Thank you for the interesting choice of topic. I find it hard to understand the constructionists’ approach to mental illness. First, there are instances where social events can trigger mental illness. For example, wars create a vicious cycle of trauma for soldiers and civilians who may later suffer from PTSD. Yet, there are cases where mental illness can be caused by biological reasons such as dysfunctions or imbalances of certain hormones. Both of those reasons are objective and independent of how society views people who suffer such conditions. A person who experiences depression will experience it regardless of the definition of society’s view on that. Hence, I see the essentialist’s position as more agreeable.
This topic is really important and concerning to me; hence, thank you for bringing it up in the discussion. First of all, I support your position against the decriminalization of prostitution and your reasoning behind it. The institutionalization of such an abusive act is one of the biggest disgraces still existing in modern society. However, I would not fully agree with the position of radical feminists because I think the Scandinavian approach to the issue of sex work is more suitable. This adds up the point to the discourse by introducing mixed decriminalization, where sex workers are not oppressed by the illegal status of their job. Instead, the customer and clients of sex work should face criminal responsibility. This way, sex work as a phenomenon should slowly fade as there will be less and less demand in this industry.
Thank you for choosing this topic. I think that it is a really important theme to discuss. Your approach to the constructionists’ view has expanded my understanding of it. Indeed, it is how society has paved the way for sex work to existing, which is important. The fact that prostitution is considered one of the oldest professions seems like an excuse for millennia of institutionalized rape. Hence, I think that the phenomenon of sex work is a social issue, and the key to resolving lies not in acting upon sex workers but in finding a way to change society where sex work is not needed.
References
Goode, E. (2016). Deviant Behavior (11th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.