Topic:	Prostitution
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Guest:	Debra Satz, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Stanford University
What is it?	Is prostitution morally objectionable?   Should it be illegal?   Or is it simply a market transaction, where one party sells a service for a price that another party is willing to pay, and no third party is harmed?   Philosophy Talk favorite Debra Satz joins John and Ken.

About the Guest

Debra Satz is an Associate Professor in the Stanford Philosophy Department. Professor Satz earned her Ph.D. at MIT and has written about markets in women's reproductive labor and women's sexual labor, as well as the topic of Cosmopolitanism, Statism and Nationalism. Professor Satz is known for her inspiring teaching and her leadership of Stanford's Ethics in Society Program .  She also co-founded and teaches in the Hope House Scholars Program, through which incarcerated women and volunteer faculty examine personal experience in the context of ethics, moral philosophy and social justice.

Listening Notes

Is prostitution immoral? Is sex the kind of thing that is permissible to sell? John distinguishes between intrinsic and instrumental wrongness. Ken introduces the guest, Debra Satz, professor at Stanford University. John asks if prostitution is one set of issues and practices. Satz says that it covers a wide variety of institutions. She points out that prostitution doesn't always involve degradation of women as some forms don't even involve women.

Ken asks how much of prostitution consists of girls like in Amy Standen's piece. Satz answers that, internationally, it is a very small percentage. Is selling sex intrinsically wrong? Satz answers this by saying that a lot of people consider prostitution to be morally more like slavery than apples. Ken argues that sex is supposed to play a certain role in your life and putting a market value on it debases it. Is there a feminist position on prostitution? Satz quickly covers a couple of prominent ones. Why do prostitutes service primarily men? Are marriage and prostitution similar when there is a large economic disparity between the man and the woman? Satz says there are similarities, but there are differences. Satz reminds listeners that we need to distinguish the legal status of prostitution from its moral status.

How does prostitution in countries where it is legal compare to where it is illegal? Legalization doesn't make the moral problems go away. Legalization doesn't make all of the inequalities between the sexes go away. Satz notes that countries that allow prostitution tend to have more gender equality than those that don't. A caller comments that the stigmatization of prostitution varies across cultures.

• Amy Standen the Roving Philosophical Reporter (Seek to 04:43): Amy Standen talks to two sex workers, Melissa Gira and Tracy Quan. Tracy is author of Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl. Her website is www.tracyquan.net .  Melissa runs the site Sacred Whore.

Additional Resources

• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on feminist perspectives on sex markets

• Sex tracking debate on the Feminist Sexual Ethics website

• The Prostitutes' Education Network

• Prostitution Research & Education

• Some statistics on prostitution from the University of Minnesota Program Against Sexual Violence

• Two collections of essays on prostitution, Prostitution: On Whores, Hustlers, and Johns and Sex for Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Industry

• A historical account of prostitution, Love for Sale: A World History of Prostitution

• A collection on a range of topics including prostitution, Feminism and Pornography

• A sociological look at prostitution, Prostitution, Power and Freedom

• A book on a feminist perspective on the morality of prostitution, Laurie Shrage's Moral Dilemmas of Feminism: Prostitution, Adultery, and Abortion

• Online articles from JSTOR (subscription required)

• A review of Shrage's book by Debra Satz

• Ericcson, Lars O. “Charges Against Prostitution: An Attempt at a Philosophical Assessment.” Ethics , Vol. 90, No. 3. (Apr., 1980), pp. 335-366.

• Pateman, Carole. “Defending Prostitution: Charges Against Ericcson.” Ethics , Vol. 93, No. 3. (Apr., 1983), pp. 561-565.

• Shrage, Laurie. “Should Feminists Oppose Prostitution?” Ethics , Vol. 99, No. 2. (Jan., 1989), pp. 347-361.