Prostitution, legalise or not?

[Asmodean]

I hope I haven't started a why can't I sell my body parts in a free market derail.

Ruined. 

[Sweetdeath]

I guess whatever works for some people. I need money pretty badly for bills right now, and would love to get my apt already, but i'd rather work a different route.
I only feel sad when some people (its not only women...) feel that this is all they are worth, because maybe they have no education or job skills.

[Ali]

Is everyone agreed that prostitutes are only women who have been forced to sell a service?
Aren't there also women who see this as a way to make good money very fast? I mean, a high end call girl makes more working 10 hours a week then I make in a month.

"Hmmm... I can work 40 hours a week at Kentuky Fried Chicken, or I can blow the Colonel for 30 minutes."
-Bill Maher-

No, I believe there are some women who do it because it's an easy way to make a lot of money fast and they don't mind it.  In that scenario, I'm fine with it.  Do what you want, it's your body.  But like SD, I think that a lot (I would dare say the majority) of prostitutes in this country are people who do it because they don't feel that they have better choices.  That makes me sad.  There should always be a better choice than selling your body to strangers.

[En_Route]

Is everyone agreed that prostitutes are only women who have been forced to sell a service?
Aren't there also women who see this as a way to make good money very fast? I mean, a high end call girl makes more working 10 hours a week then I make in a month.

"Hmmm... I can work 40 hours a week at Kentuky Fried Chicken, or I can blow the Colonel for 30 minutes."
-Bill Maher-

No, I believe there are some women who do it because it's an easy way to make a lot of money fast and they don't mind it.  In that scenario, I'm fine with it.  Do what you want, it's your body.  But like SD, I think that a lot (I would dare say the majority) of prostitutes in this country are people who do it because they don't feel that they have better choices.  That makes me sad.  There should always be a better choice than selling your body to strangers.

That's well said.

[Amicale]

No, I believe there are some women who do it because it's an easy way to make a lot of money fast and they don't mind it.  In that scenario, I'm fine with it.  Do what you want, it's your body.  But like SD, I think that a lot (I would dare say the majority) of prostitutes in this country are people who do it because they don't feel that they have better choices.  That makes me sad.  There should always be a better choice than selling your body to strangers.

Exactly, Ali. Well put. I'd say that the majority of prostitutes in Canada are in the same boat as those in America -- most do it because they feel they have no other options, and very few do it because it's one of many options for them and/or because they enjoy the sex or the money. Prostitution itself is legal here -- you can sell or purchase sexual 'services', but any actual activities that basically advertise the sex trade, ie, advertising brothels, or walking up to someone and handing out flyers, isn't legal. Our laws here are a really mixed bag, and they're confusing. Mostly, from what I've heard on the news, sex workers can certainly go to police if they've been assaulted/raped, but on the other hand, it isn't easy for them to access any other kind of support that could help them, such as making sure they all have regular STD screening, condoms/other forms of protection, and most importantly, making sure they work for people who are not taking advantage of them. It's not regulated here by any means. There's no way of knowing which locations it'd even be 'safe' to work in. The other huge issue we've got are underage minors involved in sex work. There are tons of them. Just in Toronto, there's probably just under a couple thousand kids working in the sex trade, 14, 15, 16 year olds, etc, passing themselves off as 18. It's really, REALLY sad.

For those who are of legal age and actually WANT to work in that industry, I think those people should be targeted for health exams, use of protection against pregnancy/STD's, and again, most importantly, for the safety of their work environment. Abuse, withholding pay, and rape are the main concerns, but there's also drug use, blackmail, alcoholism etc in the mix as well, and I personally think our social system's failed these people badly. There NEED to be support programs in place for people who DO want to get out of this industry (including other job training/drug rehab/counseling)... and there need to be support systems in place to maintain the health, safety and general well-being of people who want to STAY in the industry. Above all, they need to crack down hard on the efforts to get minors out of the industry altogether.

This is where I have a problem with the opinions of columnists/podcasters (relationship/sex advice guru) like Dan Savage. He takes calls from time to time from sex workers who 'love' their jobs, love the money, want to get into the industry, etc... and his basic attitude seems to be that sex work can really be empowering for women. Sure, for some women, it could be, but he never has publically addressed the much seedier side of the industry. Saying "use condoms, use common sense, and only take the clients you want to take" isn't addressing prostitutes in general. That's only addressing freelance sex workers who enjoy the opportunity to create their own business. Everyone else, the majority of sex workers I daresay, don't work for themselves, don't have much say in who they have sex with, don't have the ability to set their own fees, may not have easy access to health care, may not have any way of getting themselves out of a terrible situation, etc...

All around, it's really a mess.

[Guardian85]

If there ever was a case mede for how well high-end pristitutes are doing it is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9PrR_J9vJM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Thought this was funny as hell...

[Sandra Craft]

I'm not surprised that prostitutes would support Ron Paul -- as a Libertarian he actually supports keeping the Government out of peoples private lives, something the Republicans only give lip service to. 

[Amicale]

I'm not surprised that prostitutes would support Ron Paul -- as a Libertarian he actually supports keeping the Government out of peoples private lives, something the Republicans only give lip service to. 

I'm all for the government staying out of people's private lives. As our famous former prime minister Pierre Trudeau said, the governments have no business in the bedrooms of the people. I suppose though, to at least some extent, your workplace isn't exactly your 'private life' no matter what kind of work you're doing. My concern is that if there's a totally hands-off policy when it comes to the government and prostitution.... who will regulate fair wages, fair treatment, health, safety, and other employment standards etc?

[Sandra Craft]

I'm not surprised that prostitutes would support Ron Paul -- as a Libertarian he actually supports keeping the Government out of peoples private lives, something the Republicans only give lip service to. 

I'm all for the government staying out of people's private lives. As our famous former prime minister Pierre Trudeau said, the governments have no business in the bedrooms of the people. I suppose though, to at least some extent, your workplace isn't exactly your 'private life' no matter what kind of work you're doing. My concern is that if there's a totally hands-off policy when it comes to the government and prostitution.... who will regulate fair wages, fair treatment, health, safety, and other employment standards etc?

I think the hands off private lives is for the benefit of customers, not workers.  The Government would regulate prostitution (which will probably do more to kill the practice than any number of torch carrying Fundies) and stop arresting johns.

[Davin]

Penn and Teller, they did a fair episode about this in their Bullshit show.

I think one of the best arguments I saw on that episode was something like, "why is it illegal to charge for something that's perfectly legal to give away for free?"

It is legal to give away but illegal to sell your body parts (transplants) in many places, I can see the sense of it to avoid exploitation.  This prohibition may be beneficial because it reduces the incidence of desperates selling their kidneys.  The transplant process doesn't lend it self as easily to alleyway/car/cheap room exchanges.  With prostitution it is very hard too reduce the incidence of the act, and really it's not the incidence of the thing that concerns me, it is the suffering of the prostitute.  I think it's pretty clear making it illegal doesn't assist prostitutes.

I hope I haven't started a why can't I sell my body parts in a free market derail.

I really don't think they're comparable:
It's not perfectly legal to give out organs for free, there are many legal and safety issues involved when an untrained, unlicensed person removes an organ and attempts to give it to someone else.
People cannot legally give out their organs for free where ever or when ever they want.
There is no comparable risk between the two.
One gives something out that cannot be given out again.
One requires a third party to perform.

And so many other differences.

[Crow]

I have never used a prostitute and never intend to but I think it should be legalised and be regulated. Men and women are going to whore themselves out whether its legal or not. By legalising prostitution it will help with providing better conditions for those that do work in the industry and help authorities be able to focus on those that are getting abused and taken advantage of, it hopefully would also help with what I think is a much worse problem of those running the despicable act of sex slavery.

[pytheas]

the second oldest profession should be legal
ofcourse out in the open, clean, protected, regulated, expanded, sophisticated and with increased pensions and recognition of  "outstanding" social contribution.

[ThinkAnarchy]

Of course it should be legalized. People go into a particular line of work for the wrong reasons all the time. That is not an excuse to criminalize an industry. An adult has the right to sell their property (including their body) if they choose. The individual owns their body, therefor, the individual has a right to rent their body out if they choose to do so.

Simple as that.

Edit: Also, a lot of society is unhappy with their jobs. Perhaps we should ban Dishwashers... I loved getting yelled at by stupid servers and lower management because the dishes weren't being cleaned quick enough. I was miserable and felt degraded... That profession should be banned.

[Amicale]

Of course it should be legalized. People go into a particular line of work for the wrong reasons all the time. That is not an excuse to criminalize an industry. An adult has the right to sell their property (including their body) if they choose. The individual owns their body, therefor, the individual has a right to rent their body out if they choose to do so.

Simple as that.

Edit: Also, a lot of society is unhappy with their jobs. Perhaps we should ban Dishwashers... I loved getting yelled at by stupid servers and lower management because the dishes weren't being cleaned quick enough. I was miserable and felt degraded... That profession should be banned.

I agree with you that it should be legalized, and that banning something just because someone went into a line of work with the 'wrong reasons' is a weak argument against it, as well as the argument that someone might be miserable or feel degraded in that line of work -- as you said, lots of us feel degraded and insignificant at work.

But just to play devil's advocate for a moment, as a dishwasher, were you in danger of one of your bosses abusing you physically, raping you, subjecting you to unsafe working environments that risked your wellbeing, or allowing you to contract a potentially deadly disease? Those are a lot of the concerns I see being brought up with prostitution. That, and the 'management' as it were, of prostitution establishments don't have anyone to answer to if they're screwing up or doing something that puts you in danger.

[philosoraptor]

Prostitution fascinates me.  Or rather, the fixation with it fascinates me.  I find it so ironic that we can live in a culture that regularly broadcasts to us through media and advertising that sex sells and that women's bodies are a commodity, but at the same time looks down its nose at prostitution, stripping, etc...

I'd like to see prostitution legalized and regulated, so that the whole process is safer for both sex workers and their clients.  Or if they aren't going to full-on legalize and regulate, at the very least decriminalize it so workers don't have to fear contacting police for help and we don't have to listen to any more bullshit news stories about politicians and famous people soliciting sex instead of talking about the issues that actually impact our societies.  It's legal in parts of Nevada, I don't see why it couldn't and shouldn't be elsewhere in America.  The impact is could have on decreasing human trafficking would be tremendous.

I'm probably a weirdo and a sexual deviant, but I don't see anything wrong with prostitution and I think it's quite appealing as a job option where you make good money with flexible hours.  I do think it has the potential to be empowering for some people, especially when you consider how many sex workers have regular clients.  Part of me thinks it might actually feel pretty good to know that not only are you so good at giving blow jobs that people will pay you to do it, but that they might come back on a regular basis.  If I had my choice between prostitution and many of the food service and customer service jobs I've worked where I got paid shit to be treated like shit, well then I guess you better bust out the KY and handcuffs.  Having sex for money is no more or no less degrading than being a janitor, a garbage man, a professional diaper changer or whatever else you can think of that involves doing pretty gross shit for not nearly enough money.