Sex, Crime and Morality by Sharon Hayes Belinda Carpenter Angela Dwyer

Author:Sharon Hayes, Belinda Carpenter, Angela Dwyer [Sharon Hayes, Belinda Carpenter, Angela Dwyer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781843928164
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2011-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Part 3

8

Out of Context

The Moral Economy of Sex and Harm

Introduction

So far in this book we have argued that public discourses of sex, and what constitutes sexual harm, change over time and space. In Part 3, we engage with the ways in which we construct notions of harm, particularly “sex harm”, according to the discourses that dominate a particular discipline or context. By arguing that a large proportion of what is considered sex harm is governed through the market, and that sex work, for example, may or may not be considered harmful according to which consumers it targets and which markets govern it, we differentiate between harm and “moral sensibilities”, and examine the extent to which harm is contextual or intrinsic. We also suggest that theorists and the general public alike make a fatal mistake in attributing intrinsic harm to such activities as prostitution, adult entertainment and other forms of sexual commerce. We argue that it is not prostitution, or adult entertainment, or sex on the internet, that is harmful. Rather, it is pathological, systemic inequalities and entrenched disadvantage that are harmful, and that harm in these contexts is expressed in the way inequality and disadvantage are played out through sexual commerce and intimate relations.

By and large, the moral economy of sex is capitalistic – that is, governed by choice and supply–demand markets, except where the likelihood of harm provides a counterpoint. Because sex and sexual commerce are associated with harm and violence, the moral economy of sex is constrained by public health discourses about “harm minimization” and “harm reduction” that serve to regulate sex, including the enjoyment of sex and the commercial marketing of sex, that is outside the proper constraints of a heteronormative value system. Thus prostitution and “adult entertainment”, for example, are activities that tend to be criminalized or at least highly regulated, firstly because they are often viewed in the context of violence and organized crime, and secondly because they challenge traditional structures such as the family, marriage and procreation. We will refer to activities such as prostitution and adult entertainment as “sexual commerce”, bearing in mind that sex is the major issue.

Markets as the Embodiment of Sex

Sex plays a crucial role in the western economy; it dominates the marketplace more than any other commodity, and is a cornerstone of popular culture. Sex is used to market an enormous variety of consumer goods, from shoes and clothes to holidays and home furnishings. But sex has also become a commodity in its own right, and not just in the “alternative” economies of underground sex work, cybersex and pornography.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a television series based on the award-winning blog by Belle de Jour, recounts the experiences of a high-class sex worker. Belle is a twentysomething, university-educated woman whose love of “sex and meeting people”,1 combined with a series of bad experiences in job hunting, motivated her to choose a life as an “escort”. Belle’s tales of expensive underwear, luxury hotels and literary discussions suggest prostitution is an enviable career choice for young women – certainly better than “badly-paid temp work”.

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