Date of Award

6-2009

Document Type

Union College Only

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Sociology

Language

English

Keywords

prostitution, opinions, race, relationship, questions

Abstract

This paper develops a framework for understanding attitudes toward prostitution and its relationship to economics and race. It examines the evolution of prostitution and addresses theoretical perspectives explaining the phenomenon. This project builds on previous work by examining the interconnections between race and prostitution. It explores how socio-economic status of the African American community had affected their relationship with prostitution. Finally, these issues were assessed through a survey of 75 students which explores the sentiments college students have regarding prostitution. They survey probed the opinions of prostitution with a series of twenty-two questions. One methodology interesting technique was to have students respond to a set of scenario questions which revealed that their opinions changed according to different situations. The majority of the survey questions were Likert-type statements. Results suggest there are indeed race and sex differences in opinions of prostitution. Women typically expressed stronger opinions than men. Additionally, although many people may recognize the relationship between economics and prostitution, they fail to recognize the relationship between race and prostitution.

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