Condoms In Prostitutes

The use of condoms in negotiating prostitutes agency

Lize-Mari du Toit 13039092 Anthropology 220 20 October 2014

On my journey into the inner city of Pretoria I came across an object that symbolises a relationship of power struggle and the acquiring of wealth. When walking through the inner city I stumbled across a number of used male Choice condoms scattered in the streets. It should be taken into consideration as to where the condoms were found decorating the pavements, streets such as the corner of Wessels and Schoeman, these streets are well known as Pretoria’s symbol of prostitution.

Condoms are usually manufactured out of a variety of materials such as latex, lambskin and polyurethane.

Women may have different objectives from men but because of circumstances women become more willing to give into men’s demands. Women’s economic situation will influence what they are willing to let clients do. Women face a variety of obstacles in the way when prostitutes attempt to assert their agency. Obstacles faced by women are violence from men because of the negative perception that is held towards prostitutes, and the economic impact of losing a customer. Women often feel powerless and vulnerable in the negotiations regarding condom use and their struggle to be able to assert power. Women’s powerlessness is directly linked to their economic needs. The stigma that the public and police hold towards prostitutes makes it difficult for the prostitutes to report violence. Violence is a very real threat to most prostitutes as 82% of prostitutes have been physically assaulted (Lobert, 2014). Women often face rejection discrimination and emotional abuse form family members and partners because of their

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