# What if you find out your daughter is a prostitute **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 29, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411 "2010-09-29T00:13:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/101 "2010-10-02T04:31:14Z")
> [@Otara](#): > > I live in Australia where prostitution is legal. Huh. I didn’t know this. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/102 "2010-10-02T05:34:50Z")
> [@Otara](#): > > I live in Australia where prostitution is legal. So what is that supposed to prove? ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/103 "2010-10-02T05:52:09Z")
That the available research base here is a tad different to the US. Otara ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/104 "2010-10-02T09:05:30Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > > [@Stoid](#): > > > > Okay. Would that be based on your extensive personal experience with prostitutes? > > This is a thread chock full of folks who have never so much as spoken to a prostitute, making all kinds of judgmental extrapolations. In fairness, my experience is limited to the legal prostitutes in NV (hey, prostitutes have tax issues, too! All kinds of professions stroll through my doors), but I can say that those girls seem quite pleased with their job and feel their representation on documentaries and series is accurate. They’re probably just lying whores, though. Look, I want to make it clear that I’m not being judgemental. I think there’s absolutely nothing morally wrong with being a prostitute and if someone is truly happy doing that, good luck to them. Everyone is free to make their own decisions about what they want to do with their bodies. I’m just not convinced that it really is that great a career choice for your mental wellbeing. And yes, perhaps I am extrapolating from what I feel myself, but I do want to say that with prostitution I feel there are many women out there trying to convince others and themselves that they are okay with it when they’re really not, (I’m a woman, myself btw, if it is relevant) and many others, men and women, who want to believe them. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/105 "2010-10-02T09:23:26Z")
Not a parent, male. The usual personal and social outcomes of being a prostitute look so bad that I’d be extremely unhappy for my hypothetical daughter. (I am in favour of prostitution being legal but pity prostitutes and despise their clients.) ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/106 "2010-10-02T13:18:34Z")
I do like to think of myself as progressive and I really like to think that ‘live and let live’ is a fantastic approach to life but I just can’t, _can’t_, wrap my head around having sex with people you don’t want to have sex with and not acquiring some serious issues from it. How does that not damage you, some unwanted dong moving in and out of your body? I wasn’t raised with any particular moral baggage regarding sex but fucking somebody you don’t actually want to fuck, and doing it every single day? How does that not screw you up? I suppose it’s possible that it’s just a failure of my imagination but I’m really ok with thinking prostitution is a pretty nasty way to make a living. If I ever have kids and one of them turns out to be a literal whore I’m gonna say now that it means I was an absolute failure as a father and I don’t even know how I’d deal with that. At that point I’d worry about giving them _any_ help or advice because apparently so far all I’ve done is fuck them up. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/107 "2010-10-02T16:19:38Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > I do like to think of myself as progressive and I really like to think that ‘live and let live’ is a fantastic approach to life but I just can’t, _can’t_, wrap my head around having sex with people you don’t want to have sex with and not acquiring some serious issues from it. How does that not damage you, some unwanted dong moving in and out of your body? I wasn’t raised with any particular moral baggage regarding sex but fucking somebody you don’t actually want to fuck, and doing it every single day? How does that not screw you up? > > I suppose it’s possible that it’s just a failure of my imagination but I’m really ok with thinking prostitution is a pretty nasty way to make a living. If I ever have kids and one of them turns out to be a literal whore I’m gonna say now that it means I was an absolute failure as a father and I don’t even know how I’d deal with that. At that point I’d worry about giving them _any_ help or advice because apparently so far all I’ve done is fuck them up. You’re describing rape, not prostitution. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/108 "2010-10-02T18:48:00Z")
Eh, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/109 "2010-10-02T23:06:54Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Look, I want to make it clear that I’m not being judgemental. I think there’s absolutely nothing morally wrong with being a prostitute and if someone is truly happy doing that, good luck to them. I’d wish good luck to them if they were unhappy. ---
**Author:** ![Willandrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Willandrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Willandrew)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/110 "2016-10-07T15:34:35Z")
I don’t have kids of my own but I do have nieces and even some of my closest friends that I have are like nieces and I’ve watched them all grow up. it is unthinkable that any one of them could end up selling their body to some strange perv for loot. Even worse if she ends up paying some pimp. It’s hard for me to imagine any caring parent accepting this. I would feel I really failed as a parent if she end up being a prostitute. I mean think about it some of these that guys that could be paying for sex with your daughter could be your age or even older. This could be a buddy you work with, not literally, but someone that is similar. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/111 "2016-10-07T18:16:52Z")
> [@Willandrew](#): > > I don’t have kids of my own but I do have nieces and even some of my closest friends that I have are like nieces and I’ve watched them all grow up. it is unthinkable that any one of them could end up selling their body to some strange perv for loot. Even worse if she ends up paying some pimp. > > It’s hard for me to imagine any caring parent accepting this. I would feel I really failed as a parent if she end up being a prostitute. I mean think about it some of these that guys that could be paying for sex with your daughter could be your age or even older. > This could be a buddy you work with, not literally, but someone that is similar. Does it affect your opinion at all that studies of sex workers in Australia (where it’s legal and destigmatized) find that most of them are relatively happy with their job? “In The Netherlands, three-quarters of indoor workers report that they enjoy their work. Research on 95 call girls in Sydney, Australia found that they were generally emotionally healthy. All of the escorts studied by Foltz took “pride in their profession” and viewed themselves as “morally superior” to others: “they consider women who are not ‘in the life’ to be throwing away woman’s major source of power and control [sexual capital], while they as prostitutes are using it to their own advantage as well as for the benefit of society.” And an Australian study found that half of call girls and brothel workers felt that their work as a “major source of satisfaction” in their lives, while 7 out of 10 said they would “definitely choose” this work if they had it to do over again. Other studies of indoor work report that the workers felt the job had at least some positive effect on their lives or believed that they were providing a valuable service.” > **[weitzer-new-directions.pdf](https://maggiemcneill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/weitzer-new-directions.pdf)** > > 166.76 KB ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/112 "2016-10-07T18:42:20Z")
What about a zombie daughter? I’m still trying to figure out how a non-parent could have a daughter. So would this be your biological daughter you didn’t raise? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/113 "2016-10-07T23:47:18Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > What about a zombie daughter? > > I’m still trying to figure out how a non-parent could have a daughter. So would this be your biological daughter you didn’t raise? I presume it means “non-parents, what do you think your reaction would be?” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/114 "2016-10-08T03:23:14Z")
Parent here. My daughter would have to be miserable and desperate to become a prostitute, so I’d be awfully unhappy if that were to happen. If i had some hypothetical daughter who enjoyed the work and was well paid, I imagine I would support her. But I would be trying to rescue the actual daughter whom I know. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/115 "2016-10-08T14:42:49Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > What about a zombie daughter? Well, the cost of funerals has gone up 80% in just that last ten years and some people get caught without insurance. She’ll have to find a way to pay for that casket Somehow… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411/116 "2016-10-08T17:32:46Z")
I suppose it would be crass to inquire into family discounts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-find-out-your-daughter-is-a-prostitute/555411.md?page=5)