Title: Why is prostitution illegal? - The Straight Dope
Headings: Why is prostitution illegal?
Why is prostitution illegal?
Content: Before 1900 most legislation dealing with prostitution sought merely to control it. After World War I, usually considered the end of the Progressive era, the goal was to stamp it out. Officially, that’s been the aim ever since. But let’s face it. Nobody really expects prostitution to go away, and it’s hard to believe anyone ever did. They just don’t want it in their back yards. From time to time a few people make noises about changing U.S. prostitution laws. The best known is Margo St. James, whose hookers’-rights organization, COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics), surfaced in 1973. She complained that prostitution laws gave the cops an excuse to harass women — prosecution of their male customers was far less frequent. St. James and her camp attracted their share of feminist allies, who felt that a woman’s right to control her body included the right to rent it out.