Scholarly record

GENDER AND POLITICS AS INDICATORS OF THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS PROSTITUTION

Andrea Gutierrez Garcia, Carmen Delgado Alvarez

Abstract

Prostitution is a subject that raises an intense debate in all the societies. Nowadays, the discussion exists as to whether it is work like any other or exploitation of women. In this sense, we can find a discourse that considers it as a free activity between adults and so defends its existence and another view that considers prostitution one of the patriarchal practices that has to disappear before achieving equality. The debate is polarized and intense in the academic and activist scene, but little is known about the attitudes and beliefs among the general population, as few studies have examined public opinion toward prostitution [3]. In this study, we design a scale to assess how prostitution is justified or questioned by the general population, based on the social representation which emerged in several focus groups made in a previous study [5]. Specifically, we explore the view among 239 Spanish university students (205 women and 34 men).The main findings point out that there are demographic differences that affect attitudes toward prostitution. For instance, men and left-wing political supporters are more positive towards prostitution whereas women and right-wing students are more negative. People holding a central political ideology do not have a definite position on the issue. The impact and limits of these results are also discussed.

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