What's wrong with prostitution?

[Treblaine]

problem = Democracy... and how at the end of the day it is an old man who is trying to convince old mothers to vote for them, and saying they are going to legalise prostitution just does not win them votes. He just ends up looking like an old perv who wants to pay young women for sex, that's what it looks like when politicians try to legalise prostitution.

Yes, legalising, taxing and policing prostitution will remove most of the suffering and negative consequences of the industry and keep most of the positive aspects but face it, the REAL reason prostitution was banned and remains banned is because the people who makes the laws and the people who vote are PRUDES!

They want "traditional families" and they don't give a crap about poor young women who are trying to make it by in the world, deep down those "conservative suburban voters" don't care if a prostitute gets beaten up... they already look down on her for "selling her body".

However if a young woman who had gone the "traditional" route of marrying and being a house wife, if she got beaten up (like said prostitute) then there would be an public outcry for justice, rightfully so might I add but the same outcry is just not there for the abuse of prostitutes.

The powers that be are opposed to prostitution at it's most essential level. And those that ARE in favour of it can't possibly openly support legalising it without seeming like perverts who just want to legally pay for sex. Then there is the element that prostitution is tantamount to rape, an argument I have heard and do not have the energy to cover but none the less millions of voters will be opposed to legalised prostitution seeing it as the ultimate evil of capitalism.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

There's nothing wrong with prostitution. It's pretty clear by now that you can't just make a tradition that's being practiced since the beginning of freaking civilization go away. Tax it and legalize it is the only logical solution here.

The only current problem with prostitution are the STD's BUT if prostitution gets legalized and brothels are formed the Matrons would have to request a medical file assuring that the prostitute has no STD's. The same goes for the one requesting services. The Matron should also be forced to provide condoms.

The other problem, that being the murder of prostitutes, can also be solved by simply allowing brothels to be built. The prostitutes could then work in a safe environment with no fear of being murdered by some mentally ill bloke that offered to pay more than the last guy.

Really, the government has absolutely no reason NOT to legalize prostitution. It's mostly religion and its BS with "traditional family values" that keeps everything back.

 

[Aerodyamic]

Well, I think that the only reason prostitution shouldn't be legal is STD's, but that can be dealt with because if brothels became legal they would have rules, like maybe the mandatory use of condoms or something.

I don't live in the part of the Netherlands that has legalized and regulated prostitution, but it's my understanding that the girls that choose to work in that industry have to comply to certain standards, concerning regular health check-ups and prophylactic use. I'd also assume that those countries, having a different tack on drug-use makes it more difficult for many people that work in the sex industries to be manipulated into truly horrific situations by fucking with their drugs. Considering how common those stories are in North America, and how closely those stories tie into organized crime and gang activity here, I'd say that maybe considering the model applied throughout Northern Europe might be something to look into.

And no, for the highly politically incorrect point:

Marriage, or at least the more-archaic, curently-less-common, highly patriarchal, 'stay-at-home/home-maker' variety has more than a few similarities to codified and acceptable prostitution; a girl got married, started putting out, and in return, had her room and board paid for, and didn't ever have to work again. That's besides the fact that mistresses are generally an accepted facet of many societies, barring the countries that are heavily affected by the Judeo-Christian and Muslim religious models, although that's hardly a clean pass, either. Most of European society has more liberal and sane views concerning mistresses, and even some Muslim societies will turn a blind eye, provided that the mistress does not indicate any weakness in a given male. The simple fact is that a mistress is only a bare step away from being prostitution, but it's safe because so few involved would admit there was any negotiation prior to the beginning of 'business'.

Hell, Japan has had a codified and highly respected system for a long time, in geishas, although the sex is/was more typically a very background concern with that system, as geishas were primarily sought after as highly-sophisticated and intellectual gentlemens' escorts first, and highly talented sexual partners as a very distant tertiary concern.

Also, just a legal note that came to mind, while writing this: in Canada, the sale of sex is not actually illegal. The solicitation of sexual acts for money is, however, which creates a catch-all sort of arrangement, where filming porn can be a risky proposition, too. I've seen at least one just-barely-better-than-handicam movie in which there's obvious Canadian money being offered to 2 girls, in exchange for taping them being sexually explicit. I'm not positive, but I think if the girls had visibly accepted the money after the (clearly) audible conversation concerning the transaction, it would have (technically) been prostitution.

 

[DazZ.]

I agree with George Carlin, but I wouldn't have any problem with legalised brothels. The worst part of prostitution from what I've seen is how vulnerable they are on the street by themselves, or when being pimped. If they were taken care of and in a safe environment where both parties undergo checks for disease everything would be fine.

 

[viking97]

i don't really see anything wrong with prostitution. most women that do it though absolutely need the money and if it was legalized, it would be more common and less profitable.

personally i see no problem with prostitution, i'm in favor of its my body and i can do what i want, but there is the threat of STDs, that would kinda put most people off a bit.

 

[hippykiller]

Prostitution spreads STDs and furthers crime and violence by the costumers and by the pimps.

 

[VanityGirl]

Ok, since a lot of people seem to be for it, I'll go against it.

Think of all the problems associated with prostitution today. Now, multiply that by about 5 and you'll probably have the results of legal prostitution.
I don't want people fooling themselves into believing that there will be a sudden drop of crime. That's like saying if we lowered the drinking age, there would be less drunk drivers.

No, with the legalization of prostitution, there would be stiff competition between pimps. And yes, there would still be pimps. Think about it. Whether pimping would be illegal or not is not the case. The true case is, a man who has a choice between an expensive self employed prostitute or a cheap prostitute under the employment of a pimp?

Also, with America's 300+ million population, prostitution would be extreme hard to regulation; meaning that there's no way of knowing if the girl/guy you paid for has any STDs or any of other sickness. (Think about it, mono would suck to get as well.)

And I don't want people to say "It's the girl's choice to work as a prostitute". Thankfully, while it's illegal, less woman are turning to that. It would be far too easy for a man or woman to just drop out of school and become a prostitute if it was legalized.

Please keep it illegalized. Because honestly, isn't out world already screwed up enough?

 

[Shycte]

The problem is that it is something that many criminal gangs makes heavy money off.

The "it's your own choice" argument becomes kind of lame, the same is with drugs.

Then I personly beileve that no happy human would allow disgustingly fat 50+ man to stick their penis inside of them.

 

[Treefingers]

I do wonder though, how many women are prostitutes by choice, and i bet it would be a minority... whether tricked and bought into it, or forced into it because of say, financial reasons.

In this respect i think that questioning the morality of prostitution bypasses the real issue.

Because is isn't just selling sex, it's all the stuff that comes with it. Abuse, addiction, violence. Do you think that prostitutes are having a good time?

Having personally spoken to a few (not by using their services i might add) i can say that for many, prostitution is an absolute nightmare, a very dark time.

Furthermore, i once spoke to a man who was involved with helping victims of human trafficking who encountered the trading of young girls, often children, for prostitution. On a scarily regular basis. He told me some of the nastiest shit i've ever heard.

So, should prostitution be made legal? Im not sure, but i think that this...

As George Carlin put it, "Selling is legal, fucking is legal--why isn't selling fucking legal? Why is it illegal to sell something that's perfectly legal to give away?"

...is a very naive and ignorant argument.

 

[mooncalf]

I hope that someday Prostitution will be so unpopular that it simply dies out, but I consider it absurd and upsetting when a basic freedom such as "I choose who I sleep with and on what terms." is denied. Any law which infringes the peaceful activity of my own body is a law not worth recognising.

 

[SkullCap]

I can't agree to prostitution. It's basically selling one's body for financial gain, where a large portion of said earnings are given to the prostitutes owner (pimp). I mean many here say, "What's the problem?" Imagine your a father and your daughter says when she grows up she wants to be ridden like a rented bicycle by numerous partners that she will most likely end up a worn-out hollow shell of a human being.

Let's not forget Human Trafficking. Prostitution is a form of Human Trafficking. Traffickers kidnap young male & females (majority under 18); then physically, psychologically, and sexually abuse these young women to enforce on them the idea that, "I own you. Your family will never except you back because your now 'dirty.' If you try to escape I do this to you again."

Prostitution may not carry any short-term effects, but in the long run it brings a dangerous mark on society that will begin with, "Well if prostitution is legal, what else can we have?" Ideas like that will once again cause a curious look of interest towards a legal slave trade.

These prostitutes are PEOPLE. Your money is going into the pocket of people, who will go out to recruit more people for their 'enterprise' so that's my problem with prostitution. Its exploitative sex trafficking.

 

[Spacelord]

Spoiler: spoilered for brevity

I see absolutely no problems with prostitution. Then again, I'm Dutch.

Besides the spread of STDs, it would be yet another step in destroying the institution of marriage. No doubt there will be people who will argue that marriage is not needed and that sex is just for entertainment and reproduction, but this is simply not the case. Marriage and the family unit are some of the most important aspects of any society: take a high-school level sociology class to figure that one out. We've already desecrated and destroyed marriage enough: legal prostitution would only serve to further destroy the family unit and destabilize a society that is already suffering.

Holy shit! are you implying that legalising prostitution will actually destroy life as we know it? That's like the most retardedly bold claim I've ever heard.

I got another one: there is a correlation between number of gay people per year and nuclear meltdowns in power plants! Look it up, it's true! We're all fucked!

Like I said, the importance of the family unit is an incredibly important aspect of societal order: basic sociology. Deny it if you want, but it's true. Prostitution won't single-handedly "destroy life as we know it," but it sure as heck won't help. In a society where we already value sex over actual relationships, prostitution has screwed up plenty of families already in its illegal state. Legalized, that number would climb drastically, and would probably also lower the number of people getting married in the first place.

The destruction of the family unit would be a huge blow to society: it's a sociological fact. And prostitution wouldn't do it alone, but it would be a pretty big step.

So you're basically saying is that families are integral to society and civilisation, and that prostitution decreases the numbers of families? So, suppose prostitution was legal and as you predict the concept of marriage and family break down, how long until civilisation bites it? A year? a hundred years? 500? Here in the Netherlands we're still waiting for that day to come. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_the_Netherlands]

 

[Davrel]

Is raping a prostitute classed as theft?

 

[Trivun]

At the end of the day, there are two main forms of prostitution. One is voluntary, where the girl or guy who is selling themselves does so as their own choice. They can build a normal life and instead choose to prostitute themselves in order to earn money. And yes, I did say guys as well. Let's not forget that male prostitutes are also commonplace. In fact, my university did a report in the student newspaper last year regarding male students turning to prostitution to fund luxury lifestyles instead of relying on student loans.

The other main kind is non-voluntary. This is where the pimps and gangs force women (and men, less commonly) into prostitution, and is often associated with repaying debts (usually related to drugs or human trafficking). This is the bad sort, and is sadly extremely common.

Now, I am actually in favour of prostitution. If somebody wants to earn money by selling their bodies then that's up to them. It is not the right of the government to tell people what they can and can't do with their own bodies. However, I am completely against the idea of pimping and forcing people into the sex trade. Prostitution should be legal, but as an informed choice.

This is actually, therefore, an extremely diffcult topic to tackle. So I won't give my opinion on what needs to be done and on whether or not it should be legal. I've already stated my opinion. However, I will leave a few points to hopefully add to the discussion.

1. Should prostitutes be allowed to sell themselves by their choice? (I think yes, subject to certain rules and conditions to ensure their own safety)

2. All legal prostitutes, assuming prostitution was legal in certain circumstances, would have to have regular STD checks and would be provided contraception and condoms by health authorities.

3. Prostitution is one of the remaining taboos when it comes to sex. Should we really still be looking at the idea of selling sex as such a disgusting thing, especially given the more relaxed approach to sex in recent years?

 

[JanatUrlich]

I honestly believe that prostitution should be legal, but only in certain places such as brothels.

Other forms of prostitution can lead to trafficking which is noooot gooood.

 

[Jon Etheridge]

Nothing.


OT: Yes it is a rather touchy subject. On one hand it doesn't seem ethical to be able to sell sex, on the other hand I'd rather some guy be able to go out and get a hooker rather than get stupid and rape somebody.

This is one of those things in life that has a gray area.

 

[RanD00M]

Nothing really.As long as it's professional like in Brothels.

 

[derelict]

Moving on to the more practical standpoint, off of ridiculous religious debating, prostitution isn't a good idea because it's not like someone trying to buy a prostitute is going to get a free complimentary blood test to prevent the spread of diseases that tend to be associated with easy sex. Ethics aside, it just doesn't work, except as an agent to spread STDs around.

Plus, from what I've seen paying for it is kind of silly when you can just find yourself a 'popular' girl in the bar somewhere, or nightclub et cetera. Seems a lot of that happens around here.

 

[Sampler]

Bro-in-laws old adage is "what's the difference between paying for sex and getting it for free? Free costs more".

That aside

Even if it were legalised you'd have a two tier system, the legal selling system and the underworld.

Those who live in fear of their pimps and are hooked on drugs will be selling unprotected sex to those who demand it - legal brothels wouldn't condone or allow unprotected so there will always be a market there, even as bad as it sounds with being pretty much a guarantee of an STD there will still be that tier so you wouldn't be saving many, if any, from the hell there lives are reported to be.

So from a political viewpoint - you can help nobody and ruin your political career in one fell swoop, no MP is going to put their neck on the line for that.

I admit the legal selling viewpoint is a seductive illusion - well maintained brothels ensuring no people were traffic'd or coerced into taking part, the girls were clean of drugs as well as infections (hey, safe sex don't stop crabs) but if you think that will put an end to the other tier you're quite deluded or naive.

I suppose a good example would be to look at real life situations where it has been legalised, such as Amsterdam. I recently went there on a stag weekend and although I didn't touch I certainly looked in the windows and it didn't look much like pimps, trafficking or drugs had been stamped out by legalisation, especially when couple with the "first hand" reports from my friends who did partake in the local delicacy's.

 

[ttankzero]

The most disturbing thing about this thread is how many people only think so far as "Why is it illegal for a person to decide what they do with their body?" Laws making prostitution illegal don't exist for protecting a person against themselves: otherwise, self-mutilation would be illegal.

Illegal activity needs to be regarded in the damages it causes to peoples lives, and decisions about the activities need to be made on the basis of cost-effectiveness of the improvements you would make by causing the activities.

The most markedly heinous aspect of prostitution is the treatment of prostitutes by their handlers. Sexual slavery takes any promise of kind treatment, respect, loving relationships, and physical security from their victims and replaces it with a lifetime of repeated forced, unconsensual sex, drug-addiction and legal troubles.

The second major negative consideration of prostitution is the spread of infectious diseases.

The third is its social implications for customers/prostitutes.

Sexual slavery and infectious diseases can be partially alleviated by legalizing prostitution. The competition of government-sanctioned brothels would make sexual slavery as an outlet for customers who simply want to pay for sex less profitable. Regulations for the use of condoms would reduce the spread of disease over the legal customer/prostitute populace. However, niches which cannot be fulfilled by sanctioned brothels would still exist. Customers desiring cheaper prostitutes, or unprotected sex, customers having diseases which prohibit them from legal prostitution, or even more disgustingly desiring the ability to abuse and dominate their prostitute would still exist, and the criminal underworld could employ the same tactics it currently uses to fulfill these niches and remain profitable.

Some people refuse to think of these things objectively, and pleas to logic for sanctioned prostitution by politicians would fall on many deaf ears, resulting in public outcry. It's true that any movement to legalize prostitution would be political suicide.

I think that for the benefit of making prostitution a taxable industry, for general health-and-safety and the trouble it would save many would-be sexual slaves, its more than worth it to legalize prostitution. Good luck finding an entire Senate/House of Representatives willing to fall on their swords to bring it about.


Also, we need a league of Batmens who do nothing but kill pimps who operate via psychological domination/drug addiction. I'm a firm believer in the basic value of human life, and I believe that any person who could do that to another person loses their own value tenfold.

I mean, ideally it'd be best if we could convince violent pimps that their ways made life as we know it worse, and that it's better to provide good services like mowing grass, or binding wounds, or treating diseases, or making steel, or advancing the arts, or engineering products. I doubt that's possible though... so the Batmens they should get.