The definition of the term prostitution that Estes provides in his work is solely based on the context of his work. According to him, prostitution is the performance of a sexual act involving physical contact usually carried out for the purpose of money. According to the author, for prostitution to take place, two critical elements have to be present. Foremost is the prostitute, who represents an individual willing to exchange sexual services for money or tangible equivalent. The second element is the client. This represents the person willing to give money or a tantamount to be provided with sex services. Aside from these two elements, according to Estes, the prostitute, and the client have to understand each other’s motivation and goals.

According to Estes, prostitution, through some relevant features, can potentially cause a prostitute to be alienated from her sexuality and even make it virtually difficult for her to lead an authentic life. One of such elements is transcendental subjectivity. According to Estes, a person establishes him/herself as subjective only through mutual recognition in a given social sphere. The sexual activities that a prostitute engages in do not involve mutual subjectivity. As such, they are characterized by a lack of mutual consent, mutual concern, and mutual desire. Thus, the acts exist as corporal intrusions that make a prostitute fail to recognize herself as a person or a conscious being. A further element, according to Estes, is related to phenomenological subjectivity. The forced responses that a prostitute produces, during a sexual act, is usually taken by the client to mean that he has indeed satisfied his desires. However, if the prostitute expresses herself genuinely, whether to what is happening in or outside his body, the relationship with herself and with the client is jeopardized. To avoid such an outcome, the prostitute has to detach herself from genuine bodily reactions. This necessarily means that a prostitute loses control of her body, a thing that can easily be equated to a fragmented self.

While Estes informs the audience about the ills of prostitution, other researchers such as Nussbaum seem to defend the practice, however from a legal standpoint. To understand Nussbaum’s argument, it would be imperative to differentiate between moral and legal permissibility. Nussbaum’s argument is indeed founded on these definitions. Nussbaum feels that prostitution does not lead to fragmented self. Instead, it makes women, especially those who have fewer options, to be a little bit better. According to Nussbaum, feminist works such as that by Estes tends to take the perspective of skilled, educated women. For such women, engaging in sexual acts in exchange for money or equivalent gains can indeed fragment a person, alienating herself from her sexuality. While this is the case, for a woman who is challenged in life, especially those who do not have any skill or education, prostitution can be a source of liberation. In the words of Nussbaum, if such a woman despises prostitution yet she does not have any other option, there is a chance that she would lead a fragmented life, one that is totally alienated from her sexuality. However, if she engages in prostitution, she might be liberated from such a hardship.

According to Joan Nagel’s work, global sex trade perpetuates gender and racial hierarchy. As such, through global sexual sites, the global trends to meet the local in pursuit what the author acknowledges as racialized romance and sex. In the light of this, Joan feels that prostitution ought to be criminalized. Nussbaum indeed sees the login in Joan’s suggestion. According to her, prostitution can, at times, produce racially coded effects. This can be confirmed by the idea that those in prostitution are mostly African American women. Based on this, Nussbaum feels that it is appropriate to establish laws and proper mechanisms that eliminate prostitution. However, this solution should only be adopted if these very laws secure a productive life for women who have few options in life.