History of Prostitution Term Paper

The American society of the whole colonial period wanted to establish moral codes to react to a number of sexually illicit behaviors. In some colonies religiously motivated laws that condemned prostitution were passed in order to prevent sin in future. In 1699, night walking was banned in New Amsterdam, Boston and Philadelphia. During the early 1800’s, at the time of evolving industrialization, the U.S. became more focused on capitalism, the population moved to urban areas and over time, the family structure transformed so that women were no longer needed so much to help maintain the family’s self sufficiency. Finally, as new gender role assignments were shaped, the role of women and their worth were mainly associated with the responsibilities of a mother and caretakers of the family. To be socially accepted, a woman had to have certain virtues, along with purity. If a woman ceased to be held in favour for whatever reasons, her status as virtuous could not be earned again and she was considered as capable of committing any crime. As a result, prostitution became a workable solution for supporting oneself and one’s children. In addition, even when women were allowed to work in factories as the industrialization evolved, terrible working conditions and low wages made prostitution an appealing option for many women. One of the forms of legal intervention that was used to deal with prostitution was based on efforts to reform those engaged in prostitution. Special reform organizations were founded with the purpose of making prostitutes come back to the conventional lifestyle. They were mostly headed by upper-class women who regarded prostitutes as victims of lustful men and poverty.