Prostitution - Is it wrong?

[Wile E. Coyote]

In reading the thread about child pornography I noticed that prostitution and adult pornography were brought up in a negative light, and I was wondering what the general consensus is here.

When I was in college I took a human sexuality course that changed the way I thought about certain unconventional lifestyles. The instructor was a very tall, energetic and unattractive woman who had done significant anthropological research into the sexual behaviors of cultures across the world, including ours. She had spent time with prostitutes and transvestites, as well as taking a sabbatical in India with Geisha's. She had been around, acededmically speaking.

Prostitutes, she said, were actually good for society. She acknowledged that men had recognizable urges that typically could not be relieved by hand. In this regard, prosititues actually cut down on abuse of women by allowing basically normal men to release their pressures on willing recipients.

The women she described were not the typical hollywood portrayal of hookers. A lot of times they were educated, intelligent women who loved what they did and saw it as a service to society. They made a lot of money in a short time. Of course, this was in areas where that type of thing is legal, so they were able to establish brothels where the environment is controlled and safe for both the customers and the service personnel. These buildings had security guards and secretaries. The women had full health coverage with doctor visits weekly.

From a moral standpoint I see nothing wrong with prositution. I don't see why the government should have a say in who we choose to have sex with and under which conditions. As long as no one is getting hurt, what is the problem?

I think that the objection to prostitution is a holdover from more religious days. The government should legalize, regulate, and tax that service. Leave it up to the people to decide whether it is a good choice for them.

 

[LFTKBS]

D'oh!

I voted no, but meant yes.

Not my cup of tea, but the government has no business reglating what people do with their own bodies.

 

[no one in particular]

Ugh! Your poll question is directly opposite to your thread-header question. I feel you may get some incorrect responses because of this. Very confusing, sir!

For the record, prostitution is a-okay with me.

 

[Luciana]

Wile:

I don't think it's wrong, either, although I confess that if I found out that my SO had been with a prostitute while in a relationship with me, I'd want him served fried, with potatoes.

Is there any evidence that making use of the services of prostitutes make men less prone to perpetrating sexual violence? I think this is a very difficult thing to prove, and therefore quite a wild assumption.

The reason I"m for prostitution is that, considering there's a market, and there are people willing to provide for it... it's a free world, right? No third party is going to be hurt. As long as all of the involved are adults conscious of their actions, and not working under coercion and being taken advantage of, then why not?

I know that many married men resort to prostitution - but not even my disgust for infidelity could make me be against it. I think they have the right to sell their bodies, as much as I ave the right to fry the hubby, along with the potatoes.

 

[Brown]

Well, personally I think regulation of the practice would be better than criminalization of it.

I consider prostitution wrong in the sense that a person who employs a prostitute where prostitution is illegal acts wrongly. In other words, I am generally opposed to breaking laws, even if I don't necessarily agree with those laws.

I confess that as part of my upcoming visit to Nevada, I have looked into the prospect of visiting a legal brothel. This is in part a matter of curiosity on my part, and I have not made a decision that this is what I plan to do. I mention it only because I have noticed that my perspective on the practice of prostitution changed when the brothels were clean, safe and legal.

 

[Tony]

No. People have the right to use their bodies as they see fit. If charging for sex is thier cup o' tea, they should have that right. I told my girlfriend (of 2 years) I was gonna give her 20 $ for sex one time, just for fun. Would/should that be illegal?

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I live in a place where prostitution is legal, at least to a limited extent. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, legalized prostitution is a good thing; having legal brothels means many fewer girls selling themselves on the street, thus reducing the amount of other crime that comes with such activity (I am NOT claiming it altogether eliminates streetwalkers, one can still find a few in Reno despite the fact that several brothels are nearby. They are much fewer in number thatn one would expect, though). Another good effect is that because the houses (and local laws) require the girls to get checked for STD's on a weekly basis, one can feel safer hiring one of the girls in the cathouses than picking up some strange girl in a bar.

Putting pragmatism aside, and looking purely at morality I still see nothing wrong with prostitution. As long as no one is forced into it, it really is nothing more than a simple service for pay arrangement, no different than hiring a cleaning person. Most of the social ills attributed to prostitution are more a function of its illegality than anything wrong witht he practice itself.

 

[Ursa Major]

If other people are as easily confused as I am, I'm afraid your poll will be all but useless. I voted "NO", meaning I don't think prostitution is wrong. If I'd taken the time to read the exact poll question I would have chosen "YES" .

Sorry.

 

[Wile E. Coyote]

Sorry, everyone, for the subject/question confusion. That was pretty dumb on my part.

So far it seems that no one is opposed to prostitution, despite the "No" votes that can possibly be attributed to my absent-mindedness.

I still wonder if there are legitimate, non-religious reasons for criminalizing prostitution.

 

[Melissa Johnson]

Sorry, everyone, for the subject/question confusion. That was pretty dumb on my part.

So far it seems that no one is opposed to prostitution, despite the "No" votes that can possibly be attributed to my absent-mindedness.

I still wonder if there are legitimate, non-religious reasons for criminalizing prostitution.

Legitimate, non-religious reasons are there, but the situation is clouded. Where prostitution is a problem, there are also problems with drug addiction, violence, robbery, etc. Making the activity legal doesn't necessarily make it all okay--even if you regulate it. Prostitution implies pimps, and while there may be kind pimps out there just like hookers with hearts of gold, I'd be willing to bet the majority are there to take advantage of someone else's situation.

If a woman wanted to be a prostitute and no one was manipulating, forcing, or abusing her, philosophically I can't see any reason why she shouldn't be allowed to do so. But that is an idealistic situation. All sorts of other questions are raised without even getting into the religious aspect. I think even Amsterdam with its own legal, regulated prostitution has its difficulties.

Hope that made some sort of sense

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Legitimate, non-religious reasons are there, but the situation is clouded. Where prostitution is a problem, there are also problems with drug addiction, violence, robbery, etc. Making the activity legal doesn't necessarily make it all okay--even if you regulate it. Prostitution implies pimps, and while there may be kind pimps out there just like hookers with hearts of gold, I'd be willing to bet the majority are there to take advantage of someone else's situation.

If a woman wanted to be a prostitute and no one was manipulating, forcing, or abusing her, philosophically I can't see any reason why she shouldn't be allowed to do so. But that is an idealistic situation. All sorts of other questions are raised without even getting into the religious aspect. I think even Amsterdam with its own legal, regulated prostitution has its difficulties.

Hope that made some sort of sense

Well, most of the problems like violence, robbery etc, are more a result of prostitutions illegality than anything inherently wrong with the practice itself. If it is legal then the girls have the same protections as anybody else in any other business, ditto the customers.

The whole problem of 'taking advantage of someones situation is a lot stickier' and, I think, mostly a matter of personal opinion. For example, if I offer someone a low paying, demeaning job and they take it because it is the only job they can get, am I taking advantage of their situation or giving someone who desperately needs money a chance to make some? I think the answer is yes to both questions. Whether it is right or wrong is one of those questions tht every person you ask is going to have a different answer for.

 

[Melissa Johnson]

Well, most of the problems like violence, robbery etc, are more a result of prostitutions illegality than anything inherently wrong with the practice itself. If it is legal then the girls have the same protections as anybody else in any other business, ditto the customers.

The whole problem of 'taking advantage of someones situation is a lot stickier' and, I think, mostly a matter of personal opinion. For example, if I offer someone a low paying, demeaning job and they take it because it is the only job they can get, am I taking advantage of their situation or giving someone who desperately needs money a chance to make some? I think the answer is yes to both questions. Whether it is right or wrong is one of those questions tht every person you ask is going to have a different answer for.

I thought of that too, Nyarlathotep. It's a question of where the correlation is, and that's what I'm not sure about--the same criticisms have been leveled at the whole legalization of drugs issue. If you legalize and regulate, will you remove all of the problems, or will you just have another beaureaucratic nightmare?

At the core, it is a question of whether we have the right to do with ourselves what we want and whether we have any responsibility to look after other people's welfare (whether they want us to or not.) My own gut reaction is to leave everyone alone to their own devices. My other thought is of another set of problems.

See, I confuse myself even.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I thought of that too, Nyarlathotep. It's a question of where the correlation is, and that's what I'm not sure about--the same criticisms have been leveled at the whole legalization of drugs issue. If you legalize and regulate, will you remove all of the problems, or will you just have another beaureaucratic nightmare?

At the core, it is a question of whether we have the right to do with ourselves what we want and whether we have any responsibility to look after other people's welfare (whether they want us to or not.) My own gut reaction is to leave everyone alone to their own devices. My other thought is of another set of problems.

See, I confuse myself even.

Well, all I can say is, out here 'legal but regulated' has worked out just fine. It isn't a panacea for all social ills but Nevada's example shows that having a legal outlet for certain activities that many people consider 'immoral' (in our case gambling and prostitution) but that people indulge in anyway doesn't cause any extra problems. I don't feel any less safe walking down the streets of Reno or Vegas than I would any other city of similar size where such things are strictly verboten. And the girls that work in these establishments are much better off than any streetwalker in any city where such things are illegal. So I really see no down side from any point of view.

 

[Melissa Johnson]

Well, there you go then

I don't have the experience of living in a state that has legalized prostitution (we have gambling on the Indian Reservations--that's about it--oh, and Lotto). I recall now seeing a spot on one of the cable channels--Discovery, TLC, I forget now--about one of the brothels in Nevada, and how the women liked their jobs and were safe there.

It does seem logical that women (and men) would be safer all-around in such an environment, where they were protected by laws and health checks and so forth--because you're right, people are going to indulge in these activities anyway, whether it's drugs, alcohol, gambling or sex.

And the tax revenue could go to the schools! Sex Ed, of course... Wouldn't that p.o. the righteous folks...

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Well, there you go then

I don't have the experience of living in a state that has legalized prostitution (we have gambling on the Indian Reservations--that's about it--oh, and Lotto). I recall now seeing a spot on one of the cable channels--Discovery, TLC, I forget now--about one of the brothels in Nevada, and how the women liked their jobs and were safe there.

It does seem logical that women (and men) would be safer all-around in such an environment, where they were protected by laws and health checks and so forth--because you're right, people are going to indulge in these activities anyway, whether it's drugs, alcohol, gambling or sex.

And the tax revenue could go to the schools! Sex Ed, of course... Wouldn't that p.o. the righteous folks...

I have a friend whose sister used to work out in one of the houses (Though who was paying money to have sex with this woman is beyond me, I wouldn't have sex with her if she were paying me, but I digress). From what I've heard she looked at it as the best job she ever had, it was good money and pretty easy (though I think the 'pretty easy' part does require...a certain mindset that not everyone has)

 

[Flame]

I voted no, I'm only replying because it asked for justification.
I don't necessarily thing it's wrong, although I would never do it.
Everything's already been said really - It's the spin-off effects that are the problem.

Toni

 

[Yahweh]

Like a few of the others, I was a bit confused by the poll question and the thread title, I inadvertantly voted "No".


Well, although in my personal opinion the criminalization of prostitution is too much, here is at least a few justifications as to why it might be criminalized. For the same reason that its a law to wear a seatbelt, the government is looking out for the best interest of its citizens. Street prostitution is obviously a danger to the woman and the involved parties. The woman is putting her self at great risk (she can get raped, killed, abducted, beaten, etc.), both parties run the risk of contracting venereal diseases (a prostitute with a veneral disease who gets around is quite bad news). The government does not want underage teenage women to prostitute themselves. Unwanted pregnancy ruins lives, the life of the child (assuming he isnt ditched in a dumpster) is usually that of neglect, the mother is depressed and obviously ashamed for having an illigetimate child with a stranger who paid her for sex. And duh, a prostitute can make US$1000s a night but pay the tax of a person making US$34,000 a year (I just had to include governmental greed... just for fun... mostly).

In my opinion, a person who "suffers" in any way because of his escapades with a tainted hooker doesnt deserve much sympathy. The prostitute and the other party both know what they are doing, what could result. I like the idea of regulated brothels (however I wouldnt want to see unregulated underground brothels, the safety and welfare of the women would probably be less than acceptable). The Moonlite Bunnyranch appears to be operating just fine, Amsterdam seems to be in pretty good order. As long as brothel regulation is maintained with high regard for the welfare of the women and clients, then the legalization of prostitution is a perfectly fine position (as a legitimate business, additional cashflow is good for the economy).

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Child prostitution should be illegal. Then they can be yanked off the street, or out of wherever they are, and away from the pimp.

If women want to do it, whatever. I couldn't personally. Most men find you distasteful when they found out you were doing that in your past. Imagine the types of guys too, and the married ones I'd be pissed at.

It's the risk of disease and touching so many strangers that really turns me off of the thought of it. And the physical violence you put yourself at risk for.

I want to enjoy that physical part of a relationship, how can you view it as fun when you do it for work?

I also would find my brain turning to mush. What mental challenge or problem solving and using creativity (like I do in marketing at work) would you get a chance to experience? I don't want to hear it...if you're thinking up some now...blech. Would prolly be need to be censored-and it's not creativity.

I also can't see why men wouldn't see them as disgusting as a prostitute, when they would be turned off if she were a girlfriend prospect.

 

[Schizobunny]

It is a person's own body. They are not hurting anyone. They should be allowed to have sex with whoever they please at any price. As long both people involved in the trade agree with it, who cares?

 

[Eos of the Eons]

It is a person's own body. They are not hurting anyone. They should be allowed to have sex with whoever they please at any price. As long both people involved in the trade agree with it, who cares?

Well, the guy brining AIDS home to his wife...

I'm sure she'll care. Does happen, unfortunately.