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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame '''Prostitution''' is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Prostitution.jpg|right|frame]]
'''Prostitution''' is the [[act]] or [[practice]] of providing [[sexual]] services to another [[person]] in return for [[Money|payment]]. Persons who [[execute]] such [[activity]] are called prostitutes. Prostitution is one of the branches of the [[sex]] [[industry]]. Estimates place the annual revenue generated from the global prostitution industry to be over $100 billion.
==Etymology and terminology==
"To prostitute" is derived from a composition of two [[Latin]] words: (preposition) pro and (verb) statuere. A [[literal]] [[translation]] therefore would be: "to expose", "to place up front".
A variety of terms are used for those who [[engage]] in prostitution, some of which distinguish between [[different]] kinds or imply a [[value]] [[judgment]] about them. Common alternatives for prostitute include escort and whore; however, not all [[professional]] escorts are prostitutes.
The [[English]] [[word]] whore derives from the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] word hōra, from the Indo-European root kā meaning "[[desire]]". Use of the word whore is widely considered pejorative, especially in its modern slang form of ho'. In Germany most prostitutes' [[organizations]] deliberately use the word Hure (whore) since they feel that prostitute is a bureaucratic term. Those seeking to remove the [[social]] [[stigma]] associated with prostitution often promote terminology such as [[sex]] [[work]]er, commercial sex worker (CSW), "tantric engineer" (coined by author [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson Robert Anton Wilson]), or sex trade worker. A hooker or streetwalker solicits customers in [[public]] places; a call girl makes appointments by phone.
Correctly or not, prostitute without specifying a [[gender]] is commonly assumed to be [[female]]; compound terms such as [[male]] prostitution or male escort are therefore used to identify males. Those offering services to female customers are commonly known as ''gigolos''; those offering services to male customers are hustlers or rent boys.
Organizers of prostitution are typically known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimp pimps] (if [[male]]) and madams (if [[female]]). More formally, they [[practice]] procuring, and are procurers, or procuresses.
The customers of prostitutes are known as ''johns'' or ''tricks'' in North America and ''punters'' in the British Isles. These slang terms are used among both prostitutes and [[law]] enforcement for [[persons]] who solicit prostitutes. The term john may have originated from the customer [[practice]] of giving their name as "John", a common name in [[English]]-speaking countries, in an [[effort]] to [[maintain]] [[anonymity]]. In some places, men who drive around [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-light_district red-light districts] for the [[purpose]] of soliciting prostitutes are also known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerb_crawler kerb crawlers].
==Other meanings==
The [[word]] "prostitution" can also be used [[metaphorically]] to mean debasement or working towards an unworthy [[cause]]. In this sense, "prostituting oneself" or "whoring oneself" the services or [[acts]] performed are typically not [[sexual]]. For instance, in the [[book]], ''The Catcher in the Rye'', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Caulfield Holden Caulfield] says of his [[brother]] ("D.B."): "Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute. If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me." D.B. is not [[literally]] a prostitute; Holden feels that his job [[writing]] B-movie screenplays is [[morally]] debasing.
The word "prostitute", or more frequently "whore", is also used as an insult towards a [[person]] (typically a woman or girl) who is [[perceived]] as being sexually promiscuous.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution]
[[Category: Sociology]]
'''Prostitution''' is the [[act]] or [[practice]] of providing [[sexual]] services to another [[person]] in return for [[Money|payment]]. Persons who [[execute]] such [[activity]] are called prostitutes. Prostitution is one of the branches of the [[sex]] [[industry]]. Estimates place the annual revenue generated from the global prostitution industry to be over $100 billion.
==Etymology and terminology==
"To prostitute" is derived from a composition of two [[Latin]] words: (preposition) pro and (verb) statuere. A [[literal]] [[translation]] therefore would be: "to expose", "to place up front".
A variety of terms are used for those who [[engage]] in prostitution, some of which distinguish between [[different]] kinds or imply a [[value]] [[judgment]] about them. Common alternatives for prostitute include escort and whore; however, not all [[professional]] escorts are prostitutes.
The [[English]] [[word]] whore derives from the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] word hōra, from the Indo-European root kā meaning "[[desire]]". Use of the word whore is widely considered pejorative, especially in its modern slang form of ho'. In Germany most prostitutes' [[organizations]] deliberately use the word Hure (whore) since they feel that prostitute is a bureaucratic term. Those seeking to remove the [[social]] [[stigma]] associated with prostitution often promote terminology such as [[sex]] [[work]]er, commercial sex worker (CSW), "tantric engineer" (coined by author [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson Robert Anton Wilson]), or sex trade worker. A hooker or streetwalker solicits customers in [[public]] places; a call girl makes appointments by phone.
Correctly or not, prostitute without specifying a [[gender]] is commonly assumed to be [[female]]; compound terms such as [[male]] prostitution or male escort are therefore used to identify males. Those offering services to female customers are commonly known as ''gigolos''; those offering services to male customers are hustlers or rent boys.
Organizers of prostitution are typically known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimp pimps] (if [[male]]) and madams (if [[female]]). More formally, they [[practice]] procuring, and are procurers, or procuresses.
The customers of prostitutes are known as ''johns'' or ''tricks'' in North America and ''punters'' in the British Isles. These slang terms are used among both prostitutes and [[law]] enforcement for [[persons]] who solicit prostitutes. The term john may have originated from the customer [[practice]] of giving their name as "John", a common name in [[English]]-speaking countries, in an [[effort]] to [[maintain]] [[anonymity]]. In some places, men who drive around [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-light_district red-light districts] for the [[purpose]] of soliciting prostitutes are also known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerb_crawler kerb crawlers].
==Other meanings==
The [[word]] "prostitution" can also be used [[metaphorically]] to mean debasement or working towards an unworthy [[cause]]. In this sense, "prostituting oneself" or "whoring oneself" the services or [[acts]] performed are typically not [[sexual]]. For instance, in the [[book]], ''The Catcher in the Rye'', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Caulfield Holden Caulfield] says of his [[brother]] ("D.B."): "Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute. If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me." D.B. is not [[literally]] a prostitute; Holden feels that his job [[writing]] B-movie screenplays is [[morally]] debasing.
The word "prostitute", or more frequently "whore", is also used as an insult towards a [[person]] (typically a woman or girl) who is [[perceived]] as being sexually promiscuous.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution]
[[Category: Sociology]]