IN CRIMINOLOGY, CRIME IS VIEWED AS BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR SOCIAL DEVIANCE. THE THREE PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF CRIME ANALYSIS ARE 1) ELEMENTS DETERMINING INDIVIDUALS DEVIANT CONSTITUTIONS, 2) THE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEVIANT PERSONALITY, AND 3) SOCIAL SITUATIONS CONDUCIVE TO DEVIANT BEHAVIOR. WITHIN THIS FRAMEWORK, PROSTITUTES HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN CONSIDERED MORE AGGRESSIVE AND MASCULINE THAN 'NORMAL' FEMALES. MORE RECENTLY, SOME PSYCHIATRISTS HAVE FOUND FEW DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NORMAL FEMALES AND PROSTITUTES, WHILE OTHERS NOTE DEPRESSIVE OR SUBMISSIVE CHARACTERISTICS AND LOW INTELLIGENCE LEVELS IN THE PROSTITUTE POPULATION. CERTAIN FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT MOST PROSTITUTES COME FROM UNSTABLE FAMILY BACKGROUNDS. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, PROSTITUTION IS EXAMINED FROM A SOCIOLOGICAL RATHER THAN A CRIMINOLOGICAL STANDPOINT; PROSTITUTES CONSTITUTE A MARGINAL PROFESSIONAL GROUP, NOT A VICTIM GROUP. ACCORDING TO THIS INTERPRETATION, PROSTITUTION IS AN INSTITUTION SERVING A FUNCTION IN OUR SOCIETY AND COMPLEMENTING MONOGAMOUS MARRIAGES. INTIMATELY LINKED TO PROSTITUTION ARE SEXUAL CUSTOMS, ESPECIALLY THE SEXUAL REPRESSION CULMINATING IN LATE 19TH CENTURY VICTORIANISM, AND THE WOMEN'S POSITION WITHIN THE DOUBLE STANDARD OF SOCIETY. THE CHANGING ROLE OF WOMEN HAS MODIFIED MALE-FEMALE RELATIONSHIPS. WITH GROWING TOLERANCE OF SEXUAL LIAISONS OUTSIDE MARRIAGE, THE IDEOLOGY OF LIBERATION HAS REPLACED AN IDEOLOGY OF RESTRAINT, AND PROSTITUTION HAS RESPONDED TO THE NEW DEMAND. AT THE SAME TIME, PROSTITUTION IS REDUCED TO A PURELY ECONOMIC TRANSACTION WHICH ENABLES YOUNG WOMEN TO EARN MORE THAN THEY WOULD AS AS SALES CLERKS. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY SELL THEIR HUMAN DIGNITY ALONG WITH THEIR BODIES. 'TYPICAL' PROSTITUTES CANNOT BE IDENTIFIED. A 17-ITEM BIBLIOGRAPHY IS SUPPLIED. --IN FRENCH.