The Main Arguments of Frenken & Sifaneck and Leonard - Literature review Example

Reaction Paper - The Study of Frenken & Sifaneck and Leonard - Table of Contents I. Introduction ......................................................................................... 3 II. The Main Arguments and Contradictions between the Point-of-View of Frenken & Sifaneck and Leonard .............................. 3 III. Importance of Moral Issues on Ethnography in Conducting a Research Study related to Prostitution and the Use of Illegal Drugs ... 5 IV. Conclusion ............................................................................................ 6 References ...................................................................................................... 8 - 9 Introduction Prostitution is considered as one of the most serious problems in our community. Aside from the moral issues, the Department of Health considers prostitution to lead to a higher mortality rate caused by sexually transmitted diseases such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). (Potterat et al., 2004) Prostitution does not only occur among the young male and female but also among the transsexual males, lesbians and bisexuals who belong to the low-income families. (Goldman, 2007) As part of the country’s effort on combating prostitutions, police officers from different state are officially arresting the prostitutes. (Arlington Police, 2007) With regards cases related to sex prostitution, the researcher will compare and contrast a couple of authors’ personal opinion with regards to this matter. In the process, the researcher will examine two articles: “Sexworkers and Dope: An Ethnography of Heroin Using Lap Dancers in New York City” by Geerte Frenken and Stephen Sifaneck as well as “Male Clients of Female Street Prostitutes: Unseen Partners in Sexual Disease Transmission” by Terri Leonard. The Main Arguments and Contradictions between the Point-of-View of Frenken & Sifaneck and Leonard Even though both studies tackle the issue on sex workers, the main issues tackled by the researchers were different from each other. (Frenken and Sifaneck, 1998; Leonard, 1990) Frenken and Sifaneck (1998) conducted a study which examined the impact of heroin in the “lap dance” activities particularly at “The Melody” in New York based on ethnographic research study. On the other hand, Leonard (1990) used a trial method in south western New Jersey to verify the reported sex behaviors that came directly from the female street prostitutes with the clients’ personal experiences regarding the type of sex activities that usually occur between the prostitutes and the client; whether they use condom during a sexual intercourse; and the frequency of the sex acts considering the knowledge that they could acquire HIV infection in the process. The study of Frenken and Sifaneck (1998) discussed about the impact of using heroin, cocaine and/or marijuana in the lap dance career of the workers aside from the common reasons that has led them to pursue the job and how it could lead from a simple lap dance at ‘The Melody’ to working in ‘Studio 09’ and eventually into street prostitution. I strongly agree in the argument of Frenken and Sifaneck (1998) that legalizing lap dancing could lessen the incidence of its employees to go into street prostitution due to the fact that majority of these individuals are less educated or are immigrants to the country which makes it not easy for them to find a normal 9am – 5pm job. Not all workers at ‘The Melody’ are engaged in sexual activities not unless their competitiveness in the job started to slow down. Similar to the findings of Frenken and Sifaneck (1998) that the use of drugs and/or alcohol is often seen in prostitution, the study of Leonard (1990) concluded the same. Sex workers who are inclined with the use of drugs have a higher risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases due to the fact that they could lose their self control over the practice of safe sex when it comes to dealing with client regarding the act of sexual intercourse or fellatio. (Cohen et al., 1987) It is possible that lap dancers who are highly dependent on the use of heroin are more aggressive as compared to non-heroin users in terms of grabbing and approaching customers is because of the urgency to earn extra money to support the use of illegal drugs. (Frenken and Sifaneck, 1998) Similar to the idea of both researchers, I believe that the use of drugs and/or too much alcohol intake could affect the normal thinking of the sex workers at the time they become high on drugs or excessively drunk. According to Alexander (1987), sex workers who are classified as having the lowest social status among the prostitutes are the ones that are relying in the use of drugs and/or alcohol. Considering the fact that male clients are aware of the possible disease caused by sexually transmitted diseases (Leonard, 1990), most of these men are very careful in choosing the female prostitutes they go out with especially when the prostitutes have a history of drug use or excessive alcohol intake which are evidently seen through needle marks and the smell of alcohol. Importance of Moral Issues on Ethnography in Conducting a Research Study related to Prostitution and the Use of Illegal Drugs Ethnography plays an importance role in the study of prostitution and illegal drugs. Considering that the main goal of ethnographers is to discover the truth based on empirical investigation (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), the study should be conducted based on a “combined science and Western ethical traditions” such that the standard of observational truth should be acknowledged. (Fine, 1993) Ethonographers should be be relax and open in terms of sharing their own thoughts to the target interviewee so as to win their trust when it comes to ensuring that the participants’ identity will remain confidential. (Broadhead, 2001) The use of this approach as part of the data gathering process requires a lot of skill and quick thinking. Normally, ethnographers are being challenged to effectively increase their target participants’ interest in the research study the researcher is assigned to conduct. (Broadhead, 1984) As part of the moral issue in the practice of ethnography, the practice of informed consent wherein the interviewer should ask permission prior to conducting a one-on-one personal interview with a target respondent should be considered. (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) The practice of informed consent was seen in the study of Leonard (1990) when the researcher asked for an approval from his target interviewee his intention to conduct an interview for the purpose of the research activity. The case of Frenken and Sifaneck (1998) is different from the strategy used by Leonard (1990) due to the fact that Frenken and Sifaneck’s study is based on participant-observation. In this case, Frenken has to hide his true identity in order to gather and obtain a more accurate survey result. Conclusion There are a lot of valid ways in conducting a research study on prostitutions and the use of illegal drugs. Considering the main goal of each researcher, Frenken and Sifaneck (1998) adopted the use of participant-observation strategy to get better information on lap dancing whereas Leonard (1990) decided to use a one-on-one interview with his target interviewees. Regardless of the research strategy ethnographers have decided to use, it is essential for each one of them to follow the morally and ethically acceptable practices when conducting a field research. *** End *** References: Alexander, P. (1987). Prostitutes are being Scapegoated from Heterosexual AIDS. In Leonard T.L. (ed) Male Clients of Female Street Prostitutes: Unseen Partners in Sexual Disease Transmission. San Francisco: Cleis Press. pp. 248 - 264. Arlington Police. (2007, September 20). Retrieved October 23, 2007, from Prostitution-Related Arrest: http://www.arlingtonpd.org/Prostitution/2007/ProstitutionArrests092007.pdf Broadhead, R. (2001). Hustlers in Drug-Related Aids Prevention: Ethnographers, Outreach Workers, Injection Drug Users. Addiction Research & Theory , 9(6):545 – 556. Broadhead, R. (1984). Human Rights and Human Subjects: Ethics and Strategies in Social Science Research. In Broadhead R.S. (Eds) Hustler in Drug-Related Aids Prevention: Ethnographers, Outreach Workers, Injection Drug Users. Sociological Inquiry , 54(2): 107 - 123. Cohen, J. et al. (1987). Prevalence of HIV Antibody among Prostitutes in the San Francisco Bay Area. In Leonard T.L. (ed) Male Clients of Female Street Prostitutes: Unseen Partners in Sexual Disease Transmission. San Francisco Epidemiologic Bulletin , 3: 14 - 15. Fine, A. (1993). Ten Lies of Ethnography: Moral Dillemmas of Field Research. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography , 22(3): 267 - 294. Frenken, G., & Sifaneck, S. (1998). Sexworkers and Dope: An Ethnography of Heroin Using Lap Dancers in New York City. Addiction Research , 6(4): 341 - 379. Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. In Fine G.A. (ed) Ten Lies of Ethnography: Moral Dilemmas of Field Research. Chicago: Aldine. Goldman, R. (2007, May 10). Making Change: The Cost of Being Transgender. Retrieved October 23, 2007, from abc News: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3156598&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 Leonard, T. (1990). Male Clients of Female Street Prostitutes: Unseen Partners in Sexual Disease Transmission. Medical Anthropology Quarterly , 4(1):41 - 55. Potterat, J., Brewer, D., Muth, S., Rothenberg, R., Woodhouse, D., Muth, J., et al. (2004). Mortality in a Long-Term Open Cohort of Prostitute Women. American Journal of Epidemiology , 159: 778 - 785. Read More