7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution Essay (Critical Writing)

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

In the Business Insider article, Erin Fuchs suggests her arguments to support the idea of the legalization of prostitution. According to the author, decriminalization of sex work can benefit the safety of the women involved in prostitution as well as provide financial gain to the state and the local communities through legal taxation. The article illustrates the positive outcomes of the legalization in the example of Nevada, where prostitution is allowed and well-regulated. While some points made in the article seem plausible, for instance, the fact that women in prostitution who work in licensed brothels have the choice to perform safe sex and have easier access to health care, the issue of the origin of prostitution is not addressed at all.

From the perspective of the critical discourse analysis, the article presents a telling example of how the written text maintains the current people’s beliefs and expectations regarding gender inequality and its particular manifestation – prostitution. According to Norman Fairclough, “discourse is shaped by relations of power and ideologies”, and it has “constructive effects upon social identities, social relations and systems of knowledge and belief” (as cited in Mills, 2004, p. 133). The discussed article constructs and sustains the view, according to which prostitution is seen as a work just the same as any other profession and not as a result of economic and gender oppression. For that purpose, the author uses phrases like “the world’s oldest profession” (Fuchs, 2013, para. 1), “part of our culture in the United States” (Fuchs, 2013, para. 20), which persuade the reader to see the phenomenon of prostitution as something that is simply there and not as a consequence of the certain relations of power and hierarchies in the society.

I agree with the first response as it reasonably points out some defects of the article, for instance, its scarcity of credible sources. Adding more references to the results of researches carried out on the subject of prostitution would have benefited the reliability of the overall message of the article. The author of the first response rightfully indicates that while presenting the scary statistics on the cases of violence against women involved in illegal prostitution, the article fails to provide any statistics concerning those working in licensed brothels. Any actual data could have backed up the article’s arguments about the advantages of legalized prostitution. Finally, I agree with the statement made in the first response that legalization does not necessarily eliminate the violence and coercion from prostitution.

As for the second response, the author makes a good observation that the article is written with a certain audience in mind – those who already support the legalization of prostitution and just look for reinforcement of their beliefs. The author of the article doesn’t seem to bother with giving much thought to the arguments of those who oppose the legalization. Had the author chosen to present those arguments and suggest her counterarguments, the article could have possibly persuaded more people that legalization provides benefits to women involved in prostitution. The second response raises the issue of different views on prostitution in different countries. Yet, to support its claim the article only gives examples of countries where prostitution is legalized.

References

Fuchs, E. (2013). 7 reasons why America should legalize prostitution. Business Insider. Web.

Mills, S. (2004). Discourse. The new critical idiom (2nd ed.). London, England: Routledge.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, January 25). 7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution. https://ivypanda.com/essays/7-reasons-why-america-should-legalize-prostitution/

Work Cited

"7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution." IvyPanda, 25 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/7-reasons-why-america-should-legalize-prostitution/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) '7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution'. 25 January.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution." January 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/7-reasons-why-america-should-legalize-prostitution/.

1. IvyPanda. "7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution." January 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/7-reasons-why-america-should-legalize-prostitution/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution." January 25, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/7-reasons-why-america-should-legalize-prostitution/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1