Prostitution , the practice of engaging in relatively indiscriminate sexual activity, in general with someone who is not a spouse or a friend, in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. Prostitutes may be female or male or transgender, and prostitution may entail heterosexual or homosexual activity, but historically most prostitutes have been women and most clients men.
Perceptions of prostitution are based on culturally determined values that differ between societies. In some societies, prostitutes have been viewed as members of a recognized profession; in others they have been shunned , reviled, and punished with stoning, imprisonment, and death.
Few societies have exercised the same severity toward clients; indeed, in many societies, clients suffer few if any legal repercussions. In some cultures , prostitution has been required of young girls as a rite of puberty or as a means of acquiring a dowry , and some religions have required prostitution of a certain class of priestesses.
The ancient Greeks and Romans mandated that prostitutes wear distinctive dress and pay severe taxes. Hebrew law did not forbid prostitution but confined the practice to foreign women. Among the ordinances laid down by Moses to regulate public health were several dealing with sexually transmitted diseases. In Europe during the Middle Ages , church leaders attempted to rehabilitate penitent prostitutes and fund their dowries.
Nevertheless, prostitution flourished: it was not merely tolerated but also protected, licensed, and regulated by law, and it constituted a considerable source of public revenue. Public brothels were established in large cities throughout Europe. At Toulouse, in France, the profits were shared between the city and the university; in England , bordellos were originally licensed by the bishops of Winchester and subsequently by Parliament.
