Toronto:Bantam,1975), 252-59, esp. 255.
44 St.
James,"The Reclamationof Whores,"82.

What is also takenforgrantedin thejoke about thewoman's priceis

the supposed innocenceof the man,whose own moralstanding,though
he is negotiatingto buy sex, is neverin question.While the sale of sex
helps to definewoman, it also condemnsher; the purchaseof sex also
helpsto defineman, but it does not condemnhim.At thispoint,then,it
is tempting to turnthediscussionfromprostitution as a social practiceto
menas thecustomers.It is tempting to ask whymen,some men,anyway,
buy sex, and what is the nature of the "sexual need" referredto by
CORP. Such questionsare open to severaldifferent interpretations and
responses.Askingwhy men hire prostitutes could be interpreted a
as
question about whether there is something innate in men, or in men's
sexuality, that makes them want to do so. It could make prostitution
sound both naturaland inevitable,a "normalresponseto femalesexual
seductivenessand male sexual 'drive,'" and indeeda necessaryoutletfor
otherwisepent-upmale lust.45A vividexampleof theseassumptionscan
be found in a recentdiscussion of sex work by philosopherLars O.
Ericsson,who statesthatprostitution is "conditionallydesirablebecause
of certainubiquitousand permanentimperfections of actual human so-
cieties";it satisfies"important human needs" relatingto "the sex drive."
Hence, he says, we must "liberate ourselves fromthose mentalfossils
which preventus fromlooking upon sex and sexualitywith the same
naturalnessas upon our cravings forfood and drink."46
A comparableshortanswergivenbysomefeminists to thequestion,Why
do men do it? is simply,Men benefit from it. In Toby Summer'swords,
"Men as a class devised male supremacy because men-but not only
men-find it excitingto use forceand coercion."47But this approach
assumes that men's sexual behavioris biologicallydeterminedand im-
plies thatpromotingdifferent male sexual practicesis futile.48 It begs the
questionof theoriginsof men'ssexual "needs" and questionsof whythe
practiceof prostitution is perceivedas a benefitand what sortof benefit
it is.
For it cannotjustbe assumedthatbuyingsexual servicesis a benefitin
and of itself,thatit is self-evidentlysomethinghumanbeings(or at least
male human beings) would want. That men benefitfromprostitution,
and that the buyingof sexual servicesis perceivedas an advantagefor
men, are culturalartifactsof gendersocialization,which definesmen's
sexual desires in such a way that prostitutionis seen as a legitimate
45 AlisonM. Jaggar,FeministPoliticsand Human Nature (Totowa, N.J.: Rowman &

Allanheld,1983), 263.
46 Lars O. Ericsson,"Charges againstProstitution:An Attemptat a Philosophical
Assessment,"Ethics 90 (April 1980): 337, 342, 347, 355.
47 Summer 22 above), 38-39.
(n.
48 Mariana Valverde,Sex, Power and Pleasure (Toronto:Women's Press,1985), 196.

responseto them.Hence,to makeprostitution reversiblewouldrequire

changing women's sexual socializationso as to constructwomento re-
the
gard purchasing of sexual servicesas attractiveand desirablein the
way that many men do. Indeed, some writers have thoughtthatifbuying
sexis a benefit
formen,itmustalsobea potential benefit
forwomen,one
thattheyshouldbe encouraged toseekout.Ericsson, forexample,argues
thatunderthepresent unequal circumstances ofsex work,"somebenefit
is withheld fromor deniedwomenthatis notwithheld fromor denied
men.""The bestwayto deal withthisinequality," he suggests,
"would
notbe an attempt to stampouttheinstitution butan attempt to modify
it,bymakingthebenefit inquestionavailableto bothsexes."49 Similarly,
St.Jamessays,"I've alwaysthought thatwhoresweretheonlyemanci-
patedwomen.Wearetheonlyoneswhohavetheabsoluterightto fuck
as manymenas menfuckwomen.In factwe areexpectedto havemany
partners a week,thesameas anygood stud."50
By contrast,feministscritical of the expression of men's power
throughsexualitydenythatwomen's actingsexuallyjust like men is a
worthygoal or that women's purchasingsexual servicesis a potential
benefit.In a culturewherewomen's sexualityis used to sell,and women
learnthatsex is our primaryasset,sex work is not and cannotbe just a
privatebusinesstransaction,an exchangeof benefitsbetweenequals, or
an egalitariantrade. Like rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment,and
incest,prostitutionis inherentlygendered,a componentand manifesta-
tion of the patriarchalinstitutionof heterosexuality.51 Prostitutionis
structuredin termsof a power imbalance in which women, the less
powerful,sell to men,themorepowerful.That power imbalanceensures
both thatwomen's sexualityis constructedverydifferently fromthatof
men, and yet also, paradoxically,that male sexuality,socially con-
structed,definesthe standardsforevaluatinghuman sexual activity.
Whilewomenmayhave the"freedomto choose thatformof bondage
(prostitution,marriage)thatmost suitsthem,"we do not have the free-
dom to choose theinstitutionsthatshape our decisionsand severelylimit
theoptionswe have.52Some sex workersproudlyconcurwithFriedrich
Engels'sobservationthata marriedwoman "only differsfromthe ordi-
narycourtesanin thatshe does not let out her body on piece-workas a
wage worker,butsellsitonce and forall intoslavery."53 Yetinsofaras the
comparisonto marriageholds, it does not raise the standingof prosti-
49 Ericsson,350.
50 St. James,"The Reclamationof Whores,"84.
51 See Susan Brownmiller, AgainstOur Will: Men, Womenand Rape (New York:
Bantam,1975) fora discussionof the connectionsamong thesephenomena.
52
Tong (n. 13 above), 55.
53 Friedrich
Engels,The Originof the Family,PrivatePropertyand the State,ed.
Eleanor BurkeLeacock (New York: InternationalPublishers,1970), 134.

tution,but lowers that of marriage.Withincapitalistpatriarchy,both

practiceshave traditionallyexistedto servemen. Prostitutionis North
American culture's archetypalsexual interaction,within which sex,
money,and power are interwoven:thewilling,economicallydependent,
always available, sexually seductiveand irresistiblewoman servesthe
needs of thevirile,strong,aggressivemale withan irrepressiblesex drive
who can buy the means for satisfyinghis desires. Prostitutescannot
"really" be raped because theirraison d'etreis sexual performancefor
men.Formanyof thosewomen,sex is theironlycurrency, theironlyway
to obtain some degreeof security,subsistence,and independence.Under
theseconditions,dominanceand submission,oppressionand victimiza-
tionare necessarilybuiltintothepractice.As one prostitutesays,"What
they'rebuying,in a way,is power.You're supposedto please them.They
can tell you what to do, and you're supposed to please them,follow
orders."54Carole Patemanpointsout thatforsex to be a commodityin
thecapitalistmarket,bodies and selvesare also necessarilycommodities;
"the prostitutecannot sell sexual servicesalone; what she sells is her
body."55Thus, "prostitutionis the public recognitionof men as sexual
masters;it puts submissionon sale as a commodityin the market."56
Prostitutionis an inherentlygenderedpracticein whichwomen are con-
structedas the sexual servantsof men,and the buyingof sexual service
is definedas a benefitformen.
Conclusion
Seeing prostitutionin this way suggestsa partial resolutionof the

problemof theapparentconflictamong some feminists and sex workers
about thevalue of thework and therightto do it. For prostitute women
living,like all women,withincapitalistpatriarchy, any port in a storm
will do: as the analysisin the firstsectionof thisarticleshows,partici-
pating in one patriarchalpractice is not in itselfvery different from
participatingin another,although the conditionsof work may vary.
There is a continuumof labor performedby women,varyingin degrees
of oppression.Some formsof sex work are at the farend of that con-
tinuum,but othersare not: doing houseworkfor a batteringhusband
mightbe worse. Moreover,the divisionbetweenprostitutionand other
sexual behaviorsis not always an obvious and exact one. In patriarchy,
feministsoftenpoint out, many women are just one man away from
welfare.But it is also truethat many women are one man away from
prostitution. Sex worktakesmanydifferent forms,as evenMs. Magazine
54 Millett(n. 14 above), 94, 96.

s5 Carole Pateman,"DefendingProstitution:ChargesagainstEricsson,"Ethics93
(April 1983): 561-65, esp. 562.
56
Ibid., 564.

remindsus in the November 1988 issue on money.Their questionnaire

asks, "Have you everconsciouslyhad sex in exchangeforthe following
reasons? (Circle all that apply.) 1. Money. 2. Gifts.3. Expensivenight
out. 4. Trip. 5. Professionalbenefits.6. Academic benefits.7. Other
favors."57
Hence both feminists and sex workersneed to challengethe apparent
differences that divide themby rethinking the "good girl/badgirl" di-
chotomy. As has already been remarked, from thepatriarchalperspective
all women are at heart "bad girls." Indeed, Ellen Strongargues that
"from the time a girl is old enough to go to school, she begins her
educationin thebasic principlesof hustling."58 Moreover,in theeyesof
capitalistpatriarchy, feminists in particular are bad girls,who simulta-
neouslychallenge male supremecy while championingwomen's sexual
freedom.59Feministsare "nightwalkers,"60 to use an old legal termfor
prostitute, who want to repossess sufficient independenceand safetyto
permit us to go wherewe please, withwhomeverwe please. Paradoxi-
cally,however,prostitutesmay actuallybe "good girls" in the eyes of
capitalistpatriarchy:despitethe individualstrengthssome may derive
fromtheirwork,prostitutes servecertainpatriarchalpurposesverywell:
"Rather than subvertpatriarchalideology,the prostitute'sactions,and
theindustryas a whole, serveto perpetuate"women's social subordina-
tion.Indeed,theexistenceof prostitution impliesthatwomencan "profit
economicallyfrompatriarchy."61 Thus if, as some sex workersclaim,
some prostitutesgenuinelychoose the work theydo, thentheycarrya
responsibility forthatwork: at theveryleast,to recognizeand evaluate
its meaning,its implications,and its effectson other women and on
themselves.
It thereforemakes sense to defendprostitutes'entitlement to do their
work but not to defendprostitution itselfas a practiceunderpatriarchy.
But it is essentialto be cautious about what sort of rightthis is. One
feminist,PriscillaAlexander,makes the sweepingclaim that "women
have therightto determine, forthemselves, how theywill use theirbod-
ies, whetherthe issue is prostitution, abortion/reproductive rights,les-
bian rights,or the rightto be celibateand/orasexual."62But not all of
theserightsare preciselycomparable.Althoughthereis not space hereto
discussthesignificant differences, it shouldat least be said thattheclaim
57 "Come Clean!" Ms. 17 (November1988): 63-64,

58
esp. 63.
Strong(n. 40 above), 290.
59Brock (n. 14 above), 9.
60
Dubois and Gordon (n. 12 above), 42.
61 Laurie
Schrage,"Should FeministsOppose Prostitution?"Ethics 99 January
1989): 357.
62
PriscillaAlexander,"Why This Book?" in Delacoste and Alexander,eds. (n. 1
above), 14-18, esp. 17; cf. Carol Leigh,"The ContinuingSaga of ScarlotHarlot III," in
Delacoste and Alexander,eds., 59-61, esp. 61.

of a rightto be a prostitutecan be turnedagainstwomen by thosewho

merelywant to preservemen's entitlement to buy women's bodies. As
Megan Ellis points out, "We cannot examine the labour performedby
as
prostitutes somethingseparate from the industryof prostitution.And
whileitis importantto workto increaseprotectionagainstdangersfaced
by women who do thatlabour,thatis not the same thingas workingto
protecttheirjobs."63
Some sex workershave spokenof thepower inherentin theirwork,64
but even where it exists it is limited,and it can be deceptive.As Gail
Phetersonargues,"It's invisiblepower again forwomen and temporary
power, dependingvery much on a temporarycontractor manipula-
tion."65Sex workersare not just successfulentrepreneurs; nor are they
necessarilyany more sexually liberatedthan other women. One former
sex workersuggeststhatthe feelingof power some have fromthe work
is a formof internalizedoppressionthatkeeps the women divided,po-
liticallyand personally,fromeach other,and focusedonly ineffectively
upon thereal locus of power,men.Engagingin sex work is "buyinginto
thepatriarchalversionof independence."66
Nevertheless,prostitutionis not a matterof individualpathologyor
immorality, eitherof women or of men (althoughmen musttake indi-
vidual responsibility for hiringprostitutes).Sex work is an inherently
unequal practicedefinedby theintersection of capitalismand patriarchy.
Prostitutionepitomizesmen's dominance: it is a practicethat is con-
structedby and reinforcesmale supremacy,which both createsand le-
gitimizesthe "needs" that prostitutionappears to satisfyas well as it
perpetuatesthe systemsand practicesthat permitsex work to flourish
under capitalism.What is bad about prostitution,then,does not just
reside in the sexual exchanges themselves,or in the circumstancesin
whichtheytake place, but in capitalistpatriarchyitself.What is wrong
withprostitutionis not just that it is the servicingof sexual needs but,
rather,thatit is women'sservicingof men'ssexual needs undercapitalist
and patriarchalconditions.Those conditionscreateboth themale needs
themselvesand theways in whichwomenfillthem,constructthebuying
of sexual servicesas a benefitformen,and make thereversibility of sex
servicesimplausibleand sexual equality in the trade unattainable.
Departmentof Philosophy
Queen's University
63 Ellis
(n. 25 above), 4.
64 "The Reclamation
St.James, ofWhores"(n.3 above),82; MargoSt.James,
"FromtheFloor,"inBell,ed. (n.2 above),128; S. Bell(n.31 above),6-7.
"
65" 'The Big Divide' (n. 6 above), 179.
66 "SilenceAgain,"inDelacosteandAlexander,
JudyHelfand, eds.,99-103,
esp.101.


What's Wrong With Prostitution? Evaluating Sex Work: Christine Overall

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What'sWrongwithProstitution?

I am gratefulto CherylMisak forher detailedand sensitivecommentson thisarticle,

[Signs:Journalof Womenin Cultureand Society1992, vol. 17, no. 4]

Summer 1992 SIGNS 705

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manyof themtake to be a "profession."3Nor did theywant to be the

706 SIGNS Summer 1992

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maleprivilege, shenevertheless providesa fairly accuratecategorization

Summer 1992 SIGNS 707

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practice.Thus some feminists come to despisethework thatsome other

708 SIGNS Summer 1992

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ingmeto confront someofmyownbiasesandstereotypes, evenmyown

Summer 1992 SIGNS 709

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one of theseis to be condemnedforthe alienationof the selfthatis paid

710 SIGNS Summer 1992

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possibleworkingconditions:"When you'redoinga fuckingcar date,and

Summer 1992 SIGNS 711

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and lack of opportunity.24 Some criticsof prostitutionalso suggestthat

24Thomas A. Mappes, "Sexual Moralityand the Concept of Using AnotherPerson,"

712 SIGNS Summer 1992

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etc., etc."29So the questionbecomeswhetherin a contextof economic

Summer 1992 SIGNS 713

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sonal and domesticmaintenance,letalone forfriendship, leisure,and the

714 SIGNS Summer 1992

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Summer 1992 SIGNS 715

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of us don't thinkso."36By such an argument,thework of theprostitute

716 SIGNS Summer 1992

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services andthecustomer suppliesrecompense forthoseservices, usually

Summer 1992 SIGNS 717

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domesticwork is mostlyperformedby women formen,it is also work

possessed in ancienttimes.See Ellen

718 SIGNS Summer 1992

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festivalshe imagines"beautifulnudes"-both menand women-who

Summer 1992 SIGNS 719

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What is also takenforgrantedin thejoke about thewoman's priceis

45 AlisonM. Jaggar,FeministPoliticsand Human Nature (Totowa, N.J.: Rowman &

720 SIGNS Summer 1992

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responseto them.Hence,to makeprostitution reversiblewouldrequire

Summer 1992 SIGNS 721

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tution,but lowers that of marriage.Withincapitalistpatriarchy,both

Seeing prostitutionin this way suggestsa partial resolutionof the

54 Millett(n. 14 above), 94, 96.

722 SIGNS Summer 1992

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remindsus in the November 1988 issue on money.Their questionnaire

57 "Come Clean!" Ms. 17 (November1988): 63-64,

Summer 1992 SIGNS 723