The Impact of Prostitution on Society

According to symbolic Social Interactionism considers social interaction to be where the society exists. Social interactionism is mainly a form of microsociology as it emphasizes on face to face of direct interaction between individuals and the events, objects and behaviors that surround them. Social interactionism analyzes the society based on the meanings that individuals impose on these three factors (Turner 213). Social interaction theory argues that people’s behavior is informed by people’s beliefs rather than what is actually true.  Through human interpretation, the society is mainly created socially. Symbolic interactionists argue that people interpret other people’s behavior by using their own beliefs. These interpretations are responsible for the way people relate to each other.

People also give a similar treatment to their own behavior. Rather than choose to do things based on facts, they use their own beliefs to analyze them (Andersen and Taylor). Often, such people do not even trust the facts. Social interactionists do not, therefore, seek facts while trying to understand a society, but through social constructions or the meanings that society attaches to various things. To a symbolic interactionist, while the impacts of the society are real, it only exists in people’s minds.

Social interactionism is a concept that is derived from the work of various theorists. Primarily, the main concepts are interrelated and combined by the Chicago School. However, other sociologists also made massive contributions to the Erwin Goffman introduced the concept of the dramaturgical model. This is a model that argues that individuals behave like actors in their society and that the society is their stage in a drama that is mostly an audience of other people. In this understanding, people behaved in a way to depict a certain Impression to the rest of the society. Other sociologists who have contributed to the construction of the symbolic interactionist theory are George Herbert Mead, James Mark Baldwin, and John Dewey (Blumer 1).

The primary weakness of this theory is its emphasis on human interaction. In this regard, it fails to give sufficient emphasis on other factors that exist outside the immediate society.

Consider a situation like the society’s perception of prostitution. Prostitution is generally regarded as morally wrong in the society. Indeed, it is also illegal in the U.S. The illegalization of prostitution is mainlybased on several facts and general societal norms.  To understand its impact on the U.S. society, we must understand it from various perspectives. In essesnce, participants of prostitution are likely to have a relatively distant perspective from those who object it. Prostitution has both positive and negative attributes on the society.

Positive attributes of Prostitution

Prostitution is responsible for the upkeep of various families in the US.  This is an important contribution it makes to the society. Prostitution is responsible for the upkeep of the children, and their schooling. If this source of upkeep is withdrawn from them, such children’s futures would only be negotiable. The children and families of prostitutes and pimps rely on their industry for upkeep.

Secondly, prostitution gives an important boost to the economy. Other than just being important to the contribution to the employment rate in the country, prostitution contributes massively to the economy. In 2007, prostitution gave Atlanta a $290 million in Atlanta, $235 million in Miami and $103 million in Washington D.C. The industry is a high paying one. According to Kolony (2014), the majority of pimps earns over $5000 to $33000 per week (Kolony Para. 5). With such a high contribution to the economy, prostitution is definitely a lucrative profession.

Another positive attribute of prostitution is the services it offers to the society. Often, it serves a small group in the society and satisfies a need that is unmet. The result is lower stress levels and consequent productivity. It may even contribute to lower levels of sexual abuse in the community.

Negative attributes

Prostitution also has some negative attributes. These attributes have often won the battle in the American society. First, the American society is primarily Christian. Generally, Christians argue that the body is the temple of the Lord and that participation in prostitution is impure and pollutes the temple of the Lord. It is therefore regarded immoral and goes against the norms of the society in general. Those who participate in this activity are therefore likely to provoke conflict and opposition from the society.

Secondly, prostitution may be blamed from broken families. As people get involved in prostitution, there is likelihood that they will not meet their other family obligations. This may cause children to risk being brought up in single families. Prostitution is also blamed for the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Its removal from the society would lower the prevalence in the society.

In a prostitute’s view, the influence of Christianity is and the makers of the law are misinformed. The society should allow prostitution on the basis of its economic benefits. The influence of these bodies is not based on sound information, instead, it is based on a need to command influence and benefit from the resulting situation.

References

Andersen, Margaret L, and Howard Francis Taylor. Sociology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2008. Print.

Blumer, Herbert. Symbolic Interactionism. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1998. Print.

Kolodny, Carina. ‘9 Things You Didn’t Know About American Prostitution’. The Huffington Post. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

Turner, Jonathan H. Handbook Of Sociological Theory. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2001. Print.