Conceiving of Sex as a Commodity: A Study of Arrested Customers of Female Street Prostitutes.

Framing prostitution as an economic exchange, this paper evaluates some of the consequences of conceiving of sex as a commodity rather than as an aspect of an intimate interpersonal relationship among the customers of prostitutes. Subjects were 700 men arrested while trying to hire street prostitutes. Questionnaires were administered prior to intervention programs designed to discourage re-offense in San Francisco, California (N=588); Portland, Oregon (N=82); and Las Vegas, Nevada (N=30). Significant predictors of conceiving of sex as a commodity included being unmarried, having served in the military, and more frequent visits to prostitutes. Conceiving of sex as a commodity significantly predicted rape myth acceptance, attraction to violent sexuality, less frequent use of condoms while with prostitutes, support for prostitution, and the attitude that prostitution is positive for women. We argue that that conceiving of sex as a commodity has a number of negative implications for the men involved, their sexual partners, and for gender relations in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]