Psychology Essay: Analyzing Sex Work as a Profession

This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of sex work, exploring whether it can be considered a profession like any other. The author begins by acknowledging the historical context of sex work, noting its evolution and the increasing societal debate surrounding it. The essay then analyzes the stigmatization faced by sex workers and the health risks associated with the profession. The core argument examines sex work through different theoretical lenses, including Marxism, which views it as an exploitative practice within a capitalist society; radical feminism, which challenges the patriarchal implications of sex work; and liberalism, which defends sex work as a matter of individual choice and freedom. The essay concludes by summarizing the varying perspectives, highlighting the complexity of the issue and the lack of a universally accepted definition of sex work as a profession.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
Is Sex Work a profession like any other?
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Prostitution and politics are considered as two of the oldest professions of the world
and it is a reflection of this that the earliest recorded instances of these two refers back to the
ancient civilizations (Fogarty, Rapoport and Rapoport 2017). However, it is significant to
note that prostitution or commonly called by the name of sex work has undergone drastic
transformation in the recent times on the score of the rising awareness of the people and also
the recent developments in the various fields of knowledge (Fogarty, Rapoport and Rapoport
2017). It is a reflection of this that in the present times many people have even got the notion
that sex work is just any other work or for that matter any other profession (Seidman 2013).
Moreover, they are also of the opinion that the level of hard work which they need to put in
and risks from the various kinds of professional hazards is more in this particular profession
than in other professions of the world (Rosenthal 2015). This essay will try to analyze
whether sex work is just like any other work or not.
The primary problem with the majority of the people having prostitution as their
profession have to face is the problem of stigmatization which whey have to face on the
score of the nature of the work which they do from the various entities of the society, as a
matter of fact from the very same entities of the society who they the help of the services
provided by them (Seidman 2013). It is significant to note that since the ancient times the
concept of sex is considered to be kind of “taboo” and therefore people generally do not like
to discuss about the same and thus the people who are sex workers are generally not
considered as a part of the mainland society (Seidman 2013). However, it is significant to
note that in the opinion of many the various sex workers are doing just the kind of thing
which is necessary to keep their body and soul together just like the other people of the world
who pursue one profession or the other for the very same reasons (Fogarty, Rapoport and
Rapoport 2017). Furthermore, the health risks faced by the various sex workers are even
more than the people who pursue the other professions (Fogarty, Rapoport and Rapoport

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2017). For example, a sex worker is more prone to diseases like HIV-AIDS, STDS, and
others in comparison to the other people of the society (Wright 2013). Therefore, many
people are of the opinion that sex work is just like any other profession of the world and in a
way a bit more challenging than the others (Wright 2013). It is true that the kind of money
which the various sex workers earn is way more than the other people make but the
disadvantages related to the profession is also more in comparison to the others.
In the opinion of many people sex work is not like the other professions of the world
as the various sex workers do not need to do the same kind of labor which the people
belonging to the other kinds of professions need to do (Koken 2012). Furthermore, these
people even go on to the extent of saying that sex work is just an easy source of making
money (Koken 2012). However, when the concept of sex work is seen though the lens of the
various theories related to the concept of Marxism is seen then it will become justified as any
other profession of the world (Orenstein 2012). In the opinion of Karl Marx, the Capitalist
society exploits the laborers belonging to the poorer sections of the society in order to gain
more amount of wealth, power and fulfill other kinds of desires (Orenstein 2012). It is a
commonly held opinion that sex work is one of the most exploitative kinds of works with the
people doing this particular kind of work being subjected to various kinds of exploitations
(Orenstein 2012). Furthermore, the various international legislations like “Immoral
Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA) (1956)”, “Palermo Protocol (2000)” and others have
failed to reduce the level of exploitation faced by the various sex works in different parts of
the world (Fogarty, Rapoport and Rapoport 2017). Therefore, it can be said one of the most
basic precepts of the various theories related to Marxism is that exploitation which the
various workers have to face in a capitalist society and on this particular score sex work
would also seem as a profession which is on par with the other professions of the world
(Beloso 2012).

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The profession of sex work when viewed through the lens of radical feminism would
seem to be totally unjustified (Ross et al. 2012). The concept of radical feminism “views
society as fundamentally a patriarchy in which men dominate and oppress women, and seek
to abolish the patriarchy in order to liberate everyone from an unjust society by challenging
existing social norms and institutions” (Ross et al. 2012). Therefore, the entire profession of
sex work which is primary directed at satisfying the carnal desires of the male fraternity
which once again directly establishes the supremacy of the male fraternity over the females is
totally unjustifiable for the females who are the majority of the sex workers (Ross et al.
2012). It is significant to note that in the present times the trend has changed a few people
even do the sex work for personal pleasure and also the handsome money which it provides
and not out of dire monetary needs or because they have been trafficked or anything else
(Fogarty, Rapoport and Rapoport 2017). Moreover, in the opinion of many people, the
amount of work options which are available to the people have increased significantly and
therefore it can be said that the concept of sex work as a profession is totally unjustified when
seen through the lens of the concept of radical feminism (Ross et al. 2012).
Sex work when seen through the lens of the liberal concept will become totally
justified as a profession (Rosenthal 2015). It is significant to note that as per the various
precepts of the concept of liberalism “each man has a natural right to life, liberty and
property, adding that governments must not violate these rights based on the social contract”
and for the attainment of this particular state the individual concerned can follow any
vocation or profession as he or she sees fit (Rosenthal 2015). Therefore, when viewed
through this lens the profession of sex work would appear as any other profession for making
money and thus it can be said that sex work is a profession just like any other professions of
the world (Fogarty, Rapoport and Rapoport 2017).

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To conclude, prostitution or commonly called by the name of sex work is one of the
oldest professions of the world. However, in the recent times it is seen that the various
individuals refuse to acknowledge it as any other kind of profession and therefore the various
people related to the sex work had to face much stigmatization on the score of this particular
factor. For example, the profession of sex work when viewed through the lens of the theories
of Marxism and liberalism would seem just like any other professions of the world. However,
when the same concept of sex work is seen through the lens of the concept of radical
feminism the concept of sex work would seem totally unjustified and not on par with the
other professions of the world.

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References
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Culture and Society, 38(1), pp.47-70.
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Koken, J.A., 2012. Independent female escort’s strategies for coping with sex work related
stigma. Sexuality & culture, 16(3), pp.209-229.
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Literature and Culture. Cornell University Press.
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Scoular, J., 2015. The subject of prostitution: Sex work, law and social theory. Routledge.
Seidman, S., 2013. Beyond the closet: The transformation of gay and lesbian life. Routledge.
Tiefer, L., 2018. Sex is not a natural act & other essays. Routledge.
Wright, M., 2013. Disposable women and other myths of global capitalism. Routledge.

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