Picture from posters of the Broadway-hit turned movie “Chicago”. The intention of this photo shoot is to imitate the red light district where women display themselves in windows.

As Justin Uyeno mentions in his blog post “Sex sells, but is it ethical?”, he has said that the prostitution industry can be ethical if “[sex workers] exercise their own free will to join the industry”. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/justinuyeno/2013/09/11/sex-sells-but-is-it-ethical/> However, it should be questioned whether that statement is true, if the majority of sex workers truly do join the profession in their own will.

Globally, there are many “red light districts” located around popular cities, such as France and Amsterdam. Women sell their body to make a living. In a way, this is not an “untapped market” as Justin Uyeno has said, but it is true that prostitution is illegal in many parts of the world as well.

Women posing in windows in Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

In a recent event, a campaign group against modern slavery (and human trafficking) pretended to be sex workers in Amsterdam’s red light district and brought on a performance in the windows that shocked many onlookers. The audience at first thought it was a nice treat, but were stunned when a projected message that reads “Every year, thousands of women were promised a dance career in Western Europe. Sadly, they end up here” appeared. The article and video can be found here <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2411812/Men-cheer-dancing-half-naked-women-Amsterdams-red-light-district-shocked-anti-trafficking-ad.html>. This brings us to ponder about whether prostitution can truly be ethical. How many “willing” women enter this industry due to their own free will without having reached an unpleasant ultimatum or without deceit? The demand will always be high since sex is “one of the oldest professions” as stated by Justin, but we have to consider many factors of why the supply is remaining high as well.

Here is a video clip from the movie “Moulin Rouge” that was filmed in the actual Moulin Rouge in Paris’ popular red light district. Can Can From Movie “Moulin Rouge”