Patty Kelly’s Enough Already, It’s Time to Decriminalize Prostitution

Summaries

Rebekah Nicholson

English 255

Francis Aleba

February 19, 2018

SUMMARIES 2

Summary of Patty Kelly’s “Enough Already, It’s Time to Decriminalize Prostitution”

In her argumentative essay, “Enough Already, It’s Time to Decriminalize Prostitution,”

Patty Kelly debates that prostitution should be legalized. She begins her essay by addressing the

arrest of State Senator, Elliot Spitzer, who had been caught paying women for sex. Furthermore,

she uses this as an example that prostitution is “a part of our culture, and is not going away”

(Kelly, 2012, p. 436). Kelly spent a year at a legal brothel in Mexico and uses her first hand

experience to showcase how sex workers have benefited from the legalization of prostitution.

She reports the women working in this brothel had higher wages then working at traditional jobs.

As well, being a sex worker allowed these women the freedom to choose their own hours and

wages. Kelly explains that although legalizing prostitution still has some issues criminalization

prostitution has worse consequences such as increased violence incidents. Kelly furthers her

argument of legalization by using New Zealand’s 2003 Prostitution Reform Act as an example.

After New Zealand decriminalized prostitution sex workers are now protected from exploitation

and work in safer conditions. Kelly believes that North America should end the stigma against

sex workers and decriminalize prostitution.

SUMMARIES 3

Summary of Diane Mooney’s “Newfoundlandese, If You Please”

In her expository essay “Newfoundlandese, If You Please,” Diane Mooney discusses the

various unique dialects found within Newfoundland. She explains the reason for the diverse

range of language is due to the spread out distribution of the population. In Newfoundland each

inlet or cove is isolated and has evolved its own version of the language. Another factor that

affected the custom dialects was where the ancestors immigrated from.