Feminist perspectives on sex markets vary widely, depending on the type of feminism being applied. The sex market is defined as the system of supply and demand which is generated by the existence of sex work as a commodity. The sex market can further be segregated into the direct sex market, which mainly applies to prostitution, and the indirect sex market, which applies to sexual businesses which provide services such as lap dancing. The final component of the sex market lies in the production and selling of pornography. With the distinctions between feminist perspectives, there are many documented instances from feminist authors of both explicit and implied feminist standpoints that provide coverage on the sex market in regards to both "autonomous" and "non-autonomous" sex trades. The quotations are added since some feminist ideology believe the commodification of women's bodies is never autonomous and therefore subversive or misleading by terminology.

There exists a diversity of feminist views on prostitution. Many of these positions can be loosely arranged into an overarching standpoint that is generally either critical or supportive of prostitution and sex work. The discourse surrounding prostitution is often discussed assuming sex workers are women, but those in the field of sex work and prostitution are not always women.

Anti-prostitution feminists hold that prostitution is a form of exploitation of women and male dominance over women and a practice which is the result of the existing patriarchal societal order. These feminists argue that prostitution has a very negative effect, both on the prostitutes themselves and on society as a whole, as it reinforces stereotypical views about women, who are seen as sex objects which can be used and abused by men.

Pro-prostitution feminists hold that prostitution and other forms of sex work can be valid choices for women and men who choose to engage in it. In this view, prostitution must be differentiated from forced prostitution, and feminists should support sex worker activism against abuses by both the sex industry and the legal system.

The disagreement between these two feminist stances has proven particularly contentious, and may be comparable to the feminist sex wars (acrimonious debates on sex issues) of the late twentieth century.

Framing the debate
Newman and White in Women Power and Public Policy (2012) argue that feminist perspectives on prostitution agree on three main points: "First, they condemn the current legal policy enforcing criminal sanctions against women who offer sex in exchange for money. Second, they agree that authentic consent is the sine qua non of legitimate sex, whether in commercial or non-commercial form. Third, all feminists recognize that commercial sex workers are subject to economic coercion and are often victims of violence, and that little is done to address these problems."

They go on to identify three main feminist views on the issue of prostitution. The sex work perspective, the abolitionist perspective and the outlaw perspective. The sex work perspective maintains that prostitution is a legitimate form of work for women faced with the option of other bad jobs, therefore women ought to have the right to work in the sex trade free of prosecution or the fear of it. The sex work perspective also argues that governments should eliminate laws that criminalize voluntary prostitution. This, the sex work perspective asserts, will allow prostitution to be regulated by governments and business codes, protect sex trade workers, and improve the ability to prosecute people who hurt them. The abolitionist perspective holds that governments should work towards the elimination of prostitution. The outlaw perspective views work in the sex trade as a "stepping stone to a better career or an expression of sexual freedom".

Arguments against prostitution
Many feminists are strongly opposed to prostitution, as they see the practice as a form of violence against women, which should not be tolerated by society. Feminists who hold such views on prostitution include Kathleen Barry, Melissa Farley, Julie Bindel, Sheila Jeffreys, Catharine MacKinnon, Andrea Dworkin, and Laura Lederer. Their arguments against prostitution are explained and detailed below.

Coercion and poverty

These feminists argue that, in most cases, prostitution is not a conscious and calculated choice. They say that most women who become prostitutes do so because they were forced or coerced by a pimp or by human trafficking, or, when it is an independent decision, it is generally the result of extreme poverty and lack of opportunity, or of serious underlying problems, such as drug addiction, past trauma (such as child sexual abuse), and other unfortunate circumstances.

These feminists point out that women from the lowest socio-economic classes—impoverished women, women with a low level of education, women from the most disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities—are over-represented in prostitution all over the world; as stated by Catherine MacKinnon: "If prostitution is a free choice, why are the women with the fewest choices the ones most often found doing it?". A large percentage of prostitutes polled in one study of 475 people involved in prostitution reported that they were in a difficult period of their lives and most wanted to leave the occupation. MacKinnon argues that "In prostitution, women have sex with men they would never otherwise have sex with. The money thus acts as a form of force, not as a measure of consent. It acts like physical force does in rape."

Some anti-prostitution scholars hold that true consent in prostitution is not possible. Barbara Sullivan says: "In the academic literature on prostitution, there are very few authors who argue that valid consent to prostitution is possible. Most suggest that consent to prostitution is impossible, or at least unlikely." "[...] most authors suggest that consent to prostitution is deeply problematic, if not impossible [...] most authors have argued that consent to prostitution is impossible. For radical feminists, this is because prostitution is always a coercive sexual practice. Others simply suggest that economic coercion makes the sexual consent of sex workers highly problematic, if not impossible...".

Finally, abolitionists believe no person can be said to truly consent to their own oppression, and no people should have the right to consent to the oppression of others. In the words of Kathleen Barry, consent is not a "good divining rod as to the existence of oppression, and consent to violation is a fact of oppression. Oppression cannot effectively be gauged according to the degree of 'consent', since even in slavery, there was some consent, if consent is defined as inability to see any alternative."

Long-term effects on the prostitutes
Anti-prostitution feminists argue that prostitution is a practice which leads to serious negative long-term effects for the prostitutes, such as trauma, stress, depression, anxiety, self-medication through alcohol and drug use, eating disorders and a greater risk for self-harm and suicide, as they say prostitution is an exploitative practice, which involves a woman who has sex with customers to whom she is not attracted, and which also routinely exposes the women to psychological, physical and sexual violence.

Andrea Dworkin stated her opinions as: "Prostitution in and of itself is an abuse of a woman's body. Those of us who say this are accused of being simple-minded. But prostitution is very simple. [...] In prostitution, no woman stays whole. It is impossible to use a human body in the way women's bodies are used in prostitution and to have a whole human being at the end of it, or in the middle of it, or close to the beginning of it. It's impossible. And no woman gets whole again later, after."

Male dominance over women
Anti-prostitution feminists are extremely critical of sex-positive perspectives, wherein prostitution by choice is said to be part of the sexual liberation of women, that it can be empowering for women, etc. Some feminists who oppose prostitution agree that sexual liberation for women outside of prostitution is important in the fight for gender equality, but they say it is crucial that society does not replace one patriarchal view on female sexuality – e.g., that women should not have sex outside marriage/a relationship and that casual sex is shameful for a woman, etc. – with another similarly oppressive and patriarchal view – acceptance of prostitution, a sexual practice which is based on a highly patriarchal construct of sexuality: that the sexual pleasure of a woman is irrelevant, that her only role during sex is to submit to the man's sexual demands and to do what he tells her, that sex should be controlled by the man and that the woman's response and satisfaction are irrelevant. These feminists argue that sexual liberation for women cannot be achieved as long as we normalize unequal sexual practices where a man dominates a woman.

Such feminists see prostitution as a form of male dominance over women, as the client has sex with a woman who does not enjoy it and who may be making a tremendous psychological effort to mentally dissociate herself from the client. They say that the act of prostitution is not a mutual and equal sex act as it puts the woman in a subordinate position, reducing her to a mere instrument of sexual pleasure for the client. These feminists believe that many clients use the services of prostitutes because they enjoy the "power trip" they derive from the act and the control they have over the woman during the sexual activity. Catharine MacKinnon argues that prostitution "isn't sex only, it's you do what I say, sex."

Prostitution is seen by these feminists as the result of a patriarchal societal order which subordinates women to men and where the inequality between genders is present in all aspects of life. These feminists believe that prostitution is very harmful to society as it reinforces the idea that women are sex objects which exist for men's enjoyment, which can be "bought" and which can be "used" solely for men's sexual gratification. Anti-prostitution feminists argue that when a society accepts prostitution it sends the message that it is irrelevant how the woman feels during sex or what the consequences of sex will be for her, and that it is acceptable for a man to engage in sexual activity with a woman who does not enjoy it and who could be mentally and emotionally forcing herself to be able to cope; the normalization of such one sided sexual encounters might negatively affect the way men relate to women in general and might increase sexual violence against women.

These feminists see prostitution as a form of slavery, and say that, far from decreasing rape rates, prostitution leads to a sharp increase in sexual violence against women, by sending the message that it is acceptable for a man to treat a woman as a sexual instrument over which he has total control. Melissa Farley argues that Nevada's high rape rate is connected to legal prostitution because Nevada is the only US state which allows legal brothels and is ranked 4th out of the 50 U.S. states for sexual assault crimes, saying, "Nevada's rape rate is higher than the U.S. average and way higher than the rape rate in California, New York and New Jersey. Why is this? Legal prostitution creates an atmosphere in this state in which women are not humans equal to them, are disrespected by men, and which then sets the stage of increased violence against women."

A consequence and correlate of violence against women

Some feminists, including many who identify as supporting the abolition of prostitution, see the selling of sex as a potential after effect of violence against women. Those who support this position cite studies of violence experienced by women in prostitution prior to entering prostitution. Most (60% to 70%) were sexually abused as children, 65% have been raped, most of them before the age of 15, and many young women and girls enter prostitution directly from state care, at least in England, Norway, Australia and Canada.

Prostitution abolitionists also object to the high rates of violence against women in the sex industry. Studies of women in prostitution show an extremely high level of violence is perpetrated against women in prostitution. Figures vary across studies. One representative study showed 82% of respondents had been physically assaulted since entering prostitution, 55% of those by clients. Additionally, 80% had been physically threatened while in prostitution, 83% of those with a weapon. 8% reported physical attacks by pimps and clients of a nature that resulted in serious injury, for example gunshot wounds and knife wounds. 68% reported having been raped since entering prostitution, 48% more than five times and 46% reporting rapes committed by clients. Finally, 49% reported pornography was made of them while they were in prostitution and 32% had been upset by an attempt to make them do what clients had seen in pornography.

Beyond the individual instances of violence or the history of violence suffered by most women in prostitution, prostitution abolitionists see prostitution itself as a form of male violence against women and children.

Prostitution abolitionists also cite similarities between prostitution and violence against women. Farley, Lynne and Cotton (2005) argue the prostitution is most like battery because it similarly involves a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour (by pimps, procurers and traffickers as well as clients) that results in the control of the women in prostitution. Research conducted by Giobbe (1993) found similarities in the behaviour of pimps and batterers, in particular, through their use of enforced social isolation, threats, intimidation, verbal and sexual abuse, attitudes of ownership, and extreme physical violence. Some prostitutes argue prostitution has similarities to rape because it is a form of sexuality that is entirely controlled by the client, as rape is a form of sexuality in which the rapist controls the interaction, disregarding the desires, physical well-being or emotional pain of the victim.

The raced and classed nature of prostitution
Prostitution abolitionists often look at the factors of class and race when forming their arguments against prostitution to assess the power held by the client That is, they see prostitution as compelled by multiple forms of oppressive social power, not just sexism against women. Some analysts on human rights issues surrounding prostitution, such as Sigma Huda in her report for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, also adopt this approach:The act of prostitution by definition joins together two forms of social power (sex and money) in one interaction. In both realms (sexuality and economics), men hold substantial and systematic power over women. In prostitution, these power disparities merge in an act which both assigns and re-affirms the dominant social status of men over the subordinated social status of women.

The demand for commercial sex is often further grounded in social power disparities of race, nationality, caste and colour.Abolitionists attribute prostitution to women's comparative lack of economic resources. Globalization and neoliberalism have exacerbated already unequal economic relations, including by cutting back social spending in Northern and formerly socialist countries, and increasing the demand for cheap labour, including in prostitution, in both Southern and Northern countries. Combined with sex discrimination in wages and job type, sexual harassment in the workplace, and an undue burden of caring for children, the elderly and the ill, women are at a significant economic disadvantage in the current economic structure. Poverty is the single greatest "push" factor making women vulnerable to accepting prostitution as a means of subsistence.

In addition, racism shapes women's entry into prostitution, both because it makes women more vulnerable to prostitution and because clients demand racialized women in prostitution. Racism in education, economic and political systems affect the choices of women of colour. Additionally, racist sexualization, through pornography in particular, of Black and Asian women as over-sexed and submissive or otherwise available for prostitution contributes to the demand for specifically racialized women. Massage parlours, strip clubs and other prostitution businesses are often located in poor and racialized neighbourhoods, encouraging clients to troll those neighbourhoods for women, making all women in those neighbourhoods vulnerable to prostitution-related harassment and women in those neighbourhoods more likely to accept their use in prostitution as normal.

Indigenous women around the world are particularly targeted for prostitution. In Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, and Taiwan, studies have shown that indigenous women are at the bottom of the race and class hierarchy of prostitution, often subjected to the worst conditions, most violent demands and sold at the lowest price. It is common for indigenous women to be over-represented in prostitution when compared with their total population. This is as a result of the combined forces of colonialism, physical displacement from ancestral lands, destruction of indigenous social and cultural order, misogyny, globalization/neoliberalism, race discrimination, and extremely high levels of violence perpetrated against them. The Aboriginal Women's Action Network, an abolitionist organization in Canada, has specifically noted that because the prostitution of Aboriginal women results from and reinforces such extreme hatred of Aboriginal women, no regime of legalization (which will expand the industry and entrap more women) can be safer for Aboriginal women. Prostitution can only further harm Aboriginal women.

Outlawing of buying sexual services

In 1999, Sweden became the first country to make it illegal to pay for sex, but not to be a prostitute (the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute). Similar laws were passed in Norway (in 2009) and in Iceland (in 2009). In February 2014, the members of the European Parliament voted, in a non-binding resolution (adopted by 343 votes to 139; with 105 abstentions), in favor of the "Swedish Model" of criminalizing the buying, but not the selling, of sex. In 2014, the Council of Europe has made a similar recommendation, stating that "While each system presents advantages and disadvantages, policies prohibiting the purchase of sexual services are those that are more likely to have a positive impact on reducing trafficking in human beings".

During 2011, the newly elected government of Denmark began discussing the possibility of banning the buying of sexual services. while during 2009, there is lobbying taking place for such a law in Hungary.

These laws are a natural extension of the views of the feminists who oppose prostitution. These feminists reject the idea that prostitution can be reformed, and oppose any harm reduction approach. Trisha Baptie, a Canadian former prostitute, who now opposes the industry, and lobbies for the outlawing of buying sexual services, wrote: "Harm reduction? You can't make prostitution "safer"; prostitution is violence in itself. It is rape, the money only appeases men's guilt," "One of the most "sex-positive" things you can do is make sure men cannot buy sex, because the buying of sex is violence against women and is a direct deterrent to women's equality."

These feminists see prostitution as a form of violence against women, and vehemently condemn the common pro-legalization argument that "prostitution has always existed, and will never go away", arguing that other violent acts such as murder, rape, and child sexual abuse have also always existed, and will never be eradicated either, and that is not a reason to legalize them. These feminists argue that the idea of legalizing prostitution to control it and "make it a little better", and reduce harm, is no different from the idea of legalizing domestic violence to control it and "make it a little better", and reduce harm.

Feminist responses to sex market

Radical feminism
Radical feminism views prostitution, and by extension the sex market, as the ideal demonstration of women being subordinated and subjected to violence through the patriarchy's market demands. The notable radical feminist Andrea Dworkin argues that the sexual subordination of women must be overcome for gender equality to be achieved. The sex market, which renders the woman's body a commodity, is therefore incompatible with radical feminism. Some radical feminists argue that the sex market, by breaking down the barrier between sexual activity against commercialization and production, degrades the sexual autonomy women socially hold. The lack of autonomy in the sex market stems from the inhumane treatment sex workers often face, the social and economic power discrepancy between the consumers and providers of sexual services and content, and the perpetuation of the subordination of women through the sex market's high demand. This falls in line with the view radical feminists hold about capitalist societies as containing a 'moral' economy, in which the economically permitted actions embodies societal beliefs about individual autonomy. Within the framework of moral appeals, the sex market meets its unambiguous and nondiscretionary fulfillment of its obligations to consumers at the expense of female sexual autonomy.

Liberal feminism
Liberal feminism views a capitalist democracy as capable and inclined to enacting laws which protect individual rights as it pertains to gender discrimination, and this includes protecting women who work within sex markets.  As the feminist author Martha Nussbaum argues, the reason that sex markets see such high instances of undermined female autonomy and sexual wellness is due to the social stigmatization which is rooted in the fear of female sexual expression, and that the services of the sex market should be respected as any other form of labor. Nussbaum's argument concludes that the stigmatization of sex markets only directly negatively impacts sex workers without addressing the underlying social oppression towards women. There is disagreement between liberal feminists as to whether or not sex work is degrading to women, but it is generally agreed upon that legalizing the sex market would be positive, as it would grant women who work within the sex market greater protections under the legal system. This would come in the form of granting women safer spaces to work, and allow the government to limit and regulate unsafe, exploitative practices against sex workers. The legalization of sex work also grants sex workers the autonomy to decide what they wish to do with their bodies, which is a tenant of liberal feminism.

Dominance feminism
Dominance feminism views the political, social, and economic structure of the world are discriminatory against women on account of the concerted efforts of the patriarchy, and therefore the discrimination against women in the sex markets manifests as a byproduct of male domination. As the dominance feminist author Catharine A. MacKinnon holds, the sex market cannot be viewed as feminist on account of men's sexual domination over women being the main factor upon which the market functions. Prostitution and the sex market is viewed more broadly as a state which all women are involuntarily entered into due to a woman's sexuality being the object through which men can barter and legislate over. Due to the nature of the sex market as primarily selling female produced content or female bodies, which are often sold to men as clients through male brokers, prostitution and pornography are the highest forms of women's exploitation. Dominance feminists might also view prostitution as inherently negative due to the belief that women's self-expression through sexuality cannot ever be sold without the patron's perception of the commodity as being discriminatory against female autonomy.

Other perspectives
There are many feminists whose views on prostitution do not fit in either the anti-prostitution feminist or the sex-positive feminist viewpoints, and in some cases are critical of both. These feminist authors have criticized what they see as the unproductive and often bitter debate that characterizes the two-position analysis of prostitution. Such authors highlight that in allowing arguments about prostitution to be reduced to a stale analysis and theoretical debate, feminists are themselves contributing to the marginalization of prostitutes, simplifying the nature of the work they carry out and the personal circumstances that involve each individual.

Feminist scholar Laurie Shrage has also criticized the haphazard nature of feminist views on prostitution. Shrage claims that in a determination to undermine patriarchy, pro-sex feminists have advocated a reckless and "Milton Friedman style" deregulation of laws surrounding prostitution, without considering the implications that this may have upon women involved in sex work, particularly given the nature of the sex trade, which is more likely to be plagued by exploitation and poor working conditions, concerns that must be of importance to any feminist.

Pro-sex worker perspectives

To directly counteract the view of prostitution as the oppression of women, some scholars and feminists have voiced their opinion in support of prostitution and other forms of sex-work. Support is based on ideas of economic empowerment, independence and autonomy of choice, comparisons to sexual role in marriage, and challenging outdated societal notions of the proper expression of women's sexuality.

Proponents and support groups

Activists and scholars who are proponents of the pro-sex work position include: Margo St. James, Norma Jean Almodovar, Kamala Kempadoo, Laura María Agustín, Annie Sprinkle, Carol Leigh (also known as Scarlot Harlot), Carol Queen, Amin Yacoub, and Audacia Ray.

To assist women not involved in traditional "woman's work", pro-sex work formed to create a helpful environment for sex workers. Social activist groups like The Red Thread, founded in 1985, seek to educate the public, provide legal and medical assistance to sex workers, and help organize sex workers into groups to better protect themselves and to become advocates. Liberal feminists and groups such as The Red Thread, The International Committee for Prostitutes (ICPR) and COYOTE seek to ensure that sex work is seen as a valid choice that women may make without overtly oppressive forces.

Economic empowerment

One view is that sex work not only empowers women, but it provides women with greater opportunities for financial advancement.
There are liberal and radical feminist proponents of female empowerment through sex work. Liberal feminists view prostitution as the sale of sex solely for economic gain, and thus it cannot be differentiated from any other sale of goods. The selling of sex ultimately consists of a buyer and a seller trying to negotiate for the best deal. Interfering in this sale of goods could not only be interfering with the rights of the buyer, but also of the seller. Women who have chosen to enter the field should not be looked down upon and should not have their choice considered to be lesser than another type of socially accepted employment. Liberal feminists argue that while prostitution and sex work may not be the ideal job for many women, it can provide a way of life and prosperity that would be otherwise unattainable. Sex work can be seen as a better alternative to working for minimum wage or working in a field that that society decided is "woman's work".

Marriage analogy

Sex work and prostitution have often been compared to a marriage in which the man is the breadwinner, while the woman stays at home and cares for the family.

Legalization or decriminalization

Feminists who support the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution argue that one of the significant flaws with the radical anti-prostitution feminist view is that a majority of its arguments are premised on the assumption that prostitution itself is inherently laced with sexism, classism and other unbalanced power relations. The institution of prostitution itself is seen by abolitionists as resting on these conditions and therefore they believe legalization or decriminalization will only lead to the reinforcement of these conditions. Pro-sex-work feminists argue that this assumption is flawed, and that while prostitution, as it currently exists in our society, can be misogynist or degrading in some manifestations, there is a grave danger in attributing these conditions to prostitution itself. They argue that targeting prostitution as a whole unduly focuses attention on this single institution in our society, rather than looking at society at large and the social institutions, laws and practices that lead to the subordination and oppression of women. There has been much debate over the last few decades amongst feminists about how laws relating to prostitution should be reformed. Most liberal feminists who look at prostitution from a capitalist perspective support some form of either decriminalization or legalization.

Decriminalization is the removal of all penalties for prostitution itself and for all the activities necessary for prostitutes to do their work, such as advertising, communicating with clients, etc. It does not mean the reversal of all laws relating to prostitution, for example laws that exist against forcing someone into prostitution. For the purposes of decriminalization, Feminists for Free Expression defines the word "prostitution" to mean any consensual sexual activity between adults where compensation is involved; nonconsensual sex acts or sex acts perpetrated against minors are not prostitution, in their view. Instead they prefer the term "criminal sexual acts".

The term 'legalization', on the other hand, is usually used in the context of prostitution to refer to the use of criminal laws to regulate prostitution by determining the legal conditions under which prostitutes can operate. Legalization can mean anything from rigid controls under a state-controlled system to merely defining the operation of a privatized sex industry. Legalization is often accompanied by strict criminal penalties for anyone who operates outside the legally defined framework. With legalization there may be rules about where prostitution can take place (for example only in state licensed brothels), what prostitutes can do, mandatory registry/licensing and frequent mandatory health exams.

Some pro-sex-worker feminists support decriminalization and some support legalization, for different reasons. Proponents of decriminalization believe that all people, including sex workers, are entitled to the same rights regarding safety, health and human rights, and that outdated criminal laws need to be reformed to improve the living and working conditions of sex workers. They argue that decriminalization is better for the workers than legalization and that both criminalization and heavily regulated legalization infringe on the workers' safety and human rights. Many feminists who support sex workers favor decriminalization because it allows prostitutes to go into business for themselves and self-determination is a tenet of feminist politics. They believe decriminalization fosters responsibility, empowerment, self-esteem and self-care, all important feminist values. The goal in decriminalizing sex work is that anyone doing any type of sex work would be treated the same way, with the same rights and responsibilities, as any other self-employed person. Whether they support decriminalization or some form of legalization, pro-sex work feminists believe that the current laws that exist surrounding prostitution in many countries need to be changed and are harmful to the people who work in the industry.

Transgender, non-binary, and male sex workers

Pro-sex work advocates also point out that many men and non-binary individuals also willingly engage in sex work for a variety of reasons. Gay and bisexual men, for example, often view sex work as a profitable extension of their normal sex lives, sometimes using sex work to supplement their regular incomes. These sex workers argue that anti-sex work advocates harm them by passing anti-sex work laws and reducing state-run social services.

When discussing prostitution and theorizing about prostitution, sex workers are often assumed to be cisgender women. In the writings of abolitionist feminists like Catharine MacKinnon, the language used is in reference to women who are prostitutes, as she writes "Not only is prostitution overwhelmingly done to women by men, but every aspect of the condition has defined gender female as such and as inferior for centuries". Foundational feminists texts covering prostitution also cite prostitution as being created on the basis of the exploitation of women, for example being described as "at its core a manifestation of male violence against women". There is not much research on non-cisgender women sex workers, and more recent gender scholars have theorized about transgender and non-binary individuals who have performed sex work/labor. These theorists have found that, in regards to gender diversity in feminist literature, that "all trans sex workers are women, and all male sex workers are assumed to be cisgender". As a whole, abolitionists feminists who are against prostitution do not comment on sex workers who are not cisgender women, while those who are in favor of the legalization of sex work also rarely address transgender sex workers and see those who are transgender and gender non-binary as a "special interest" group rather than part of the discourse surrounding prostitution.

Sex market across the world

Africa
A large number of women and children are trafficked from Africa to other parts of the world. Many of the women are trafficked to work as prostitutes. It has been suggested that the scale of the trafficking may be in part due to many Africans having no birth registration and hence no official nationality, making them easier to transport across borders. It is also argued that the significant negative economic impact on Africa resulting from this trafficking combines with the continent's existing high levels of poverty and low educational attainment to further expand the supply for human traffickers.

Netherlands: Amsterdam

The notable neighborhood of De Wallen in Amsterdam is home to the Netherlands' legalized red-light district, which is a commercial hub for the sex market. Through the legalization and regulation of the sex market, the Dutch government has been capable of cutting back on organized crime within the red-light district without encroaching on the rights of sex workers, who are still protected by the law. Although the intentions are politically well meaning, most projections for the decriminalization projects of the region are projected to displace and therefore endanger sex workers, which seems to prove the point liberal feminists make about stigmatization on a governmental level as endangering to prostitutes.

Thailand
In 1997, Thailand had an estimated two hundred thousand women and children that were involved in prostitution. An estimated 11 percent of the country's gross domestic income is from prostitution. This means that prostitution has become a necessary source of revenue. This contradiction in the country arises because they are stuck in between traditional and modern views because the amount of gross national income prostitution brings into the country.

See also
 Decriminalization of sex work
 Individualist feminism
 Prostitution law
 Revolting Prostitutes
 Sex-positive feminism
 Sex workers' rights
 A Vindication of the Rights of Whores
 Feminist views on pornography
 Individualist feminism
 Transactional sex

References

Further reading

External links

Feminist theory
Feminism and prostitution
Feminism and sexuality

Feminist views on the sex industry


The Kalika Purana is a Hindu script. It is one of the 18 uppurana. There are 98 lesson and 9000 sloka in this holy book. This is the only book written for Goddess Kali and her special form. It explains the kamrupa mountain, river and kamakhya temple. It also records how to worship Kali, Kamakhya and Durga. It is the main book of the Shakta branch in Hinduism. Probably this book was written in Kamrup (present Assam) or Bengal. This Purana is an important scripture. Most modern writers mention that it is a main script of shaktadharma. This Purana mentions the mythological story. It is the rare book where we find the term of Hindu.

The oldest printed version of the Kalika Purana was printed in Mumbai in 1907 by Venkateswar Press. Later  the first Bengali version of was printed by Kolkata Bangabasi Press in 1909.

References

Hindu texts
12th-century books

Kalika Purana


Abdur Rahman Khan, GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) also known by his epithets, The Iron Amir, or The Dracula Amir, was Amir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Agreement with British India.

Abdur Rahman Khan was the first child and only son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war. He became known as The Iron Amir because his government was a military despotism. This despotism rested upon a well-appointed army and was administered through officials subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system of espionage.

The nickname, The Iron Amir, is also associated due to his victory over a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives. One source says that during his reign there were over 40 rebellions throughout his rule. Abdur Rahman Khan's rule was termed by one British official as a "reign of terror", as he was considered despotic and had up to 100,000 people judicially executed during his 21 years as Emir. Thousands more starved to death, caught deadly diseases and died, were massacred by his army, or were killed during his forceful migrations of tribes. However, he was perhaps the greatest military genius Afghanistan ever produced.

Early life
Abdur Rahman Khan was born in Kabul in 1844. He spent most of his youth in Balkh with his father, Mohammad Afzal Khan. Abdul Rahman learned conventional warfare tactics from the Anglo-Indian soldier William Campbell.

Background and early career
Before his death in Herat, on 9 June 1863, Abdur Rahman's grandfather, Dost Mohammad Khan, nominated his third son, Sher Ali Khan, as his successor, passing over the two elder brothers, Afzal Khan and Azam Khan. At first, the new Amir was quietly recognized. But after a few months, Afzal Khan raised an insurrection in the north of the country, where he had been governing when his father died.  This began a fierce internecine conflict for power between Dost Mohammad's sons, which lasted for nearly five years. The Musahiban are descendants of Dost Mohammad Khan's older brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan.

Described by the American scholar and explorer Eugene Schuyler as "a tall well-built man, with a large head, and a marked Afghan, almost Jewish, face", Abdur Rahman distinguished himself for his ability and energetic daring. Although his father, Afzal Khan came to terms with Amir Sher Ali, Abdur's behavior in the northern province soon excited Amir's suspicion and, when he was summoned to Kabul, fled across the Oxus into Bukhara. Sher Ali threw Afzal Khan into prison, and a revolt followed in southern Afghanistan.

The Amir had scarcely suppressed it by winning a desperate battle when Abdur Rahman's reappearance in the north was a signal for a mutiny by troops stationed in those parts and a gathering of armed bands to his standard. After some delay and desultory fighting, he and his uncle, Azam Khan, occupied Kabul in March 1866.  The Amir Sher Ali marched up against them from Kandahar; but in the battle that ensued at Sheikhabad on 10 May, he was deserted by a large body of his troops, and after his signal defeat Abdur Rahman released his father, Afzal Khan, from prison in Ghazni, and installed him upon the throne as Amir of Afghanistan.  Notwithstanding the new Amir's incapacity, and some jealousy between the real leaders, Abdur Rahman and his uncle, they again routed Sher Ali's forces and occupied Kandahar in 1867. When Afzal Khan died at the end of the year, Azam Khan became the new ruler, with Abdur Rahman installed as governor in the northern province. But towards the end of 1868, Sher Ali's return and a general rising in his favor resulted in Abdur Rahman and Azam Khan's defeat at Tinah Khan on 3 January 1869. Both sought refuge to the east in Central Asia, where Abdur Rahman placed himself under Russian protection at Samarkand. Azam died in Kabul in October 1869.

Exile and negotiated return to power

Abdur Rahman lived in exile in Tashkent. He was one of the most powerful opponents of the British. He was being told to cross the Oxus and claim throne for Amir.  In March 1880, a report reached India that Abdur Rahman was in northern Afghanistan; and the Governor-General, Lord Lytton, opened communications with him to the effect that the British government were prepared to withdraw their troops, and to recognize Abdur Rahman as Amir of Afghanistan, except Kandahar and some districts adjacent to it. After some negotiations, and an interview with Lepel Griffin, the diplomatic representative at Kabul of the Indian government.  Griffin described Abdur Rahman as a man of middle height, with an exceedingly intelligent face and frank and courteous manners, shrewd and able in conversation on the business in hand.

Reign
At the durbar on 22 July 1880, Abdur Rahman was officially recognized as Amir, granted assistance in arms and money, and promised, in case of unprovoked foreign aggression, such further aid as might be necessary to repel it, provided that he align his foreign policy with the British. The British evacuation of Afghanistan was settled on the terms proposed, and in 1881, the British troops also handed over Kandahar to the new Amir.

However, Ayub Khan, one of Sher Ali Khan's sons, marched upon that city from Herat, defeated Abdur Rahman's troops, and occupied the place in July 1880. This serious reverse roused the Amir, who had not displayed much activity. Instead, Ayub Khan was defeated in Kandahar by the British General Frederick Roberts on 1 September 1880. Ayub Khan was forced to flee into Persia. From that time Abdur Rahman was fairly seated firm on the throne at Kabul, thanks to the unwavering British protections in terms of giving large supplies of arms and money. In the course of the next few years, Abdul Rahman consolidated his grip over all Afghanistan, suppressing insurrection by a relentless and brutal use of his despotic authority. The powerful Ghilzai revolted against the severity of his measures several times. In that same year, Ayub Khan made a fruitless inroad from Persia.

In 1885, at the moment when the Amir was in conference with the British viceroy, Lord Dufferin, in India, the news came of a skirmish between Russian and Afghan troops at Panjdeh, over a disputed point in the demarcation of the northwestern frontier of Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman's attitude at this critical juncture is a good example of his political sagacity. To one who had been a man of war from his youth, who had won and lost many fights, the rout of a detachment and the forcible seizure of some debatable frontier lands was an untoward incident; but it was not a sufficient reason for calling upon the British, although they had guaranteed his territory's integrity, to vindicate his rights by hostilities which would certainly bring upon him a Russian invasion from the north, and would compel his British allies to throw an army into Afghanistan from the southeast. He also published his autobiography in 1885, which served more as an advice guide for princes than anything else.

His interest lay in keeping powerful neighbours, whether friends or foes, outside his kingdom. He knew this to be the only policy that would be supported by the Afghan nation; and although for some time a rupture with Russia seemed imminent, while the Government of India made ready for that contingency, the Amir's reserved and circumspect tone in the consultations with him helped to turn the balance between peace and war, and substantially conduced towards a pacific solution. Abdur Rahman left on those who met him in India the impression of a clear-headed man of action, with great self-reliance and hardihood, not without indications of the implacable severity that too often marked his administration. His investment with the insignia of the highest grade of the Order of the Star of India appeared to give him much pleasure.

His adventurous life, his forcible character, the position of his state as a barrier between the Indian and the Russian empires, and the skill with which he held the balance in dealing with them, combined to make him a prominent figure in contemporary Asian politics and will mark his reign as an epoch in the history of Afghanistan. The Amir received an annual subsidy from the British government of 1,850,000 rupees. He was allowed to import munitions of war. He succeeded in imposing an organized government upon the fiercest and most unruly population in Asia; he availed himself of European inventions for strengthening his armament, while he sternly set his face against all innovations which, like railways and telegraphs, might give Europeans a foothold within his country.

He also built himself several summer and guest houses, including the Bagh-e Bala Palace and Chihil Sutun Palace in Kabul, and the Jahan Nama Palace in Kholm.

The Amir found himself unable, by reason of ill-health, to accept an invitation from Queen Victoria to visit England; but his second son Nasrullah Khan, the crown prince, went instead.

Durand Line

In 1893, Mortimer Durand was deputed to Kabul by the government of British India for this purpose of settling an exchange of territory required by the demarcation of the boundary between northeastern Afghanistan and the Russian possessions, and in order to discuss with  Amir Abdur Rahman Khan other pending questions. Abdur Rahman Khan showed his usual ability in diplomatic argument, his tenacity where his own views or claims were in debate, with a sure underlying insight into the real situation.

In the agreement that followed relations between the British Indian and Afghan governments, as previously arranged, were confirmed; and an understanding was reached upon the important and difficult subject of the border line of Afghanistan on the east, towards India. A Royal Commission was set up to determine the boundary between Afghanistan and British-governed India, and was tasked to negotiate terms for agreeing to the Durand Line, between the two parties camped at Parachinar, now part of FATA Pakistan, which is near Khost, Afghanistan. From the British side the camp was attended by Mortimer Durand and Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum, British Political Agent in Khyber. Afghanistan was represented by Sahibzada Abdul Latif and the Governor Sardar Shireendil Khan representing Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.

In 1893, Mortimer Durand negotiated with Abdur Rahman Khan the Durand Line Treaty for the demarcation of the frontier between Afghanistan, the FATA, North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, now provinces of Pakistan as a successor state of British India. In 1905, Amir Habibullah Khan signed a new agreement with the United Kingdom which confirmed the legality of the Durand Line. Similarly, the legality of the Durand Line was once again confirmed by King Amanullah Khan through the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919.

The Durand Line was once again recognised as international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan by Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan (former prime minister and later president of Afghanistan) during his visit to Pakistan in August 1976.

Dictatorship and the "Iron Amir"

Abdur Rahman Khan's government was a military despotism resting upon a well-appointed army; it was administered through officials absolutely subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system of espionage; while the exercise of his personal authority was too often stained by acts of unnecessary cruelty. He held open courts for the receipt of petitioners and the dispensation of justice; and in the disposal of business he was indefatigable.

In the 1880s, the "Iron Emir" decided to strategically displace some members of different ethnic groups in order to bring better security. For example, he "uprooted troublesome Durrani and Ghilzai Pashtun tribes and transported them to Uzbek and Tajik populated areas in the north, where they could spy on local Dari-speaking, non-Pashtun ethnic groups and act as a screen against further Russian encroachments on Afghan territory." From the end of 1888, the Amir spent eighteen months in his northern provinces bordering upon the Oxus, where he was engaged in pacifying the country that had been disturbed by revolts, and in punishing with a heavy hand all who were known or suspected to have taken any part in rebellion.

In 1895–1896, Abdur Rahman directed the invasion of Kafiristan and the conversion of its indigenous peoples to Islam. The region was subsequently renamed Nuristan.  In 1896, he adopted the title of Zia-ul-Millat-Wa-ud Din ("Light of the nation and religion"), and his zeal for the cause of Islam induced him to publish treatises on jihad.

Chitral, Yarkand and Ferghana became shelters for refugees in 1887 and 1883 from Badakhshan who fled from the campaigns of Abdul Rahman.

Hazara uprising

In the early 1890s some Hazara tribes revolted against Abdur Rahman. As the Kabul Newsletters written by the British agents indicate, Abdur Rahman was an extremely ruthless man. He has been called 'The Dracula Amir' by some writers. Due to Abdur Rahman's depredations, over 50-60 percent of the total Hazara population was massacred and numerous towers of Hazara heads were made from the defeated rebels. Upon each victory Abdur Rahman claimed, it unleashed a reign of terror. This resulted in Hazara women being forcibly married to Pashtuns, as well as Hazara territories, specifically in largely ethnic Hazara areas such as Urzugan, Ghazni, Maiden Shah, and Zawar being depopulated of Hazara populations. The territories of prominent Hazara chiefs in these areas were given to Mohammadzai sardars, or other closely related government loyalists. Alongside this, the Jizya tax was also enforced on Shias, which was only meant to be for non-Muslims. It caused some Hazaras to migrate to Quetta in Balochistan, and to Mashhad in northeastern Iran. In the Bamyan region, Abdur Rahman ordered soldiers to destroy the faces of the Buddhas of Bamiyan during a military campaign against a Hazara rebellion in the area.

Death and descendants

Abdur Rahman died on 1 October 1901, inside his summer palace, being succeeded by his son Habibullah Khan who is the father of Amanullah Khan.

Today, his descendants can be found in many places outside Afghanistan, such as in America, France, Germany, and even in Scandinavian countries such as Denmark. His two eldest sons, Habibullah Khan and Nasrullah Khan, were born at Samarkand. His youngest son, Mahomed Omar Jan, was born in 1889 of an Afghan mother, connected by descent with the Barakzai family. One of the Amir's grandchildren, Azizullah Khan Ziai was the ambassador of Iran from 1930-1932, he was the son of Nasrullah Khan.

One of the Amir's most notable descendants is Prince Ali Seraj.

Legacy
Afghan society has mixed feelings about his rule. A majority of Pashtuns (his native ethnics) remember him as a ruler who initiated many programs for modernization, and effectively prevented the country from being occupied by Russia by using the "financial and advisory" support of British Empire during the Great Game. The Emir was effectively dependent on British arms and money to stay in power.

Honours and awards
 Honorary Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, 11 April 1885
 Honorary Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (civil division), 29 December 1893

Writings
 Pandnamah-i dunya va din (Advice on the worldly life and religion), 1883. Autobiography.
 Risalah-i Khirad'namah-i Amiri (Epistle of princely wisdom), 1886. On the notion of aql or intellect in Islam.
 Risalah-i najiyah, 1889. On the importance of jihad in the Qur'an and hadith.
 Taj al-Tavarikh (Crown of histories), 1904, Autobiography in 2 volumes.

In popular culture
 In the film Kesari, Abdur Rahman is briefly mentioned.

See also

European influence in Afghanistan
Lillias Hamilton (court physician to Abdur Rahman Khan in the 1890s)
List of heads of state of Afghanistan
Pashtun colonization of northern Afghanistan

Notes

References

Further reading
 Embree, Ainslie T. ed. Encyclopedia of Asian history (4 vol. 1988) 1:5.

External links

1844 births
1901 deaths
19th-century Afghan monarchs
20th-century Afghan monarchs
Emirs of Afghanistan
Barakzai dynasty
Durand Line
Pashtun people
Honorary Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
19th-century Afghan politicians
19th-century monarchs in Asia
20th-century Afghan politicians
Genocide perpetrators

Abdur Rahman Khan


Clifford Glenwood Shull (September 23, 1915 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – March 31, 2001) was a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist.

Biography
Shull attended Schenley High School in Pittsburgh, received his BS from Carnegie Institute of Technology and PhD from New York University. He worked for The Texas Company at Beacon, New York during the wartime, followed by a position in the Clinton Laboratory (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), and finally joined MIT in 1955, and retired in 1986.

He died on March 31, 2001, at the age 85.

Research
Clifford G. Shull was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics with Canadian Bertram Brockhouse.  The two won the prize for the development of the neutron scattering technique. He also conducted research on condensed matter. Professor Shull's prize was awarded for his pioneering work in neutron scattering, a technique that reveals where atoms are within a material like ricocheting bullets reveal where obstacles are in the dark.

When a beam of neutrons is directed at a given material, the neutrons bounce off, or are scattered by, atoms in the sample being investigated. The neutrons' directions change, depending on the location of the atoms they hit, and a diffraction pattern of the atoms' positions can then be obtained. Understanding where atoms are in a material and how they interact with one another is the key to understanding a material's properties.

"Then we can think of how we can make better window glass, better semiconductors, better microphones. All of these things go back to understanding the basic science behind their operation," Professor Shull, then 79, said on the day of the Nobel announcement. ...

He started [his pioneering work] in 1946 at what is now Oak Ridge National Laboratory. At that time, he said, "Scientists at Oak Ridge were very anxious to find real honest-to-goodness scientific uses for the information and technology that had been developed during the war at Oak Ridge and at other places associated with the wartime Manhattan Project."

Professor Shull teamed up with Ernest Wollan, and for the next nine years they explored ways of using the neutrons produced by nuclear reactors to probe the atomic structure of materials.

In Professor Shull's opinion the most important problem he worked on at the time dealt with determining the positions of hydrogen atoms in materials.

"Hydrogen atoms are ubiquitous in all biological materials and in many other inorganic materials," he once  said, "but you couldn't see them with other techniques. With neutrons it turned out that that was completely different, and we were very pleased and happy to find that we could learn things about hydrogen-containing structures."

As he refined the scattering technique, Professor Shull studied the fundamental properties of the neutron itself. He also initiated the first neutron diffraction investigations of magnetic materials. ... "If there is a ... 'Father of Neutron Scattering' in the United States, it is Professor Shull," wrote Anthony Nunes ..., professor of physics at the University of Rhode Island. ...

Professor Shull came to MIT as a full professor in 1955 and retired in 1986, though he continued to visit and to "look over the shoulders" of students doing experiments in the "remnants of my old research laboratory."

Professor Shull's awards include the Buckley Prize, which he received from the American Physical Society in 1956, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1956) and to the National Academy of Sciences (1975). In 1993 he received the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Gregori Aminoff prize for his "development and application of neutron diffraction methods for studies of atomic and magnetic structures of solids."' [1]

Honors

Shull's Personal Awards, Honors and Prizes
Awarded the Oliver E. Buckley Prize, American Physical Society, 1956
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1956
Elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 1975
Awarded the Gregori Aminoff Prize, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 1993
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, 1994, which he shared with Canadian physicist Bertram Brockhouse.
Shull Rocks, in Antarctica named in his honor

Press Releases Honoring Shull
Carroll, Cindy.   "Carnegie Mellon University Receives Nobel Laureate Clifford Shull Papers Grant and Additional Gift Will Make the Collection Available to Researchers", (Mar. 12, 2004): Carnegie Mellon University.
Stevenson, Daniel C. "Shull wins Physics Nobel for work done 40 years ago", The Tech-Online Edition. Vol. 114, no. 68, Feb. 7, 1995: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
 "Oak Ridge Pays Tribute to its Nobel Prize Winner", Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Prizes in Honor of Shull
The Clifford G. Shull Prize in Neutron Physics, The Neutron Scattering Society of America.
Clifford G. Shull Fellowship, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Publications
Shull, C.G., Wollan, E.O. & M.C. Marney.   "Neutron Diffraction Studies", Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (Oct. 22, 1948).
Rundle, R.E., Shull, C.G. & E.O. Wollan.  "The Crystal Structure of Thorium and Zirconium Dihydrides by X-ray and Neutron Diffraction", Ames Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (Apr. 20, 1951).
Nathans, R., Riste, T., Shirane, G. & C.G. Shull.   "Polarized Neutron Studies on Antiferromagnetic Single Crystals: Technical Report No. 4", Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brookhaven National Laboratory, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), National Security Agency (NSA), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), (Nov. 26, 1958).
Shull, C.G.  "Low Temperature and Neutron Physics Studies: Final Progress Report, March 1, 1986--May 31, 1987", Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States Department of Energy, (July 27, 1989).

References

External links
  including the Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1994 Early Development of Neutron Scattering
 Full-text digital archive of Clifford G. Shull papers

1915 births
2001 deaths
Scientists from Pittsburgh
Nobel laureates in Physics
American Nobel laureates
20th-century American physicists
American nuclear physicists
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Oak Ridge National Laboratory people
New York University alumni
Schenley High School alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize winners
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty

Clifford Shull


All Saints Church in Castle Cary in the English county of Somerset dates from 1470 and is notable for its high steeple. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The parish is within the benefice of Castle Cary with Ansford which is part of the archdeaconry of Wells.

History

The church has Saxon origins, however none of the fabric from the wooden building survive.  The current Perpendicular Gothic building was constructed around 1470.

During the English Civil War the church was damaged and the organ destroyed.

The life of the local church was described by James Woodforde in his The Diary of a Country Parson. He was born in Ansford where his father was the vicar. A display about his life and writings is available in the Castle Cary and District Museum.

It was restored by Benjamin Ferrey in the 1880s. This work increased the number of "free" or unreserved seats, by increasing the length of the nave. He also raised the height of the tower.

Architecture

The building is made of local stone with dressings from Doulting Stone Quarry. It has a slate roof with battlemented parapets.

The three stage tower contains six bells dating from 1760 and made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family.

Interior

The church contains a font and wooden pulpit which both date from the 15th century.

Churchyard
The Cosenes monument in the churchyard, which dates from the 16th century, is on the Heritage at Risk Register.

See also
 List of ecclesiastical parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells

References

Buildings and structures completed in 1470
15th-century church buildings in England
Church of England church buildings in South Somerset
Grade II* listed churches in Somerset
Grade II* listed buildings in South Somerset
All Saints

Church of All Saints, Castle Cary