The women who participate in prostitution no longer belong only to the lower classes; they are now also middle class. The decision to become a prostitute also no longer results from prior moral stigma and social exclusion; it can be an economic decision. Many women view prostitution as the only way to acquire the income they desire. Such women typically keep their prostitution separate from the rest of their lives due to the negative connotations it holds. Prostitution retains a negative image because it breaks the association between female sexuality and affection for the sexual partner. Women who live by prostitution symbolize an incapacity for living an ordered, responsible life within normative occupational and sexual roles for women. The professionalization of prostitution legitimizes the commercialization of sex, however, although the negative image of the purveyor persists. To develop a public policy for prostitution, attention must be given to the various forms it manifest at a particular time and to the economic and cultural changes which underlie these manifestations. 1 note.