Everyone is a "prostitute" under capitalism
And yes, I mean everyone.
What is prostitution?
In the United States, prostitution (selling sex or sexual acts for money or something of value) is a crime, with the exception of some counties in Nevada where there is legalized (but NOT decriminalized) prostitution.
In addition to prostitution itself, there are other related criminal offenses involved when someone trades or buys sex. Those include:
Soliciting: Requesting that someone engage in prostitution
Pandering: Promoting prostitution
Loitering for the Purposes of Prostitution
Pimping: Pandering on behalf of a “prostitute" (definitions from Cornell Law)
Prostitution charges can also include public lewdness, public indecency, or public nuisance if the acts occur in a public place.
People involved in a variety of activities outside of a sex-for-money transaction can and DO get charged with prostitution-related charges. This is not an accident.
What is a “prostitute?” Is it someone who “sells their body for money?” If yes, then anyone with a job is a prostitute.
Cole miners sell their body for money.
Pro athletes sell their bodies for money.
Cashiers sell their bodies for money.
Accountants sell their bodies for money.
Nonprofit executives sell their bodies for money.
Teachers, doctors, lawyers… we all are required by capitalism to do something for money, and the body is the thing that produces labor.
I argue that “prostitute” is a catch-all term used to scapegoat society’s ills and is especially feminized as a means to vilify women as the source of sin (a la Adam and Eve).
We see the same rhetorical trope in various pop culture mythos that includes vampires, werewolves, and zombies, etc. where the monsters are rhetorical stand-ins for the downfall of society and/or politicians.
They take what they want from innocent victims, they live in the dredges of society, and are filled with other-worldly lust and desire for vice and the macabre. If only we society) could be rid of them, the young children would be saved, upper white middle class sensibilities upheld, and safety for all would be realized.
“Prostitute” is whatever or whomever the ruling class wants it to be, whatever the government decides is antithetical to upholding its power and the status quo. And if YOU dissent the status quo, you could easily be labeled a prostitute by the law.
We are all prostitutes under capitalism, so maybe just let people make money and survive. End rant.