NCJ Number
104792
Date Published
1987
Length
390 pages
Annotation
This book discusses the forms and practices of prostitution in many cultures over many centuries.
Abstract
Based on the belief that prostitution cannot be understood apart from an analysis of women's role in society, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical, sociological, and anthropological background of prostitution. Following a discussion of the origins of prostitution, the forms of prostitution and cultural influences on it are considered for the ancient Near East, the Greeks, the Romans, India, China, and Medieval Europe. The evolution of prostitution in Western countries is a major focus of the book. Issues discussed include women as property, pornography and the fear of sexuality, religion and promiscuity, sex and social class, and the control of veneral disease. Efforts at abolishing prostitution through the law are reviewed. Generally, the book concludes that prostitution will be found in strength where large numbers of men are concentrated away from wives and families for long periods, where there is a double standard that restricts the female while giving the male freedom, and where there are many socioeconomic obstacles to marriage. The book argues that prostitution will be reduced as women are permitted greater sexual freedom and as the socioeconomic conditions that provide fertile ground for the recruitment of prostitutes are reduced. Strong prohibitions against involuntary prostitution are favored. Chapter notes, annotated bibliography, and subject index.