PROSTITUTION | The Element of Sexual Socialization

Sexological investigations are under social control, in that the very fact of their existence, not to speak of their results, can have a direct influence on sexual culture. For this reason, even in the initial stages of investigation, it is worth considering strategies for the development of the sexual culture, something on which society and government can exert real influence. The different forms of inter-relationship between the government and the sexual culture fall into 4 forms.

1) The well-known repressive model
2) A model that imposes limitation
3) A model permissive of sexuality
4) A culture supportive of sexuality, which supports its right to exist and develop

The Element of Sexual Socialization

Insofar as prostitution serves as a surrogate for "free love," it naturally reveals certain sexological features. The study of the sexological "roots" of prostitution has continued since ancient times. Lombroso's investigations into the "natural born" prostitute are concentrated on the typical character traits and the psychological changes observed in prostitutes. Other researchers, however, have suggested that the Prostitute as a psychological Type owes more to the influence of social groups ("professional societies" of prostitutes) than to heredity. It is well known that this Type is present in all cultures. Turning our attention to the initiation process for prostitutes, we begin to understand the "behavioral programming" they are subjected to, which leads to the development of typical patterns of sexual behavior. The techniques employed in the initiation process in ancient Greece are typical of those used in modern day neuro-linguistic programming and suggestion - the initiate must first be stripped of all feelings naturally arising from the experience of first love:

"Think about old age, which is creeping up on you - think about the fact that men will only use your beauty as long as you have it. . . the one who inspires you now is nothing more than a poet in rags; genius is a load of bollocks! The only thing that matters is how much a man pays. Just keep that in mind, and you'll satisfy anyone." We can assume that this sharp, though psychologically complicated fixation on pragmatism as the principle of life was transmitted from generation to generation through the specific micro-social environment, and this is why some scientist were under the illusion of a hereditary factor in prostitution.

The latest data attest to the fact that some women, engaged in prostitution only to a limited extent, retain well developed patterns of sexual behavior, and can easily maintain relationships with men within the confines of a psychological game; these women have quite a high level of sexual desire, and engage in a wide range of acceptable sexual practices. They usually have a permanent sexual partner, and an independent life-style. Young women who are engaged in prostitution only to a limited extent show different characteristics which attest to the fact that they have not yet fully accepted prostitution as their "profession."

In summary, we can suppose that the transition from "free love" (usually observed at the onset of a person's sexual life) to marriage and the development of mature sexuality, passes for some modern women, through a stage of prostitution, or promiscuity, and that these types of sexuality become important factors in their socialization.

The Biological Factor

It is difficult to dispute the fact that prostitution is an important factor in the overall intensity of sexual life in a society. As there has been no general study of the sexual life of the Russian population in the last ten years, it is impossible at this time to determine the ratio between the intensities of sexual life within the frameworks of "free love," prostitution, and marriage. We can only confirm that the three modes are all inter-connected and inter-dependant. The biological factor in human sexuality is realized in three forms of sexual life, including, naturally, prostitution. Prostitution arises as a reaction against cultural pressures in "free" sexual life. "Free" sexual life flows from the primary primitive sexual life of Ancient Man. The opposition of the biological and social factors of sexuality have led scientists to identify the biological as that which is inherent in Man's animal nature. Animal sexual behavior, however, is not influenced by cultural factors, and it can hardly be called free, since animals cannot mate whenever they want, and their behavior is strictly determined by genetics (this is made clear in stable patterns of mating, which can be induced in a male only by a female in a certain physiological state), and by natural and environmental factors (season, food supply, population, and so on). Only humans, and no other animals have such an intense sexual life over the entire course of their lives. We can assume that animal populations are regulated by strict laws, which adjust the sex-ration by increasing or decreasing the frequency of male ejaculation. These laws would help a population to adapt to the specifics of its environment. Such laws, presumably, also exist in human populations, but many of the details of their application have yet to be investigated.

The first practical result of this law would be the opportunity to plan the gender of a child before it is conceived. The second would be its importance to the new conception of human sexuality, and the third, its contribution to our ideas about the population function of prostitution. This third now needs clarification.

Bloch suggests that marriage as a social institution imposes boundaries on sexual life (in the past, such boundaries existed even in the form of written directives √ how many times, and with what intervals). Such interference threatens to disrupt the activity of the natural laws which regulate the adaptation of a human population through individual sexuality. From this point of view, prostitution (as a form of sexual life), and the specifics of the socialization of promiscuous women, are areas where the broad biological laws can exert their influence. In societal conditions where the majority of males' sexual life is realized through prostitution, rises and falls in the rate of prostitution will seriously affect the rate of sexual life in a society. This in turn, will affect the biological mechanisms governing the ratio of the genders, and the transmission of hereditary traits. These ideas give us ideas about how prostitution could be eliminated through a long-term shift in sexual culture.

Simply put, if we create conditions under which male and female sexuality can be fully realized within the confines of marriage, then prostitution will disappear as a social phenomenon, and promiscuity will be limited to the sphere of free sexual life.