Why is prostitution illegal but making a porn movie is legal?

Why is prostitution illegal but it’s legal to make a porn video? Would prostitution be legal if the two parties videotaped it?

Remember, some porn producers, like Max Hardcore, have sex with the women they pay to be in their movies.

Because porn stars are being paid to act, not to have sex. The fact that that acting involves having sex is irrelevant in the eyes of the law.

Welcome to the boards. I hope your stay is enjoyable. You ought to know that with the size and traffic of this board, a lot of topics have been covered before. This is one of them. It’s generally considered good etiquette to use the search function to find previous threads before starting a question.

Well in Canada I know that prostitution is not illegal, solicitation is. I.e. someone can’t go on the street and sell their body. Also I remember from law class that there is some clause that says only the person selling their body can benefit, so no pimping.

The problem is that I’ve already seen that explanation on another message board but no one could back it up with actual citation of a law.

And then it brings one to the question, why don’t Johns just pay prostitutes to have sex and do a little acting? Wouldn’t role-playing qualify? Would the law really be that easy to circumvent? There has to be more to this than just the explanation you provided.

It’s art Goddamnit! Art! Art! Art! It’s only by the sheerest chance that it reminds you of junk when you look at it.

For some reason, I think I remember hearing years and years ago, that it has to do with being video taped and published.

because thats the way its always been and no one is powerful enough or cares enough to change the system.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=82797

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47397

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3935

That seems like a fine line to me. Instead of buying a movie, why should I not pay for a live performance with audience participation - what is the difference?

Casting

Plus you’re probably not zoned for the live performance.

Becuz, to make a legal porno flick in the usa you have to have porno film permits, see? Now only a couple (?) of cities in the usa allow you to purchase said permits. No permit, no porno flick. Easy.

Getting paid to act? I wish they could act.

It’s not so much the act that people want to legislate against, it’s the sale. That’s why porn shops get run out of town, but online porn is becoming increasingly available.

I can just envision a prostitute calculating tax :slight_smile:

Cite?

I am absolutely unaware of any such thing as a “porno film permit,” and am looking forward to learning something new.

  • Rick