Short Paper Topic# 2

Prostitution or Sex Work is the selling of sexual services. (page 1218) Some people consider

it disturbing, making it illegal in most of the places. Life is not easy being a sex worker as

there are hardships. Sometimes they are not appropriately treated in their workplaces, and are

often subjected to abuse and violence. They are also at high risk of developing and spreading

sexually transmitted diseases like AIDs. (Page 1220) Feminism aids in advocating social

equality for women and men. (Page 2040) There are three types of Feminism- liberal,

socialist and radical feminism

Liberal Feminism cherishes the idea of individualism and freedom. It seeks equal

opportunities for all irrespective of their caste, sex, race or gender. According to these

feminists, women should do what they love. They believe that women should have a

profession in any field they like. They should not be just confined to homes doing household

chores and bearing babies. Women can improve their social standing by being equally

educated and qualified as men. This ideology was what got women the right to vote. It is

reformist as it wishes to make this society a better place to live. These feminists are in

support of Sex workers and want to aid in improving their conditions. They see sex work as a

form of work which is allowing women to gain freedom. For them, some of the major

concerns are sex work being legalized, increasing equality and ending sexual violence. (Page

2041) Sex Work has been culturally looked down upon for many reasons, and this type of

feminism aims to bring out a change in society by correcting the legislation.

Socialist Feminism believes that capitalism and economics are to be blamed for women's

oppression. Since money is unequally distributed amongst members of society, it leaves

women being dependent on males. Females have to accept and adjust according to the will of
males. Because of this dependence, males feel superior to females and often see them as

merely sexual objects. Sex workers face abuse and violence because men think that they own

women. According to socialist feminism, a state-centred economy needs to be created to

distribute the money equally amongst all the members. We need to shift from capitalist to

socialist society to avoid this oppression of women. It embraces the idea of collectivism.

Socialist feminists also argue that the capitalist hierarchical system cannot be dismantled

without dismantling women's oppression. (Socialist Feminism vs. Other Types of Feminism,

2018)

Radical feminists would be against the idea of sex work because they think it is against

human rights. They consider it as violence and disrespect towards women. They also believe

that the sex discrimination they face gives rise to all the other oppression women face in their

lives. Indulging in sex work would further give males a reason to oppress. Their suggestion

would be to eradicate the practice of patriarchy from society. Radical feminists go up to the

root to destroy the problem, unlike liberal feminists. For instance, to remove gender from the

community, Hysterectomy is a good option, especially for sex workers, as it will not cause

any hindrance in their work. This will eliminate the concept of gender itself.

Both Socialist and Radical feminists criticize liberal feminists because of their inability to

deal with the root cause. For instance, they fought to make sure women got their right to vote

but focused on why they were oppressed for so long. Similarly, they would highlight how sex

work needs to be legalized so that women are safe rather than highlighting the flaw in the

structure. Radical feminism is criticized because of its unrealistic expectation of completely

eradicating patriarchy from society. Socialist Feminism is condemned because they do not

believe that we cannot achieve something with just legal reforms.

 Citations

Macionis, John, Linda Gerber, and Sandra Colavecchia. 2020. Sociology, 10th Canadian
Edition. (Canada: Pearson Canada

Liberal Feminism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). (2020, December 31). Liberal

Feminism. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-liberal/

Socialist Feminism vs. Other Types of Feminism. (2018, July 23). ThoughtCo.
https://www.thoughtco.com/socialist-feminism-vs-other-feminism-3528987

Nain, A. (2020, April 13). Differentiate between Liberal Feminism and Radical Feminism.
Sociology Group: Sociology and Other Social Sciences Blog.
https://www.sociologygroup.com/differentiate-between-liberal-feminism-and-
radicalfeminism/

Haak, D. M. (2018, January 15). Who are we talking about when we talk about prostitution
and sex work? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/who-are-we-talking-
about-when-we-talk-about-prostitution-and-sex-work-88123