Eileen Stillwaggon
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195169270
- eISBN:
- 9780199783427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195169271.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter examines the health profile of countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union within the context of an emerging HIV epidemic. Unlike the epidemics in most of the ...
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This chapter examines the health profile of countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union within the context of an emerging HIV epidemic. Unlike the epidemics in most of the developing world, the HIV epidemics in the transition economies of Europe are apparently fueled by drug use and commercial sex work. The emphasis on the behavioral conditions, however, masks the important role played by economic crises in the collapse of public health services and the increase in human trafficking. This chapter broadens the analysis of declining health in the former socialist economies and situates the study of HIV epidemics within a biomedical analysis of disease vulnerability, rather than the reigning behavioral model.Less
This chapter examines the health profile of countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union within the context of an emerging HIV epidemic. Unlike the epidemics in most of the developing world, the HIV epidemics in the transition economies of Europe are apparently fueled by drug use and commercial sex work. The emphasis on the behavioral conditions, however, masks the important role played by economic crises in the collapse of public health services and the increase in human trafficking. This chapter broadens the analysis of declining health in the former socialist economies and situates the study of HIV epidemics within a biomedical analysis of disease vulnerability, rather than the reigning behavioral model.
Mark D. West
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801449475
- eISBN:
- 9780801461026
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801449475.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This chapter explores three areas in which Japanese courts rule and comment on commodified sex. The first two are commercial: prostitution and other kinds of sex-for-money transactions, and ...
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This chapter explores three areas in which Japanese courts rule and comment on commodified sex. The first two are commercial: prostitution and other kinds of sex-for-money transactions, and pornography. In these two areas, in contrast with the conservatism of private sex, a wide variety of sexual services are clearly legal. Courts generally enforce the law strictly, but their commentary is inconsistent: although they never approve of commercial sex, sometimes they are unexpectedly silent, sometimes they are critical, and sometimes they are ambiguous. The chapter then examines a middle ground between commercial and private, a set of cases in which courts find monetary value in private sex that, while not founded explicitly on love, has a similar emotional or “real” component. In all three areas, courts tacitly allow or actively enforce the commodification of sex and the emotions that may accompany it.Less
This chapter explores three areas in which Japanese courts rule and comment on commodified sex. The first two are commercial: prostitution and other kinds of sex-for-money transactions, and pornography. In these two areas, in contrast with the conservatism of private sex, a wide variety of sexual services are clearly legal. Courts generally enforce the law strictly, but their commentary is inconsistent: although they never approve of commercial sex, sometimes they are unexpectedly silent, sometimes they are critical, and sometimes they are ambiguous. The chapter then examines a middle ground between commercial and private, a set of cases in which courts find monetary value in private sex that, while not founded explicitly on love, has a similar emotional or “real” component. In all three areas, courts tacitly allow or actively enforce the commodification of sex and the emotions that may accompany it.
Lucinda Joy Peach
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831592
- eISBN:
- 9780824869311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831592.003.0013
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter describes how international human rights is held out as the appropriate paradigm for empowering trafficked women and commercial sex work by otherwise ideologically opposed members of the ...
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This chapter describes how international human rights is held out as the appropriate paradigm for empowering trafficked women and commercial sex work by otherwise ideologically opposed members of the anti-sex-trafficking community and discusses why this reliance can be problematic, especially with respect to the Asia-Pacific region. Since Thailand historically has been the center for sex trafficking and the commercial sex industry in the Asia-Pacific region, and receives a significant part of the attention given to sex trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region, this chapter focuses on the responses of the anti-sex-trafficking community to the morality and appropriate legal status of commercial sex work in Thailand and of Thai women.Less
This chapter describes how international human rights is held out as the appropriate paradigm for empowering trafficked women and commercial sex work by otherwise ideologically opposed members of the anti-sex-trafficking community and discusses why this reliance can be problematic, especially with respect to the Asia-Pacific region. Since Thailand historically has been the center for sex trafficking and the commercial sex industry in the Asia-Pacific region, and receives a significant part of the attention given to sex trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region, this chapter focuses on the responses of the anti-sex-trafficking community to the morality and appropriate legal status of commercial sex work in Thailand and of Thai women.
Mark D. West
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801449475
- eISBN:
- 9780801461026
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801449475.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This book explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and ...
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This book explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and emotional intimacy, affection, and personal connections. The book finds that Japanese judges frequently opine on whether a person is in love, what other emotions a person is feeling, and whether those emotions are appropriate for the situation. Sometimes judges' views about love, sex, and marriage emerge from their presentation of the facts of cases. Among the recurring elements are abortions forced by men, compensated dating, late-life divorces, termination fees to end affairs, sexless couples, Valentine's Day heartbreak, “soapland” bath-brothels, and home-wrecking hostesses. Sometimes the judges' analysis, decisions, and commentary are as revealing as the facts. Sex in the cases is a choice among private “normal” sex, which is male-dominated, conservative, dispassionate, or nonexistent; commercial sex, which caters to every fetish but is said to lead to rape, murder, and general social depravity; and a hybrid of the two, which commodifies private sexual relationships. Marriage is contractual; judges express the ideal of love in marriage and proclaim its importance, but virtually no one in the court cases achieves it. Love usually appears as a tragic, overwhelming emotion associated with jealousy, suffering, heartache, and death.Less
This book explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and emotional intimacy, affection, and personal connections. The book finds that Japanese judges frequently opine on whether a person is in love, what other emotions a person is feeling, and whether those emotions are appropriate for the situation. Sometimes judges' views about love, sex, and marriage emerge from their presentation of the facts of cases. Among the recurring elements are abortions forced by men, compensated dating, late-life divorces, termination fees to end affairs, sexless couples, Valentine's Day heartbreak, “soapland” bath-brothels, and home-wrecking hostesses. Sometimes the judges' analysis, decisions, and commentary are as revealing as the facts. Sex in the cases is a choice among private “normal” sex, which is male-dominated, conservative, dispassionate, or nonexistent; commercial sex, which caters to every fetish but is said to lead to rape, murder, and general social depravity; and a hybrid of the two, which commodifies private sexual relationships. Marriage is contractual; judges express the ideal of love in marriage and proclaim its importance, but virtually no one in the court cases achieves it. Love usually appears as a tragic, overwhelming emotion associated with jealousy, suffering, heartache, and death.
Mei-Hua Chen
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861346728
- eISBN:
- 9781447302612
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861346728.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
This chapter looks at Taiwan, where licensing of some forms of prostitution was replaced in the 1990s by increased criminalisation of some activities associated with prostitution. In particular, it ...
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This chapter looks at Taiwan, where licensing of some forms of prostitution was replaced in the 1990s by increased criminalisation of some activities associated with prostitution. In particular, it describes the historical development of prostitution in Taiwan, the legal and feminist responses to prostitution, and some projections on the future of prostitution in Taiwan. Moreover, a sketch of commercial sex in Taiwan is provided. Currently, the major regulations regarding prostitution include criminal law, the Social Order Maintenance Act (SOM), and the Act for Prevention of Child and Juvenile Involvement in Commercial Sex (PCJICS). Moreover, the debates on legalisation and decriminalisation, and their relevance, are reported. It is suggested that the government should locate prostitution in a more extensive social context in which class, gender, and sexuality are seen to intertwine in the shaping of prostitution.Less
This chapter looks at Taiwan, where licensing of some forms of prostitution was replaced in the 1990s by increased criminalisation of some activities associated with prostitution. In particular, it describes the historical development of prostitution in Taiwan, the legal and feminist responses to prostitution, and some projections on the future of prostitution in Taiwan. Moreover, a sketch of commercial sex in Taiwan is provided. Currently, the major regulations regarding prostitution include criminal law, the Social Order Maintenance Act (SOM), and the Act for Prevention of Child and Juvenile Involvement in Commercial Sex (PCJICS). Moreover, the debates on legalisation and decriminalisation, and their relevance, are reported. It is suggested that the government should locate prostitution in a more extensive social context in which class, gender, and sexuality are seen to intertwine in the shaping of prostitution.
Ko-lin Chin and James O. Finckenauer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814772577
- eISBN:
- 9780814769683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814772577.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter discusses the results of the present study. It first deals with the issue of defining and estimating the volume of sex trafficking. Among the findings of the study are that the women ...
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This chapter discusses the results of the present study. It first deals with the issue of defining and estimating the volume of sex trafficking. Among the findings of the study are that the women studied, who would be counted as victims in many of the prevailing estimates of human trafficking, are not really victims at all, if based on the narrow definition that a transnational trafficking victim is one who is forced, deceived, or coerced to go overseas for commercial sex. It calls for the need to make explicit exactly how sex trafficking victims are being defined in any discussions of the scope and magnitude of the problem and of any antitrafficking policies. The chapter then turns to the notion of symbolic politics, which refers to a policy making situation wherein perceptions trump substance; where the appearance of action, sometimes without actually doing or intending to do anything, becomes paramount in reassuring political constituents. It is argued that the dispute about prostitution and sex trafficking may have fallen into this policy trap.Less
This chapter discusses the results of the present study. It first deals with the issue of defining and estimating the volume of sex trafficking. Among the findings of the study are that the women studied, who would be counted as victims in many of the prevailing estimates of human trafficking, are not really victims at all, if based on the narrow definition that a transnational trafficking victim is one who is forced, deceived, or coerced to go overseas for commercial sex. It calls for the need to make explicit exactly how sex trafficking victims are being defined in any discussions of the scope and magnitude of the problem and of any antitrafficking policies. The chapter then turns to the notion of symbolic politics, which refers to a policy making situation wherein perceptions trump substance; where the appearance of action, sometimes without actually doing or intending to do anything, becomes paramount in reassuring political constituents. It is argued that the dispute about prostitution and sex trafficking may have fallen into this policy trap.
Mark E. Kann
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814770191
- eISBN:
- 9780814759462
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814770191.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter focuses on the policing of prostitution in early America. Parental, political, and judicial support for public officials in their efforts to arrest prostitutes and to shut down brothels ...
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This chapter focuses on the policing of prostitution in early America. Parental, political, and judicial support for public officials in their efforts to arrest prostitutes and to shut down brothels made policing prostitution the ultimate testing ground for determining how serious, how dedicated, and how steadfast politicians were when it came to policing sex in the nation's early years. While reformers and politicians in the early Republic condemned prostitution as a moral outrage in their communities, this chapter argues that they were not fully committed to prosecuting prostitutes and to shutting down brothels. After providing an overview of the nature of the problem of prostitution, it considers critics' public condemnation of prostitution and how good girls became prostitutes. It also discusses the role of men in the growth of the commercial sex industry, along with efforts to redeem prostitutes and help them regain respectability, how quiet interests sought to ensure the viability and profitability of prostitutes and brothels, the law on prostitution, and how prostitution was tolerated by legal establishments in various states.Less
This chapter focuses on the policing of prostitution in early America. Parental, political, and judicial support for public officials in their efforts to arrest prostitutes and to shut down brothels made policing prostitution the ultimate testing ground for determining how serious, how dedicated, and how steadfast politicians were when it came to policing sex in the nation's early years. While reformers and politicians in the early Republic condemned prostitution as a moral outrage in their communities, this chapter argues that they were not fully committed to prosecuting prostitutes and to shutting down brothels. After providing an overview of the nature of the problem of prostitution, it considers critics' public condemnation of prostitution and how good girls became prostitutes. It also discusses the role of men in the growth of the commercial sex industry, along with efforts to redeem prostitutes and help them regain respectability, how quiet interests sought to ensure the viability and profitability of prostitutes and brothels, the law on prostitution, and how prostitution was tolerated by legal establishments in various states.
Ko-lin Chin and James O. Finckenauer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814772577
- eISBN:
- 9780814769683
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814772577.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
Every year, thousands of Chinese women travel to Asia and the United States in order to engage in commercial sex work. This book challenges the current sex trafficking paradigm that considers all sex ...
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Every year, thousands of Chinese women travel to Asia and the United States in order to engage in commercial sex work. This book challenges the current sex trafficking paradigm that considers all sex workers as victims, or sexual slaves, and as unwilling participants in the world of commercial sex. Bringing to life an on-the-ground portrait of this usually hidden world, the book provides a detailed look at all of its participants: sex workers, pimps, agents, mommies, escort agency owners, brothel owners, and drivers. Ultimately, it probes the social, economic, and political organization of prostitution and sex trafficking, contradicting many of the “moral crusaders” of the human trafficking world.Less
Every year, thousands of Chinese women travel to Asia and the United States in order to engage in commercial sex work. This book challenges the current sex trafficking paradigm that considers all sex workers as victims, or sexual slaves, and as unwilling participants in the world of commercial sex. Bringing to life an on-the-ground portrait of this usually hidden world, the book provides a detailed look at all of its participants: sex workers, pimps, agents, mommies, escort agency owners, brothel owners, and drivers. Ultimately, it probes the social, economic, and political organization of prostitution and sex trafficking, contradicting many of the “moral crusaders” of the human trafficking world.
Vanessa Munro and Jane Scoular
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199673872
- eISBN:
- 9780191752032
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673872.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter examines how the regulation of commercial sex markets in the UK have constituted forms of (sexual) citizenship, roles for criminal law, and bases of legitimacy for state intervention. ...
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This chapter examines how the regulation of commercial sex markets in the UK have constituted forms of (sexual) citizenship, roles for criminal law, and bases of legitimacy for state intervention. The aim is to explore the discourses through which recent state initiatives designed to respond to prostitution have been constructed and defended. The chapter first outlines the nature of historical and more recent responses to prostitution in England and Wales. It then explores the ways in which the concept of ‘harm’ — traditionally viewed as a cornerstone of liberal approaches to criminalization, both in and beyond the context of prostitution — has been supplemented by, and reconfigured through, an increasing contemporary reliance upon the associated, but in important ways distinct, concept of vulnerability. It considers potential negative implications of contemporary discourses about, and responses to, prostitution for the lives of sex workers. It suggests that recent responses to the regulation of prostitution risk creating new, or further entrenching current, axes of vulnerability. The final section explores mechanisms to promote a more reflexive and inclusive use of the concepts of harm and vulnerability in the context of sex work. Emphasizing the need for policymakers, on-the-ground enforcers, and sex workers to engage legal mechanisms that exist outside of carceral and coercive confines, it reflects on what this re-constitution might mean for the contours and possibilities of both sexual citizenship and criminal law.Less
This chapter examines how the regulation of commercial sex markets in the UK have constituted forms of (sexual) citizenship, roles for criminal law, and bases of legitimacy for state intervention. The aim is to explore the discourses through which recent state initiatives designed to respond to prostitution have been constructed and defended. The chapter first outlines the nature of historical and more recent responses to prostitution in England and Wales. It then explores the ways in which the concept of ‘harm’ — traditionally viewed as a cornerstone of liberal approaches to criminalization, both in and beyond the context of prostitution — has been supplemented by, and reconfigured through, an increasing contemporary reliance upon the associated, but in important ways distinct, concept of vulnerability. It considers potential negative implications of contemporary discourses about, and responses to, prostitution for the lives of sex workers. It suggests that recent responses to the regulation of prostitution risk creating new, or further entrenching current, axes of vulnerability. The final section explores mechanisms to promote a more reflexive and inclusive use of the concepts of harm and vulnerability in the context of sex work. Emphasizing the need for policymakers, on-the-ground enforcers, and sex workers to engage legal mechanisms that exist outside of carceral and coercive confines, it reflects on what this re-constitution might mean for the contours and possibilities of both sexual citizenship and criminal law.
Jane Scoular, Jane Pitcher, Rosie Campbell, Phil Hubbard, and Maggie O'Neill
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847421067
- eISBN:
- 9781447303169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847421067.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Occupations, Professions, and Work
This chapter utilizes both critical and empirical forms of enquiry to uncover the relationship between dominant constructions of the ‘problem of prostitution’ and the associated norms that operate ...
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This chapter utilizes both critical and empirical forms of enquiry to uncover the relationship between dominant constructions of the ‘problem of prostitution’ and the associated norms that operate across various historical epochs, focusing in particular on the recent association between street sex work and anti-social behaviour. It shows that the alleged antithesis of sex work to community safety owes as much to the ideological operation of the law as to any inherent feature of commercial sex. The chapter considers the practical implications of recent reforms, which continue to follow this ideology. It outlines some of the dangers of policy frameworks and techniques of control that continue to situate sex work as antithetical to the cultivation of community safety, by reflecting on a recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation-funded study, which examined the experiences of those living and working in areas of street sex work.Less
This chapter utilizes both critical and empirical forms of enquiry to uncover the relationship between dominant constructions of the ‘problem of prostitution’ and the associated norms that operate across various historical epochs, focusing in particular on the recent association between street sex work and anti-social behaviour. It shows that the alleged antithesis of sex work to community safety owes as much to the ideological operation of the law as to any inherent feature of commercial sex. The chapter considers the practical implications of recent reforms, which continue to follow this ideology. It outlines some of the dangers of policy frameworks and techniques of control that continue to situate sex work as antithetical to the cultivation of community safety, by reflecting on a recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation-funded study, which examined the experiences of those living and working in areas of street sex work.
Ko-lin Chin and James O. Finckenauer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814772577
- eISBN:
- 9780814769683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814772577.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter explores the social organization of the Chinese sex business in the ten research sites studied: Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei (Taiwan), Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, ...
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This chapter explores the social organization of the Chinese sex business in the ten research sites studied: Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei (Taiwan), Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, Jakarta (Indonesia), New York (United States), Los Angeles (United States), and Shenzhen (China). It asks: What is the particular character of these overseas sites that seems to have made them magnets for women from China? What can we learn from looking closely at one prominent site (Shenzhen) in China? What is the nature of the culture of tolerance for commercial sex in each of these cities? Most importantly, is there anything about the sites' character and nature that help us to better understand how transnational human smuggling and trafficking work?Less
This chapter explores the social organization of the Chinese sex business in the ten research sites studied: Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei (Taiwan), Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, Jakarta (Indonesia), New York (United States), Los Angeles (United States), and Shenzhen (China). It asks: What is the particular character of these overseas sites that seems to have made them magnets for women from China? What can we learn from looking closely at one prominent site (Shenzhen) in China? What is the nature of the culture of tolerance for commercial sex in each of these cities? Most importantly, is there anything about the sites' character and nature that help us to better understand how transnational human smuggling and trafficking work?
Sverre Molland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824836108
- eISBN:
- 9780824871505
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824836108.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the ways in which recruitment is carried out in the sex industry and the implications for interpreting them in the context of trafficking definitions. More specifically, it ...
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This chapter examines the ways in which recruitment is carried out in the sex industry and the implications for interpreting them in the context of trafficking definitions. More specifically, it considers the significant differences that exist between how human trafficking is articulated through legal regimes, such as the Palermo Protocol, and how women are recruited as sex workers along the Thai–Lao border. After providing an overview of the sociocultural aspects of prostitution, the chapter discusses the role of kinship, reciprocity, and morality in women's decision to enter prostitution in Laos and Thailand. It then explores some of the important differences and similarities between commercial sex in the two countries and goes on to explain the process of recruitment in the sex industry in the context of definitions of trafficking. It also tackles the issue of victim identification and how numbers of trafficked victims are measured.Less
This chapter examines the ways in which recruitment is carried out in the sex industry and the implications for interpreting them in the context of trafficking definitions. More specifically, it considers the significant differences that exist between how human trafficking is articulated through legal regimes, such as the Palermo Protocol, and how women are recruited as sex workers along the Thai–Lao border. After providing an overview of the sociocultural aspects of prostitution, the chapter discusses the role of kinship, reciprocity, and morality in women's decision to enter prostitution in Laos and Thailand. It then explores some of the important differences and similarities between commercial sex in the two countries and goes on to explain the process of recruitment in the sex industry in the context of definitions of trafficking. It also tackles the issue of victim identification and how numbers of trafficked victims are measured.
Keely Stauter-Halsted
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801454196
- eISBN:
- 9781501701665
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801454196.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
In the half-century before Poland's long-awaited political independence in 1918, anxiety surrounded the country's burgeoning sex industry. This is the first book to examine the world of commercial ...
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In the half-century before Poland's long-awaited political independence in 1918, anxiety surrounded the country's burgeoning sex industry. This is the first book to examine the world of commercial sex throughout the partitioned Polish territories, uncovering a previously hidden conversation about sexuality, gender propriety, and social class. The preoccupation with prostitution is situated in the context of Poland's struggle for political independence and its difficult transition to modernity. The Poles' growing anxiety about white slavery, venereal disease, and eugenics is traced by examining the regulation of the female body, the rise of medical authority, and the role of social reformers in addressing the problem of paid sex. The book argues that the sale of sex was positioned at the juncture of mass and elite cultures, affecting nearly every aspect of urban life and bringing together sharply divergent social classes in what had long been a radically stratified society. It captures the experiences of the impoverished women who turned to the streets and draws a vivid picture of the social milieu that shaped their choices. The book demonstrates that discussions of prostitution and its attendant disorders—sexual deviancy, alcoholism, child abuse, vagrancy, and other related problems—reflected differing visions for the future of the Polish nation.Less
In the half-century before Poland's long-awaited political independence in 1918, anxiety surrounded the country's burgeoning sex industry. This is the first book to examine the world of commercial sex throughout the partitioned Polish territories, uncovering a previously hidden conversation about sexuality, gender propriety, and social class. The preoccupation with prostitution is situated in the context of Poland's struggle for political independence and its difficult transition to modernity. The Poles' growing anxiety about white slavery, venereal disease, and eugenics is traced by examining the regulation of the female body, the rise of medical authority, and the role of social reformers in addressing the problem of paid sex. The book argues that the sale of sex was positioned at the juncture of mass and elite cultures, affecting nearly every aspect of urban life and bringing together sharply divergent social classes in what had long been a radically stratified society. It captures the experiences of the impoverished women who turned to the streets and draws a vivid picture of the social milieu that shaped their choices. The book demonstrates that discussions of prostitution and its attendant disorders—sexual deviancy, alcoholism, child abuse, vagrancy, and other related problems—reflected differing visions for the future of the Polish nation.
Keely Stauter-Halsted
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801454196
- eISBN:
- 9781501701665
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801454196.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter argues that Poland's increased demand for prostitution can be traced to its cities' demographics. Peasant emancipation followed by massive migration out of the countryside, as well as a ...
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This chapter argues that Poland's increased demand for prostitution can be traced to its cities' demographics. Peasant emancipation followed by massive migration out of the countryside, as well as a dearth of employment opportunities for unskilled women, created a dramatic upsurge in lower-class reliance on prostitution as a means of subsistence. In addition, as more and more young men in search for seasonal jobs, high culture, and education flocked to Poland, prostitutes became more aggressive in plying their trade. Each of these settings offered a steady clientele for commercial sex workers. In many respects, then, the anxiety surrounding the incidence of prostitution in Polish cities had its roots in socioeconomic causes.Less
This chapter argues that Poland's increased demand for prostitution can be traced to its cities' demographics. Peasant emancipation followed by massive migration out of the countryside, as well as a dearth of employment opportunities for unskilled women, created a dramatic upsurge in lower-class reliance on prostitution as a means of subsistence. In addition, as more and more young men in search for seasonal jobs, high culture, and education flocked to Poland, prostitutes became more aggressive in plying their trade. Each of these settings offered a steady clientele for commercial sex workers. In many respects, then, the anxiety surrounding the incidence of prostitution in Polish cities had its roots in socioeconomic causes.
Ko-lin Chin and James O. Finckenauer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814772577
- eISBN:
- 9780814769683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814772577.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter focuses on the modus operandi of various sex venues in the ten research sites. It classifies the sex markets into three main categories: independent, partnership, and employed. Within ...
More
This chapter focuses on the modus operandi of various sex venues in the ten research sites. It classifies the sex markets into three main categories: independent, partnership, and employed. Within each main category, it further examines the various settings where the subjects were engaged in commercial sex. Women interviewed in the study typically worked in one of the following four settings: (i) on the street, (ii) restaurants and other public places, (iii) hotels, and (iv) at home. The chapter also explores the curious phenomenon wherein some of these women maintained a stable relationship with a customer by becoming a mistress, and the pros and cons in their view of having a “husband.” The findings presented so far indicate the diversity of the sex industry involving Chinese women. The oppression paradigm that defines prostitution solely as inherently exploitative and harmful to workers does not reflect this diversity.Less
This chapter focuses on the modus operandi of various sex venues in the ten research sites. It classifies the sex markets into three main categories: independent, partnership, and employed. Within each main category, it further examines the various settings where the subjects were engaged in commercial sex. Women interviewed in the study typically worked in one of the following four settings: (i) on the street, (ii) restaurants and other public places, (iii) hotels, and (iv) at home. The chapter also explores the curious phenomenon wherein some of these women maintained a stable relationship with a customer by becoming a mistress, and the pros and cons in their view of having a “husband.” The findings presented so far indicate the diversity of the sex industry involving Chinese women. The oppression paradigm that defines prostitution solely as inherently exploitative and harmful to workers does not reflect this diversity.
Ko-lin Chin and James O. Finckenauer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814772577
- eISBN:
- 9780814769683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814772577.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter examines the economics of transnational prostitution. Specifically, it explores how much, if anything, Chinese women must pay to go overseas, how long it takes them to clear their ...
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This chapter examines the economics of transnational prostitution. Specifically, it explores how much, if anything, Chinese women must pay to go overseas, how long it takes them to clear their transportation fees, how much they make from prostitution, and how they manage their money. It argues that transnational commercial sex is a business, and that the sex business is, like any other business, organized and functional in such a way that the benefits to all the participants are maximized, without certain participants having to be sacrificed or exploited. It then focuses on the customers, the sex buyers. It looks at the socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds of the men who bought sex from our subjects. It also explores the issue of abuses by clients. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the nature of buying sex.Less
This chapter examines the economics of transnational prostitution. Specifically, it explores how much, if anything, Chinese women must pay to go overseas, how long it takes them to clear their transportation fees, how much they make from prostitution, and how they manage their money. It argues that transnational commercial sex is a business, and that the sex business is, like any other business, organized and functional in such a way that the benefits to all the participants are maximized, without certain participants having to be sacrificed or exploited. It then focuses on the customers, the sex buyers. It looks at the socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds of the men who bought sex from our subjects. It also explores the issue of abuses by clients. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the nature of buying sex.
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226016061
- eISBN:
- 9780226016047
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226016047.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter is concerned with the dynamics of the commercialization of sex itself, and how this reflects the larger sociopolitical order. Prostitution is only the most dramatic aspect of a sex ...
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This chapter is concerned with the dynamics of the commercialization of sex itself, and how this reflects the larger sociopolitical order. Prostitution is only the most dramatic aspect of a sex industry, which is increasingly interrelated with the global economy. In part, this is associated with the huge increase in tourism, but often young women are recruited into sex work through migration, often under conditions that are virtual enslavement. Prostitution is hardly new, and it is difficult to distinguish between an actual increase in commercial sex and an increasing openness in acknowledging it. Indeed it is possible that there is far less commercial sex in many parts of the rich world now than a century ago, though this has probably been more than compensated for by increases in other parts of the world.Less
This chapter is concerned with the dynamics of the commercialization of sex itself, and how this reflects the larger sociopolitical order. Prostitution is only the most dramatic aspect of a sex industry, which is increasingly interrelated with the global economy. In part, this is associated with the huge increase in tourism, but often young women are recruited into sex work through migration, often under conditions that are virtual enslavement. Prostitution is hardly new, and it is difficult to distinguish between an actual increase in commercial sex and an increasing openness in acknowledging it. Indeed it is possible that there is far less commercial sex in many parts of the rich world now than a century ago, though this has probably been more than compensated for by increases in other parts of the world.
Keely Stauter-Halsted
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801454196
- eISBN:
- 9781501701665
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801454196.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the “Alfonse Pogrom” of May 1905, which gives rise to other antiprostitution initiatives that were led by female activists. During the pogrom, throngs of angry workers stormed ...
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This chapter discusses the “Alfonse Pogrom” of May 1905, which gives rise to other antiprostitution initiatives that were led by female activists. During the pogrom, throngs of angry workers stormed the city's red-light district, attacking Jewish-run bordellos, smashing furniture, tearing hinges off doors, and shattering windows. The violence and destruction continued for two days and by the time police restored order forty people, including many owners of public houses, lay wounded or dying. This event marked a turning point in popular attitudes toward commercial sex, sparking increased public awareness of prostitution across Poland. In particular, female activists established philanthropic, charitable, as well as educational initiatives to combat commercial sex.Less
This chapter discusses the “Alfonse Pogrom” of May 1905, which gives rise to other antiprostitution initiatives that were led by female activists. During the pogrom, throngs of angry workers stormed the city's red-light district, attacking Jewish-run bordellos, smashing furniture, tearing hinges off doors, and shattering windows. The violence and destruction continued for two days and by the time police restored order forty people, including many owners of public houses, lay wounded or dying. This event marked a turning point in popular attitudes toward commercial sex, sparking increased public awareness of prostitution across Poland. In particular, female activists established philanthropic, charitable, as well as educational initiatives to combat commercial sex.
Thaddeus Gregory Blanchette and Ana Paula da Silva
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814785089
- eISBN:
- 9780814785102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814785089.003.0010
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the diversity of prostitution in contemporary Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It first provides an overview of the commercial sexual market in Rua Buenos Aires and why women in the city ...
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This chapter examines the diversity of prostitution in contemporary Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It first provides an overview of the commercial sexual market in Rua Buenos Aires and why women in the city work as prostitutes. It then considers state intervention in prostitution in Rio and goes on to highlight the importance of situating sex work in the macroeconomic context of feminized labor. It also explores the perceptions of Brazilian sex workers regarding the conditions of their labor and concludes with a discussion of how government policies designed to push commercial sex venues out of the public eye are actually intensifying the stigmatization of sex workers and forcing the sexual market to consolidate under the tighter control of third-party exploiters (namely, “pimps”) in venues farther removed from public oversight.Less
This chapter examines the diversity of prostitution in contemporary Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It first provides an overview of the commercial sexual market in Rua Buenos Aires and why women in the city work as prostitutes. It then considers state intervention in prostitution in Rio and goes on to highlight the importance of situating sex work in the macroeconomic context of feminized labor. It also explores the perceptions of Brazilian sex workers regarding the conditions of their labor and concludes with a discussion of how government policies designed to push commercial sex venues out of the public eye are actually intensifying the stigmatization of sex workers and forcing the sexual market to consolidate under the tighter control of third-party exploiters (namely, “pimps”) in venues farther removed from public oversight.
Ko-lin Chin and James O. Finckenauer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814772577
- eISBN:
- 9780814769683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814772577.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter focuses on the people who facilitate the movement of Chinese women from one country to another and engage them in prostitution. A “trafficker” can be a recruiter, a transporter, a pimp, ...
More
This chapter focuses on the people who facilitate the movement of Chinese women from one country to another and engage them in prostitution. A “trafficker” can be a recruiter, a transporter, a pimp, a sex venue owner, or anyone else who plays a role in the business of transnational prostitution. The chapter describes all the people interviewed in this study who would fit the broad definition of being “traffickers.” It examines their backgrounds, their motivations, their roles and functions in the sex business, and the nature of their relationships with the women who sell sex. It also looks at whether or not transnational commercial sex seems to be controlled by Chinese organized crime groups such as the triads in Hong Kong, organized gangs in Taiwan, and Chinese tongs and street gangs in the United States.Less
This chapter focuses on the people who facilitate the movement of Chinese women from one country to another and engage them in prostitution. A “trafficker” can be a recruiter, a transporter, a pimp, a sex venue owner, or anyone else who plays a role in the business of transnational prostitution. The chapter describes all the people interviewed in this study who would fit the broad definition of being “traffickers.” It examines their backgrounds, their motivations, their roles and functions in the sex business, and the nature of their relationships with the women who sell sex. It also looks at whether or not transnational commercial sex seems to be controlled by Chinese organized crime groups such as the triads in Hong Kong, organized gangs in Taiwan, and Chinese tongs and street gangs in the United States.
