Would You Buy These Halloween Costumes For YOUR Kids?

Great Debates
41

Prostitutes, generally, do not commit “assaults”. What they do is harmless compared to other “crimes”. The scariest thing about them is that they can transmit disease.

So can mosquitos.

Pimps can be violent, so that’s another story.

But the point of Halloween - which so many have lost - is to dress as something scary and/or evil. It’s to put on costumes that would frighten away unwanted spirits/entities.
Wearing a pimp or ho costume should be saying “I find pimps and hos scary or evil”. What I have a problem with is people dressing their kids in cute little fairy princess outfits. Because that says to me that they find fairy princesses evil (Which I would agree with, actually).

And for the record, I was and evil seamonkey.

42

Hmm.

So we are afraid of demons, goblins, etc., so we’re going to dress up like them so we can scare away the things we’re afraid of?

Wouldn’t boogeymen be more afraid of, oh, angels and biblical characters than hookers, devils and witches? Seems to me that evil things would be right at home with, well, themselves.

43

Yah, I know, I know. But that’s the story of Halloween (am I gonna get yelled at by Wiccan Dopers?).
I always thought it was a little goofy myself.

I just think that dressing up as something truly violent, like a suicide bomber, an axe murderer, etc. is a hell of a lot worse than a prostitute.

44

Ahh, so hookers are evil, is that what you’re saying?

45

Were you referring to my post? If so, that’s what I meant; pimps are the ones commiting the assaults (although not all prositututes are above it, or above, say, petty theft, for that matter).

46

You answered your own question. The historical origin of the role is secondary. If, in the kid’s mind, “pirate” means a tough guy who sails around saying “arrr” a lot, it’s harmless. Even the part about robbing other ships is usually played as sort of Robin Hoodesque. If, however, he thinks of pirates primarily as cruel rapists and murderers, encouraging him to play that role is problematic to say the least. As I said earlier, it’s all about context. I suspect most people in the 1800s would object to a pirate costume.

Julia Roberts notwithstanding, the image of streetwalkers has not been similarly sanitized, largely because they’re still an ongoing concern, and everyone knows or will soon find out the sad truth about their lives. If in some distant future we have succeeded in developing a society where women will not feel compelled to protitute themselves, I imagine it might be possible that Aileen Wournos would be a cartoon character the way pirates or Vlad Tepes are now; and in that culture, maybe I wouldn’t mind my daughter dressing up that way. In the meantime I don’t want her to think that battered, raped, drug-addicted women are “fun.”

47

Judge much?

What if they want to? What if they make a conscious a legal choice to follow that lifestyle as some do already in Nevada?

Prostitution does not equal battered.
Prostitution does not equal rape.
Prostitution does not equal drug-addicted.

48

stpauler, I agree with you.
Tain’t nothing wrong with bein’ a prostitute. Sex is not dirty. Making a living out of using your talents is not a crime.

‘Course she’s goin’ to hell…

I said “taint”. Hee hee.

49

WorldNet Daily complains about a flapper costume being cross referenced as a “ho” costume and we’re bothering to talk about it as if it were a real issue?

This is like having an argument over what The Onion says. WND is the same thing… except where The Onion says something funny and over the top ridiculous out of wit and humor, WND says something stupid and over the top out of being, well, stupid and ridiculous.

50

Denial much?

Note the use of the term “streetwalker.”
Note the costume in question is “ho” not “high-priced escort”
Note that this was addressed in earlier post.

Very high statistical correlation. If you know of any women selling themselves on the street who are physically and emotionally healthy, pass along my apologies.

I’m a libertarian, chief. As a matter of principle, I think prostitution should be legal in all 50 states. But it’s glaringly obvious that as it stands now, prostitution is a trade generally pursued by women who feel they have no other options and who do so at great personal cost. It’s not a lifestyle any sane parent wants for their child.

51

Nope, no denial here.

You’re debating semantics and a tedious one at that. If you really want to go down that road, you’re going by yourself.

I’ve a couple friends that were/are happy in the biz. They have a realistic outlook on life. They’re also very comfortable with their sexuality and no they didn’t dress up as flappers, prostitutes, or “streetwalkers” for Halloween for that matter. They make a shitload of money for minimal work. They socially drink. They don’t use drugs. They haven’t been raped. Are they exceptions to the rule? Dunno. Might be, might not be. Your apologies are duly noted.

1)Glaringly obvious? Maybe you should site it or add the “IMHO”
2)Yes, it’s only women who prostitute themselves. :rolleyes:
3)I suppose you know everyone’s life’s intentions too.
4)Do you personally know anyone that is/has been a prostitute and have talked with them about why they do/did it?

Is it employment or is it a lifestyle? I am an accountant but I don’t live the “accountant lifestyle” whatever that would mean. I can’t imagine any sane parent would want their kids to be a pirate, nor an axe murderer, nor a vampire (if you wanted to get back on topic). One’s employment doesn’t define a person but life would be nice if you could shove us into your little boxes. Of course, one’s Halloween costume doesn’t mean that’s what you’re going to grow up into either. Otherwise I’d be one melange of Ragged Andy, Darth Vader, Pooh Bear, Pirate, Robot, Turtle, Army Commando. Can’t say I grew up to be any.

52

Semantics? I specifically said, twice, that I was not talking about high-priced escorts. Do you think there is no meaningful distinction between them and a ten dollar crack whore? Are your freinds in fact “selling themselves on the street?”

Again, please read carefully; note the word “generally.”

Yes. My experience has mostly on the lower end of the scale (i.e. streetwalkers). I also have been acquainted with a couple of strippers, some of whom turned tricks. The streetwalkers were all substance abusers, and had pretty much horrific personal stories (I met them while working in homeless shelters and the like). The strippers I met while driving taxi or as personal freinds: they had marginal job skills, and felt (rightly or wrongly) they had no other way to support kids or pay the rent. None of them seemed to really enjoy it, and all of them were deeply emotionally hurting.
My assertion was and remains that street prostitutes (i.e. “Hos,” i.e. not $500 call girls) do not live fun or exciting lives and that most of them suffer greatly. Are you seriously saying you dispute that and want a cite?

Ummm… yeah.

And if you actually read the thread, you’ll find that nobody has said that, certainly not myself.
Dude, you don’t know me and I don’t know you, so let’s kill the more-broadminded-than-thou routine. If I wasn’t making my points clearly, say so and I can clarify; but you’re not getting anyone anywhere by putting words in my mouth.

53

I can’t wait until these kids join Junior Achievement.

54

Ya know **Furt, ** you’re getting into your semantics thing. You’re on your own.

Maybe if you wanna play it, you should make some definitions instead of broadbrushing everything. Because you’re talking, ho’s here, prostitutes there, streetwalkers over there, and suddenly strippers in your last post. Feel free to bandy about all of your terms but don’t suck me down into your ambiguous quagmire.

Your personal experience meeting the pros/strips/hos/escorts only in the homeless shelter (and the like)…well, I’m sure you’ll meet the same unhappy people if they were carpenters, bicyclists, salespeople or whatever profession. Homeless shelters aren’t a ray of frickin’ sunshine and you’re going to hear horrific stories at these places.

55

I had a long chat with a stripper about two months ago (yes, I was at a club, yes, I had the wife’s permission, it was connected to a wedding, NO, I don’t care if you believe me or not). She just sat down next to me and chatted me up. I declined the lap dance, but bought her a drink, and we had a nice, normal conversation.

She came from a troubled home (father died when she was young, mother had emotional troubles after the death, forcing her to be quite self-sufficient), but worked dancing through college, paying her own way entirely with income from the club, loans, and grants, and now has a job at a major Boston bank. She continues to dance to help move up from her townhouse to a home with a back yard. She doesn’t want to dance for many more years, but claimed she didn’t mind it. She said she actually enjoyed some aspects of it, and had no problem getting naked in front of people. Many of the other dancers were her friends, and basically it was just a job. I must say, I liked her a lot as a person, found nothing pathetic or especially pitiable about her, and it seemed her safety was well-ensured by the formidable bouncing staff on hand.

Obviously I don’t frequent strip clubs, or I wouldn’t have been asking this woman so many questions about her life. I just figured, hey, I’ve never really talked to a stripper before, so here’s an opportunity to find out the Straight Dope, so to speak. An n of 1 is hardly significant, but she indicated a lot of the girls were basically like her: Just people who found dancing an easy way to earn a living; most had other jobs or career aspirations, and were in the biz to get somewhere else eventually. It just wasn’t a skid row story she was telling, though it wasn’t a purely rosy one either, certainly.

I guess what I found most remarkable was her seeming normalcy. She wasn’t a skank, or a bimbo, or any of the other pejoratives that come to mind when I think of that scene. She wasn’t a Julia-Roberts style working girl either. Just, well, a very average-seeming lady with a nice bod who used it to make some good money. There didn’t seem to be much more to it.

56

Y’know, when the joke a thread title makes me think of turns out to be real, the end is nigh.

57

Well, it’s pretty obvious who the Junior Democrat and the Junior Republican will be.

:smiley:

58

sigh

Can the Governor of New Jersey not catch a break?

59

I’ve always heard it called a bitchslap or a pimpslap.

60

See, you use your pimphand (dominant hand) to bitchslap (or pimpslap) the ho. You have to keep her in line. Pimpin’ aint easy, folks.