The way forward:neo prostitution.

Prostitution or sexwork has been a profession that has run on the outside of mainstrean society.
Full of stigma & taboo. The more we have tried to control or suppress it, the more attractive it becomes to those who are either predators or cannot identify & express themselves within the usual boundaries of society.
Governments & all its forces have not as yet come up with an effective way of dealing with this aspect of social indentity.
We are locked into an incomplete picture of what prostitution is all about. Based on the experiences of one aspect of this socio-economic group without examining the wider diversity of the experiences & beliefs of prostitutes.
The arguement that prostitution corrupts women is a position driven by highly charged emotions that ultimately corrupt its logic.
It oververbalises the issue & overemphasises statistical information in an attempt to paint a real-world picture of prostitution. There is a stereo-typical notion on what prostitution is.
prostitution is not a grim & humorless world of only pain, suffering & abuse. Though there are some examples of this.
The way prostitutes are examined in some instances-objectifies, dehumanises & strips them of any personality.
The issues are oversimplied. prostitution is an extemely diverse & complex issue. Lumping virtually all prostitutes into one general catergory will yeild an inaccurate & insensitive view of their lives.
There are many reasons why women go into prostitution. they seem to fall into 9 catergories. Which I will attempt to describe in a seperate section of this article. Understanding these different modes & reasons of entry into prostitution would help to identify those who are vulnerable. What their needs are & where their needs can be met.
This is important to know, because not all prostitutes have the same needs as others. There are those prostitutes too who can offer society as a whole some real insights into the workings of the human sexual identity. An area little capitalised upon by mainstream society, because of the lack of value given to those who work within this industry.
Society can be guided down a pathway that is selected rather than conveying an understanding of the situation.
For example observations that might include the repartee of clients or experiences may show clients or pimps in a different light.
Observing poverty almost always provokes emotion. Mixing prostitution with poverty as one thing may give prostitution a different emotional appeal than if it were analysed on its own.
In spite of the seeming tragic aura of some of their lives, many prostitutes might be more accurately described as being warm, friendly & sensitive human beings. Not as women whose greatest value is to be pawns in a game of political chess for the empowerment of one political group over another.
Exploiting sexuality is not uncommon & its not always men who are exploitative.
Men could probably cite numerous instances of exploitation by women. Who have used their sexual prowess to gain favours, money or promotions.
It is not uncommon or immoral to any significant degree for a person to try & garner attention or extract simple favours by using their sexuality. There is however a line reached that crosses over into what would be more accurately defined as prostitution.
A prostitute may entice, but is usually straight forward in whats expected as a return. prostitutes in that sense bears a sense of virtuousness, because it is not involved in exploitative mind-games that can harm another emotionally.
Prostitution does not degrade people, people degrade themselves by falling into the embodiment of distinct patterns of behaviour.
Our society is feircly competitive in which unfairness & exploitations are rife. Thrusting some to the bottom, where their only survival strategy is to become prostitutes. Upon finding an occupation in which they view themselves as successful competitors, they are attacked by other social / political/religious groups as perpetrators of either the moral or social pariahs. As well as continueing the degradation of all that is woman.
After already enduring centuries of exploitation/abuse/murder & slavery, prostitution is now looking for a rightful acceptance in society that it has never experienced before, but in order to do this must assimilate the values & virtues of prostitution with the values & virtues of mainstream society.
The rights of one person or group, must not impede on the rights of another.
Whilst flagrant sexual expressions would not offend or cause a reaction in a sexworker, they can & do offend & traumatise others.
Descretion is the coin of the realm, in the world of sexuality.
So in order to move forward there has to be a recognition by sexworkers of the following:
1. Prostitues must demonstrate their ability to engage in reasonable debate about thier problems & assume responsibilty for their actions.
Curb excesses such as predatory or flagrant soliciting & false representation of the nature of their services that woyuld inspire resentment, hatred & scorn in the public eye.
2. Education- Help themselves. Educating themselves & demonstrating responsible self-rule in this manner education is essential in overcoming some forms of oppression & lack of education in society. Which could include: Mature ways of handling the passions of men, which can get out of hand Street prostitutes are sometimes niave when it comes to inter-personal realtionships. Some are distanced & have no experience of real friendship. Teaching some things that are obvious to some, but not to some prostitutes. If there was an organisation that seeks to build trust, theres a potential for developing non-competative & non-predatory relationships.
2. Indentifying social predators who abuse & exploit prostitutes. With the help of an organisation & co-operation of the police. Even though the relationship with prostitutes & police has not been a good one, there could be real benefits in redressing this area. Giving protection from fraud/coercion & rape.
4. Suppress impulsive behavious, so that long-term goals can be achieved. Young people who are discovering the world of sexwork & want it, should only be encouraged if they become aware of the dangers once youthful appeal has passed. Self-government means anticipation & taking care of social/occupational problems that arise. The more prostitutes take responsibility for themselves the nmore the public will be inclined to accord rights & protection to them.
5. Strive in harmony with mainstream society & acknowledge their rights & obligations too.
6. Acknowledge the rights of parents to bring up their children & to give them goals, whether they be right or wrong. It is not for prostitutes to interfer with. Defining the minimum age of prostitution & strictly enforcing it. An essential ingredient in working out an amenable solution between both parents/prostitutes & government.
To effectively campaign & secure your rights as a prostitute, we must be careful to suppress excess emotion & promote a careful reasoning of the political strategyu.
Reason being most effective in winning the minds of the public. While carefully & honestly crafted emotions may influence society to begin to accept the inherent dignity & decency of prostitution.
Written by Lynne Tansey,
November 2004