Since becoming a sexually active women ahem let’s just say several years ago, this has always been a hot topic for me. I simply cannot understand why or how a service in exchange for money can be deemed against the law. I’ve heard so many arguments relating to moral values, disease, etc., but i just can’t accept those. So it may be morally lacking in someone’s opinion, I do not see that as acceptable grounds for making it a crime, no one gets hurt, men and women act on their own free will. If a woman chooses this as a career it is her choice, if a man chooses to pay, it is his. Smoking causes disease, it’s not a crime. I can pay a person to cook my food, clean my house, cut my hair, clean my teeth, fix my car, cut my toe nails for christ sake, but I can not pay them to give me an orgasm and possibly have one themselves. Where is the logic in this? I have my own ideas on underlying reasons, most may seem man-hating but they are not. But I’d like a little feedback. The floor is yours…
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts? Tori Amos
I agree with you. Make it legal and at least the prostitute will pay “some taxes”, be licensed, and hopefully checked for STD’s. I’m sure that religious influence on our lawmakers plays a part in making prostitution a crime.
On the whole, I agree with you. Prostitution is kind of like the Bee Gees, nauseates me without really morally outraging me. Less enlightened souls seem to want to ban stuff because it is icky, but I have never been tempted to advocate bans on everything I think is icky, since then I would pretty much be banning the whole culture [exaggeration for humorous effect].
But I digress. One thing I think is important:
I don’t particularly think the Nevada “ranches” are a good model for legalized prostitution. I need to know more about how those places are regulated, but from what I’ve heard it isn’t really a great deal for the women. I mean, to me the whole point of legalizing prostitution is destroying the pimps (no, silly, not destroying their bodies, destroying their careers). So maybe I have a sexist view of the underworld - the women are just trying to make a living, the men are oppressive pigs who should try giving those johns sexual favors for a change. Sexist or not, my goal would be to protect the women and put the pimps out of a job. I gather, though, that the Nevada hookers are required to work for an organization, and follow that organization’s rules, and they’re out of the job if they refuse a customer.
And how the hell do you protect someone against sexual harassment in a place like that? “Hey boss, that guy hasn’t showered in two weeks and he’s demanding sex and he says he likes it real rough and I don’t like being treated like livestock.” “Well babe, this is a ranch after all.” As icky as hookers are (subjective, I know), they still shouldn’t be treated like chattel - they should be allowed to choose their place of business, their customers, and their hours, like any other business person. I suppose if they choose to work at a brothel, they should follow that brothel’s policies, but the law doesn’t allow them that choice.
How do you regulate these non-brothel prostitutes? Uhh, I don’t know. Maybe they could form a trade association and promulgate some standards. I don’t have a really detailed policy here, but I can’t buy the Nevada model, unless I understand it completely wrong.
Any similarity in the above text to an English word or phrase is purely coincidental.
WOO-HOO! Let’s hear it for the floozies! I’m all for legalized, controlled prostitution. I don’t think it’s icky, I don’t think it ruins marriages, and the girls need protection when some drunken cowboy wants to play “round 'em up and brand 'em.” It’s a victimless crime, and the disease end of it can be easily controlled by regulating their medical care. Will it stop ALL disease? No. But hey, everyone picks up a bug at work sooner or later.
The only reason I can think of for keeping it illegal is that evertime the gov’t gets involves in something it tends to screw it up. Or down. Or even doggy-doggy.
I was watching a history program the other night and was interested in discovering that prostitution was legal until sometime between WW1 and WW2, when there was some big morality issue which swept through the nation, during which time the then legalized pot and cocaine became illegal. Also at the same time, many medications became illegal because of ‘snake oil’ salesmen who sold patent medicines that had nice little things in them like mercury and rat poison.
In Nevada, where prostitution is legal, there are good and bad houses. The good ones require that the girls are checked medially, require condoms, no drugs, and the women hire on of their own free will. The not so good places have a tendency to overlook drugs, are not so picky about clients and will hire streetwalkers who are also drug abusers. The law requires in all places, frequent AIDS testing, as well as checks for any other STDs, plus registering and licensing for the workers. They are covered in some places by a union, plus the normal labor laws are in effect.
I feel that prostitution should be legal all over because it would decrease the incidents of rape, STDs, the criminal element which accompanies illegal street walking, and the very frequent occurrence of violent pimps.
OK, handy, thank you for distracting us from the issue at hand. But psycat’s physical charms (wowie! zowie!) should hopefully not prevent us from being objective.
psycat, my arguments against prostitution (as also seen in the other thread) are mostly this:
a) One must be very careful about preventing the forced prostitution of children. (see the web page for Captive Daughters or Children of the Night for examples.) In many countries, male clients, for fear of AIDS, or for other reasons, ask for prostitutes that are younger and younger.
b) I still think that prostitution cannot be good for a positive relationship between people. Most men that have sex with a prostitute (I’m guessing here) would probably consider her as being immoral and contemptible. As I said before, how many men do you think that have sex with a prostitute would marry one? So, in your profession, to constantly be in contact with clients that despise you cannot be positive.
Quand les talons claquent, l’esprit se vide.
Maréchal Lyautey
I think prostitution should be legal. One of my good friends back in Texas is a former prostitute and for someone with basically no skills it afforded him a nice income and kept him from stealing and robbing to earn a living. During this time he worked for an escort service and made between $2000-4000 a week. Most of us can only dream of an income like that. Anyway, I don’t really know much about the escort service that he worked for except that he could choose his clients as he wished and only had to work the hours he wanted. Eventhough I would not ever choose to be a prostitute, I think it should be legalized basically for tax reasons. He was one of a hundred or so prostitutes that worked for the service. The income they brought in would contribute significantly more to taxes especially since they are not taxed currently. (The escort service was eventually closed down and made the news.) Anyway, in the gay escort world, I was informed that he had to get tested every month for HIV and several other STDs. They weren’t too stringent on drug usage though, but I believe with it being legalized those issues will be more prevalent. Also, it would make the negative issues involving the pimps irrelevant. I believe The Netherlands has a good prostitution system. We should probably ask Coldfire how it works. (Has anyone seen him lately?)
HUGS!
Sqrl
Gasoline: As an accompaniement to cereal it made a refreshing change. Glen Baxter
Having just returned from Amsterdam i have to say it seems to work incredibly well,over there at least.It wasn’t particularly tacky,definately very clean and most affordable…from what i was told! It was cheap,prices around $30 a time and the women on the whole where very pretty.Should it be introduced more widely?..most definately,you dont see dirty old men leering from the corners,probably because they can afford to partake in the pleasures available! Somehow i doubt i’ll see the same in the Middle East when i’m there next year!
Some organization will have fun developing “standards” for sex that the prostitutes have to follow. If it’s legal and the sex is poor, you can sue them. The lawyers will make some money. Imagine having your license to have sex revoked.
Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m a friggin accountant, and a single mom.
Thanks for the compliments on my pic, i guess,but you can’t make the assumption that because I am attractive and I am for legalized prostitution, then I must be one.
I consider myself to be an intelligent, professional(as in I work in a cubicle, [italic]not[/italic] a bedroom, and a pretty good, loving mom.
I would not personally choose this line of work, it is just my belief that it is, in fact, work, and should not be a crime. I think so many women would benefit from having this as a legal option for supporting themselves.
Again, thanks for taking the time to check out my page. Just please don’t make blind assumptions.
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts? Tori Amos
psycat90- I didn’t get the impression that Arnold was saying you were, shall we say, ‘in the trade’. Handy’s comment was a bit over the top, though, and for not biting his head off I think you are remarkably restrained, even for an accountant.
p.s. I sent an e-mail apologizing also. Again, I didn’t mean that you, psycat90, were a prostitute. I was attempting in my clumsy english to use the word “your” in the general sense, i.e. “if your profession were…”
