CONTEMPORARY WESTERN FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON PROSTITUTION

This paper contrasts two prominent positions in contemporary Western f eminist discourse about prostitution The first is radical feminism, wh ich emerged in the early 1970s; the second is libertarian feminism, wh ich emerged in the late 1980s. The paper analyses the underlying assum ptions and public policy recommendation of each position; it argues th at each illuminates important aspens of the situations of some prostit utes but ignores or denies others. An approach to prostitution capable oi providing an adequate guide to public policy must be less dogmatic or ''essentialist'' than either radical or libertarian feminism; it s hould investigate how the sex trade operates in specific locations and the varying meanings it has in different cultural contexts. Such inve stigations must be feminist not only in their commitment to ending the subordination of women but also in their respect for choices made by women who already must often endure not only exploitation but also sti gmatization, discrimination and exclusion. In this paper, I sketch two prominent positions in contemporary Western feminist discourse about prostitution, discuss the strengths and inadequacies of each, and conc lude by indicating an approach - as opposed to a substantive analysis - that I find more promising.