Prositution And Sociology Perspective

Question : You are sociologist uses the conflict perspective to study various aspects of our society. How do you think you would interpret the practice of prostitution? Contrast this view with the functionalist perspective. Do you think your comments would differ if you took the feminist view, and if so , how ? Answer : Prostitution is one topic in which the practice of it have been debated by many. Whether it is moral or immoral, legitimacy or illegitimacy, if being a sociologist, we should view it in different perspectives. There are a lots of definition of prostitution, but it can be simply understood that prostitution is: Engaging in the sexual activity with another person in exchange for compensation, such as money or other valuable goods. From that, the functionalists suggest that prostitution have still existed widely because it does somehow serve the society. We all have to accept that prostitute does have manifest function, and that is a job ! Because a prostitute makes living through the exchange. Besides that,it’s latent function is to provide the sexual outlet for those who are not competitive in the marriage market , such as : physically handicapped, mentally handicapped , the poor … Moreover, in an exchange, the buyer’s needs are met without any responsibility to the “seller”. The evaluation of the dysfunction of prostitution depends on the country’s culture and society. For instance, in Vietnam prostitution is illegall. It is a major social issue that particularly affects women,children and generally recognised as a risk factor in the transmission of HIV infection. In constrast, prostitution in Thailand is illegal too, but in practice it is tolerated and regulated. One noteworthy thing is that many Thai women believe the existence of such prostitution actively reduces the incidence of rape.

Now, let’s look at conflict perspective. Conflict theorist would examine how prostitution supports the status quo and propitiates inequity between powerful groups and subordinate groups. People’s social class, race, ethnicity, gender, and age are all linked to the unequal distribution of money. That is why the majority of prostitutes are poor, female, and young. In Vietnam, Thailand and Philipine , there is a mass amount of low class citizens and they are ultimately forced to be prostitutes. Since they don’t have any education, they do not know what to do. The only trade that they can do without education is prostitution. Even that, when these women make their money, they are still oppressed by their pimps who take a large portion of their earnings. So the economic inequality gap is widened. The social inequality of these countries mandates that they perform sex for money continuously in order to live. In conflict perspective,we can use Feminist view as a useful tool to view prostitution particularly. When Max Weber focus on the conflict between class and power, Feminist sociologists focus on gender and power. They believe that the men entering the sexual transaction are just as immoral as the prostitutes themselves. Feminist also argue that society teaches boys to dominate girls and are expected to continue this behavior into adulthood. On the other hand society teaches girls to be submissive to boys, and to remain that way into adulthood. The basic idea is that prostitution and a male patriarchy support each other. This is because prostitution supports and encourages the idea that all women can be bought or are less valuable then men.