Abstract

This introduction to the following three articles illustrates some seemingly paradoxical characteristics of the social reality of prostitution, which help explain why a topic which is usually subject to extreme simplification is in fact highly complex. The first paradox concerns the contrast between the social esteem of prostitution and the earning opportunities it provides; the second lies in the fact that the defence of prostitutes as a specific case of defence against general female oppression is not compatible with the conflicts of interest which objectively distinguish prostitutes from non prostitutes; the third is that current exploitation of foreign women's "debts" occurs in a situation in which legal entry is impossible; the final paradox is that the two opposing concepts of prostitution as "sexual slavery" and "a job like any other" require equally contrasting social contexts, one of which is exceedingly optimistic and the other too negative.