Abstract
On the basis of participant observation at an organization dedicated to helping poor and marginalized women escape prostitution, I argue that prostitution cannot be adequately understood without considering the conditions under which poor women live. Conversely, 1 also argue that women's poverty cannot be adequately understood without analysis of the role of prostitution in it. In much scholarship, public opinion, and according to the state, however, prostitute women are defined primarily as “criminal” or “deviant,” rather than as impoverished citizens legitimately in need of assistance. Further, scholarship on women's poverty generally treats “poor women” and “prostitutes” as mutually exclusive categories. To counter what I believe to be faulty assumptions in existing scholarship, 1 offer and expand upon three basic assertions: (a) poor women do not generally enter prostitution by choice, (b) prostitution is not analogous to legitimate employment for poor women, and (c) prostitution is not a way out of poverty for poor women.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
