1
ON WHY SEX WORK SHOULD BE DECRIMININALIZED
PHIL 347
On Why Sex Work Should Be Decriminalized
PHIL 347 – Chamberlain College of Nursing
Abstract
As an abundant amount of social, political, and economic outcry for the legalization of
sex work grows, the profession – or as its popular nomenclature calls it ‘prostitution’ – , has
seen a genuine shift in recent years towards tolerating, if not altogether embracing, the idea of
decriminalizing sex work altogether. On a global scale, sex work has an ancient history
interwoven within the memory of many countries. Given the varied nature of public opinion on
sex work and its legitimacy as a profession across the globe, in this article we will focus on sex
work in the United States and the arguments that exist for supporting its legalization. While
global sources might be cited to further support the legitimacy of sex work as a profitable
profession, focusing on sex work in America will place a magnifying glass over a tumultuous
network of workers who exist at a dangerous juxtaposition within America’s economic and
social framework. Ultimately, the fundamental argument will always be that voluntary and
consensual sex work should be legalized. As an industry, it generates billions, and as a
profession it is arguably the oldest of its kind. As American history has often shown it is also not
the profession itself that makes sex work dangerous, but the very act of criminalization in itself
that poses the largest threat and thus, with the proper steps taken to decriminalize it altogether,
the often-times tragic effects that appear to come with sex work will also drastically decrease.
Key words: sex work, prostitution, decriminalization, human rights, consent, voluntary,
sex trafficking.
The term prostitution refers to a transactional interaction between two persons, for sex
and profit. The connotation that it holds, popularly, is a very negative one. Prostitution is seen by
many to be degrading, unprofessional, and of low moral quality. In the United States alone,
prostitution has a very long, very violent, and very complex history that entangles not only the
, 2
ON WHY SEX WORK SHOULD BE DECRIMININALIZED
people who we have called prostitutes, but also the patrons who solicit their services and the
large network of pimps, exploiters, and abusers who profit off of such labor. In more recent
years, a new terminology has emerged for people who engage in transactional sexual acts – sex
workers. And with that newer label, an emerging shift in popular assumptions about sex work
and workers has arisen, with a growing network of activists, scholars, lobbyists, and everyday
people challenging stereotypical understandings of the nature of sex work. Ultimately the goal
of these groups has been to divorce the unfavorable social connotation attached to sex workers
from the fact that sex work is legitimate work and its long-standing history of criminalization in
the United States should serve to stand as reason enough for its decriminalization.
When the topic of sex work is brought up into popular conversation, the immediate idea
that comes to mind for many people is that of women ‘selling’ their bodies. It is almost always
characterized by the gaudy exploitation of female bodies, often-times solicited by male patrons.
Given the history of sex work in the United States, with its earliest beginnings arising at around
the time that the United States, one can begin to understand the fundamental argument which
surrounds the call for decriminalizing sex work. At its core, commercial sex between two
consenting adults is a matter that should be respected: the history of prostitution in the United
States reaches can go back as far as the 1890s, with many brothels and saloons existing as
pleasure points for men and women (Jenkins, 2020). Much of America’s early history was
characterized by loose regulations of sex work throughout the country, which proved profitable
for many small businesses but which was also dangerous as it was unregulated and unprotected.
This, coupled with America’s prohibitionist tendencies in the late 19th and the early 20th century,
created a cultural environment that made commercial sex dangerous to engage in. But, as the
statistics have shown, what made sex work dangerous – and what continues to make it dangerous
ON WHY SEX WORK SHOULD BE DECRIMININALIZED
PHIL 347
On Why Sex Work Should Be Decriminalized
PHIL 347 – Chamberlain College of Nursing
Abstract
As an abundant amount of social, political, and economic outcry for the legalization of
sex work grows, the profession – or as its popular nomenclature calls it ‘prostitution’ – , has
seen a genuine shift in recent years towards tolerating, if not altogether embracing, the idea of
decriminalizing sex work altogether. On a global scale, sex work has an ancient history
interwoven within the memory of many countries. Given the varied nature of public opinion on
sex work and its legitimacy as a profession across the globe, in this article we will focus on sex
work in the United States and the arguments that exist for supporting its legalization. While
global sources might be cited to further support the legitimacy of sex work as a profitable
profession, focusing on sex work in America will place a magnifying glass over a tumultuous
network of workers who exist at a dangerous juxtaposition within America’s economic and
social framework. Ultimately, the fundamental argument will always be that voluntary and
consensual sex work should be legalized. As an industry, it generates billions, and as a
profession it is arguably the oldest of its kind. As American history has often shown it is also not
the profession itself that makes sex work dangerous, but the very act of criminalization in itself
that poses the largest threat and thus, with the proper steps taken to decriminalize it altogether,
the often-times tragic effects that appear to come with sex work will also drastically decrease.
Key words: sex work, prostitution, decriminalization, human rights, consent, voluntary,
sex trafficking.
The term prostitution refers to a transactional interaction between two persons, for sex
and profit. The connotation that it holds, popularly, is a very negative one. Prostitution is seen by
many to be degrading, unprofessional, and of low moral quality. In the United States alone,
prostitution has a very long, very violent, and very complex history that entangles not only the
, 2
ON WHY SEX WORK SHOULD BE DECRIMININALIZED
people who we have called prostitutes, but also the patrons who solicit their services and the
large network of pimps, exploiters, and abusers who profit off of such labor. In more recent
years, a new terminology has emerged for people who engage in transactional sexual acts – sex
workers. And with that newer label, an emerging shift in popular assumptions about sex work
and workers has arisen, with a growing network of activists, scholars, lobbyists, and everyday
people challenging stereotypical understandings of the nature of sex work. Ultimately the goal
of these groups has been to divorce the unfavorable social connotation attached to sex workers
from the fact that sex work is legitimate work and its long-standing history of criminalization in
the United States should serve to stand as reason enough for its decriminalization.
When the topic of sex work is brought up into popular conversation, the immediate idea
that comes to mind for many people is that of women ‘selling’ their bodies. It is almost always
characterized by the gaudy exploitation of female bodies, often-times solicited by male patrons.
Given the history of sex work in the United States, with its earliest beginnings arising at around
the time that the United States, one can begin to understand the fundamental argument which
surrounds the call for decriminalizing sex work. At its core, commercial sex between two
consenting adults is a matter that should be respected: the history of prostitution in the United
States reaches can go back as far as the 1890s, with many brothels and saloons existing as
pleasure points for men and women (Jenkins, 2020). Much of America’s early history was
characterized by loose regulations of sex work throughout the country, which proved profitable
for many small businesses but which was also dangerous as it was unregulated and unprotected.
This, coupled with America’s prohibitionist tendencies in the late 19th and the early 20th century,
created a cultural environment that made commercial sex dangerous to engage in. But, as the
statistics have shown, what made sex work dangerous – and what continues to make it dangerous
