Pornography and Prostitution :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Pornography and Prostitution The topic that I have been researching for the past few weeks has been prostitution. It has been very interesting so far. The studies have shown just exactly what the problems with prostitution are. In some of the older books I read, historians were interested mainly in discussing the attitudes toward prostitution but in more recent work the focus has been on prostitutes themselves including their range of alternatives, their conditions of work, their health and life spans, their careers-and interaction between prostitutes and others, such as reformers, clients, or bosses. Studies about men and women, boys, and girls who have been involved in prostitution and/or pornography have revealed a lot. They are the hardest patients to treat. They say they want help, but nothing thatà ¾s done to help them out works. They run back. They just donà ¾t seem to want to change. Women who have been subjected to continuous abuse and victimization over which they have no control or understanding have developed a sense of psychological paralysis that prohibits their ability to do anything positive about further victimization. They believe they are unable to change their destructive behavior. They become entrapped in helplessness and hopelessness. They feel themselves to be out of control of their lives. Essentially, they have developed a chronic disorder as a result of their victimization and an inability to separate themselves from the sexual exploitation in order to make a better life for themselves.    In a recent study based on an analysis of 200 women street prostitutes, 78% reported starting prostitution as juveniles; and 68% were 16 or younger when they started prostitution. A majority of the juvenile prostitutes described family structures with the outward appearances of stability. Over three-fourths reported having a religious upbringing. Forty percent were raised by both mother and father. The younger the prostitute, the more educated the family. Yet, despite the religious, financial, and other appearances of success, the study revealed a number of problems occurring within the family. More than half the prostitutes had parents involved in excessive drinking. In over half the families the child saw the father hit the mother violently and 62% of the subjects were themselves beaten while growing up. Only in a few cases was the beating related to something the subject did. The most damaging psychologically are those cases in which the victims could not figure out why they were being beaten or those in which they were being beaten for no special reason.