The sale of sex is not inherently impermissible

The argument

When prostitution is a transaction between two consenting adults, there is no reason it should be treated separately from any other contract or service. There is an assumption that women who are in sex work always want to escape it, when this is not the case. Many sex workers prefer prostitution over the alternatives, which often offer much less money and flexibility without necessarily being less exploitative. The idea that sex should not be for sale is tied to traditional ideas about when sex is and is not permissible (for instance, ideas about premarital sex) and the purity of women. While anti-prostitution advocates argue that prostitution is not like other jobs as there are no qualifications needed and it is not considered aspirational, the same could be said of many other professions considered to be menial, such as cleaning, fruit picking or waste disposal. A profession being considered unskilled or undesirable does not mean it should be outlawed.

Context

- The Body is separate from the Self. - Sex is not in itself a sacred act.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Prostitution actually reflects old morals - ones in which women are owned by men. It is not moralistic to be against the oppression of women, and prostitution plays directly into systems of inequality. The sale of sex directly opposes the changes that feminists are attempting to make elsewhere by making sexuality of women a product offered ‘for sale’.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The sale of sex fundamentally differs from other industries, as it rests on the inequality of women.