By . Lillian Radulova for Daily Mail Australia . and Australian Associated Press . Social commentator and feminist Jane Caro insulted generations of women when she compared marriage to prostitution, a women's advocate says. Caro said her comments on ABC TV's Q&A on Monday night were not aimed at modern wives, but she was speaking about the institution of marriage in the past. 'I wasn't calling them prostitutes; I was merely saying that old fashioned marriage from that period is uncomfortably close to an economic transaction,' she told AAP. Scroll down for video . Jane Caro made the remarks in a special Festival of Dangerous Ideas panel on Q&A on Monday night . She has since adamantly stood by her comments while trying to clarify that she was not saying people's 'grandmothers' are prostitutes . 'I have been married for 39 years, I was at home with small children for five years. 'Why would I say such a thing?' Caro said on the program: 'I would argue that traditional marriage which included conjugal rights, particularly when women were not able to go to work or were fired when they first got married, and were basically selling their bodies and their reproductive rights to their husband - he bought them by giving her room and board in return - was a form of prostitution.' Australian Christian Lobby spokeswoman on women's issues, Wendy Francis, said the comments were offensive to women, including her mother, who she said was a feminist in her time. 'I wasn't calling them prostitutes; I was merely saying that old fashioned marriage from that period is uncomfortably close to an economic transaction,' she said . 'My very first thought when I first saw it was "I really hope my mother isn't watching this",' Ms Francis told AAP. 'It definitely was an insult to previous generations.' Caro said it wasn't until 1882 that women were able to retain their own money when they married. She said in some professions women were fired when they got married in Australia until the 1970s. 'These days because women earn their own money and make their own choices and have lots of economic opportunities ... marriage is a really much better institution now than it was,' Caro said. The comments were made amongst an all female panel which veered into a debate about sex work last night. Off the back of recent stories about how journalist Amanda Goff became a sex worker, the panel was asked: 'What do you think of prostitution as a conscious career choice in a first world country?' Ms Caro engaged in a back-and-forth over the matter with fellow panelist Swedish author Kajsa Ekman . Fellow panelist Swedish author Kajsa Ekman rejected Ms Caro's remarks as an 'an abstract comparison' as some sex workers have up to 15 buyers a day. Caro also saught to clarift the analogy she 'was clumsily trying to make' by publishing a column in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday titled 'Why housewives are not prostitutes'. 'I did not want to isolate sex workers as a group, so I sought to broaden the question out to the way all women were caught up in an economic transaction in the past by talking about traditional marriages that included conjugal rights,' Caro wrote. She  went on to describe the period of time she had been referring to when women had no rights to property or  their children and men were lawfully allowed to 'discipline' their wives. 'That still did not make the women in such relationships prostitutes but it did make marriage much more about survival than choice,' she wrote. Caro also mentioned how until the 70s, women were often fired from their jobs in Australia when they either married or became pregnant, saying that it made 'the way society policed marriage uncomfortably close to an economic transaction.'
Jane Caro came under fire for her on Monday, when she said that housewives in traditional marriages were like prostitutes .
Mrs Caro said women in traditional marriages 'basically (sold) their bodies and their reproductive rights to their husband'
She claims her analogy was taken out of context and that she was saying historicaly, marriage was uncomfortably close to an economic transaction .
She has since tried to clarify her comments via an article .
By . Lillian Radulova for Daily Mail Australia . and Australian Associated Press . Social commentator and feminist Jane Caro insulted generations of women when she compared marriage to prostitution, a women's advocate says. Caro said her comments on ABC TV's Q&A on Monday night were not aimed at modern wives, but she was speaking about the institution of marriage in the past. 'I wasn't calling them prostitutes; I was merely saying that old fashioned marriage from that period is uncomfortably close to an economic transaction,' she told AAP. Scroll down for video . Jane Caro made the remarks in a special Festival of Dangerous Ideas panel on Q&A on Monday night . She has since adamantly stood by her comments while trying to clarify that she was not saying people's 'grandmothers' are prostitutes . 'I have been married for 39 years, I was at home with small children for five years. 'Why would I say such a thing?' Caro said on the program: 'I would argue that traditional marriage which included conjugal rights, particularly when women were not able to go to work or were fired when they first got married, and were basically selling their bodies and their reproductive rights to their husband - he bought them by giving her room and board in return - was a form of prostitution.' Australian Christian Lobby spokeswoman on women's issues, Wendy Francis, said the comments were offensive to women, including her mother, who she said was a feminist in her time. 'I wasn't calling them prostitutes; I was merely saying that old fashioned marriage from that period is uncomfortably close to an economic transaction,' she said . 'My very first thought when I first saw it was "I really hope my mother isn't watching this",' Ms Francis told AAP. 'It definitely was an insult to previous generations.' Caro said it wasn't until 1882 that women were able to retain their own money when they married. She said in some professions women were fired when they got married in Australia until the 1970s. 'These days because women earn their own money and make their own choices and have lots of economic opportunities ... marriage is a really much better institution now than it was,' Caro said. The comments were made amongst an all female panel which veered into a debate about sex work last night. Off the back of recent stories about how journalist Amanda Goff became a sex worker, the panel was asked: 'What do you think of prostitution as a conscious career choice in a first world country?' Ms Caro engaged in a back-and-forth over the matter with fellow panelist Swedish author Kajsa Ekman . Fellow panelist Swedish author Kajsa Ekman rejected Ms Caro's remarks as an 'an abstract comparison' as some sex workers have up to 15 buyers a day. Caro also saught to clarift the analogy she 'was clumsily trying to make' by publishing a column in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday titled 'Why housewives are not prostitutes'. 'I did not want to isolate sex workers as a group, so I sought to broaden the question out to the way all women were caught up in an economic transaction in the past by talking about traditional marriages that included conjugal rights,' Caro wrote. She  went on to describe the period of time she had been referring to when women had no rights to property or  their children and men were lawfully allowed to 'discipline' their wives. 'That still did not make the women in such relationships prostitutes but it did make marriage much more about survival than choice,' she wrote. Caro also mentioned how until the 70s, women were often fired from their jobs in Australia when they either married or became pregnant, saying that it made 'the way society policed marriage uncomfortably close to an economic transaction.'
commentator and feminist Jane Caro insulted generations of women when she compared marriage said her comments on ABC TV's Q&A on Monday night Monday night . She has since adamantly stood by her comments while trying to clarify that she was selling their bodies and their reproductive rights to their husband - he bought them by women were caught up in an economic transaction policed marriage uncomfortably close to an