Sex, a feminist perspective

            The year is 1972, Roe v. Wade has made it to the supreme court, and for the first time the right to privacy is deemed fundamental (Sharp,2013). Since then, personal autonomy has been an in issue in human rights on a revolving door. Each state arguing their case on abortion rights, marital right etc., within the parameters of the constitution. Yet, there is another personal autonomy argument that is silently fought, the decriminalization of consensual adult sex work. I will argue how personal autonomy seems to go from human rights, to women’s rights, how the male gaze hinders the ability to enact change, and the positive effects of decriminalizing sex work. 

            Autonomy is fine when it comes to the heterosexual male and his wishes, yet when challenged the woman is seen as the lesser of the two. In 1965 the ban on contraception when married was lifted (Sharp, 2013). This allowed women to take birth control while married, demand condoms during copulation, and decide when to bare children. Doctoral candidate, Faye Tucker, defines autonomy as “a person’s ability to act on his or her own values and interest. Tucker continues, “the autonomous person must have a sense of self-worth and self-respect (Tucker, 2014). The direct disproportion of inherited autonomy rights only strengthens the argument, women are seen as objects and lack the ability to make sound choices. One could argue it is feminine gender as a whole and not just the identified female sex. Texas passed a law prohibiting sodomy. In 2003, the case Lawrence v Texas disbanded the law for   blatant violation of rights (Sharp, 2013).  What is it about the female gender that has to prove the ability to make sound choices? Or could it be the female is deemed a sexual fantasy controlled by the heterosexual male, only here to fulfil desires but remain pure. 

            If you; turned on your television, looked out the window, or swiped through your social media accounts, you would be bombarded with the female body selling you something. As long as it’s not themselves of course. We live in a society where the media can use femininity how it seems fit. Where school dress codes are made to ensure the boys are not distracted, and teachers, if too curvy, must dress in unflattering clothing. I think everyone’s outdated idea of “sex sells” is only geared to the women being sexualized and sold. This is the crisis of the male gaze. The inability to how the identified woman can act on her values and self-interest, because she is constantly looked at like an objectified item, creating the illusion that she doesn’t have self-worth or self-respect. 

            How does this tie in with decriminalizing consensual sex work? First, the millions of reported sex workers are 80% female (Procon, 2018). Had that been males, the term gigolo would be plastered over every billboard, instead of mug shots of female prostitutes. Notice the difference even in how we use the terms to describe the same work with different genders. Second, women are so often seen as a “damsel in distress” that sex trafficked child statistics are so intertwined with consensual adult sex, I cannot give an accurate number on the amount of sex workers in the United States.  This begs the question, is it not legal because it is not a male dominated industry? 

            To remove the discrimination of female autonomy, decriminalizing sex work is one part of a large puzzle. Not only will sex workers be able to speak out against rape, robbery, police exploitation, and seek medical needs with dignity, the focus on sex trafficking would be greatly increased. The matters of trafficked children are an entirely separate matter and penalizing adults for consensual sex only takes away the needed resources. Not only does this create an environment with less violence, it creates a bridge between sex workers, traffickers and the law. The Human Rights Watch gives the idea of balance between the two worlds. The idea that sex workers can report crimes without fear of persecution would only be an asset (Watch, 2019). Too often are drugs, trafficking, and prostitution linked, when a criminalized environment is what creates crime. An escort service is seen as “High-end”, hidden behind legal teams and wealthy clients, when in reality that is what consensual sex between adults looks like more often than not. Only picturing female addicts looking for their next fix, or children being trafficked when thinking about legalizing sex work, shows how the agenda of creating a misogynistic view on consensual sex has been successful. 

            Journalist Rohit Bhattacharya sheds light on the pros of legal prostitution. With Bangladesh being the exception, for making only male prostitution illegal, fifteen countries have decriminalized sex work. In New Zealand brothels are legal, operating within the parameters of employment and public health laws. This provides health and employment benefits without the crime. Austria requires sex workers to be nineteen years old and undergo frequent health examinations. While brazil has legalized sex work, pimping is illegal (Bhattacharya). These examples are the endless possibilities of sex workers paying taxes, living safe, and removing the stigma of the female here to only serve on the terms the heterosexual male sees fit. 

            In conclusion, personal autonomy continues to be a harder fight from the female perspective. There is a clear divide in the given rights of heteromales and the fought for rights of women. The decriminalization of consensual adult sex is directly linked to how the women are consistently perceived in society. The stigmas set by the male hierarchies have seeped into the constitutional rights of privacy, right to govern one’s self, and equal protection of the law. From the feminist perspective, one can now argue the autonomy rights, the detriment of the male gaze, and the possibilities of decriminalizing sex work. 

References

Bhattacharya, R. (n.d.). 15 countries around the world that have legalized prostitution. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from Https://scoopwoop.com/inothernews

Human Rights Watch. (2019, August 7). Why sex work should be decriminalized. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from https://hrw.org/news/2019/08/07

ProCon. (2018, January 11). How many prostitutes are in the United Staes and the rest of the world. Retrieved May 8, 2020, from https://prostitution.procon.org/question

Sharp, T. (2013, June 12). Right to privacy: Constitutional rights and privacy laws. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://livescience.com/37398-right-to-privacy.html

Tucker, F. (2014, November 11). What is autonomy and why does it matter. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://ifamilystudy.eu/what-is-autonomy-and-why-does-it-matter/

Newbold, G (2019, Mar 18). ‘Violent Crime- Sexual assault’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia on New Zealand,http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/graph/26515/reported-sexual-assaults-and-rape (accessed 13 May 2020)