An immodest proposal: Let's legalize prostitution

[Modem Butterfly]

Years ago, as a college student, I spent the summer in Reno and worked as a phone sex operator for a company called SimTel communications. The money was good, the work was easy, and I met a wide variety of humans, from a sweet little grandmother who attended mass twice a day and handled fetish calls better than anyone to a retired madam to several women who had been once, or still work, sex workers (prostitution is legal in Nevada, with certain restrictions). It was these women who fascinated me the most.

Like most folks, I had always held that legalized prostitution would create more problems then it would solve. But a closer look at legalized prostitution in Nevada was an eye-opener. Prostitutes keep more of their earnings, are required to keep drug and disease free, and don't live in constant fear of their lives and safety. It also adds to Nevada's tourist profits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Nevada

We should legalize prostitution, using the Nevada model, as a way to pay for the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast and for the disastrous war in Iraq, among other things. What do you all think?

[Wickerman]

1. as long as we legalize pot at the same time

cool with me. Don't partake of either, but tired of seeing tax dollars poured into enforcement of simple morality issues.

[Qibing Zero]

11. Exactly.

The strange thing is that while I have never even had the slightest urge to want to hire a prostitute, in my mind I have this glorious picture of the future with a courtesan society. An exeptionally clean organization wherein a large variety of people (of all sexes and sexualities) learn various techniques and what not, and the entire deal is like a professional yet loving approach without the extremely dirty title of 'prostitution'.

Maybe I'm just crazy.

[Lilith Velkor]

74. That's not crazy.

It's a beautiful idea.

[anarch]

94. not crazy at all,

and well said.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. I've always thought that legalizing prostitution had many more

advantages than drawbacks.

Same for legalizing marijuana.

[BlueJac]

10. What a great idea....

Oh yeah, impeach the chimp while we are at it.

[wtbymark]

3. Sure, and Pot too

"New Holland"

[Az]

4. Duh. The idea of laws against consential activities in a free society

Is patently absurd.

[Dez]

6. Yea, kinda makes us here

in the USA look not as free as we thought, eh? Chimpy's always talking about FREEDOM, yet the US population is 5% , but the prison population is 25%! Seems like Americans are the LEAST FREE in all the world.

[LizMoonstar]

16. to quote George Carlin:

"Selling is legal. Fucking is legal. So why isn't selling fucking legal?"



all too true. I did a project on this when I was in 10th grade (wayyyyy back in 1997 :D) and was proud to support legalization.

[bryant69]

5. This could give a whole new meaning to "Corporate Prostitute."

Or

Too bad Kinko's is already taken

or

Won't the sex corporations fight to elminate government regulation requiring a condom?

or

I guess you could say, I'm torn.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[converted_democrat]

55. Why on Earth would you think that sex corporations would fight to eliminate

government regulation requiring a condom? That is absurd.

[bryant69]

79. It's all about the bottom line

Why would corporations fight requirements that they provide fire escapes and fire extinguishers? But some of them did.

Anyway I still think the kinko's line is funny.

[converted_democrat]

80. It's absurd........

It would not happen. One of the the biggest arguments for the legalization is regulation for safety reasons. So people don't get diseases. How many corps. do you know of that want to get slammed with -your hooker gave me a disease- lawsuits??

[bryant69]

81. OK

The Condom joke might be a bit of exageration for comedic effect - but if you don't think Corporations cut corners all the time to squeeze out a bit more profit, well, maybe you should take a longer look at the corporate square.

This is a little bit like Rush asking increduously "Why would anybody want dirty water or dirty air?" to argue that corporations don't really want to pollute.

Allow me to repeat that I haven't made up my mind on legalized prostitution yet.

Bryant

[converted_democrat]

82. Okay, a question........

Have you ever read anything about the areas where legalization and regulation have happened? There has NEVER been a confirmed case of HIV transmitted in one of these areas, in Europe or the U.S.. Places where there is no regulation disease runs rampant. I understand why you're leery about safety and cutting corners in regard to Corps., but this is one area where that really does not apply. In fact the opposite is true. It's safer for the girls, and it's safer for the customers.

[bryant69]

83. I think that might a bit too rosy of a view

How many of the countries we are talking about have socialized medicine of one form or another, just out of curiousity?

[converted_democrat]

86. What does socialized medicine have to do with this?????

I'm talking about Reno, Nevada and Amsterdam. The girls there are checked weekly. What on Earth does that have to do with socialized medicine?

[bryant69]

89. Reno is a small area

Relitively easy to control, and nobodies making enough money that the need to cut corners is necessary. If this became a national program, well, it's hard to say what would happen next (but I have my suspisions)

Amsterdam, of course, does have socialized medicine, which enables more regular check ups. I wonder how many of thoes check ups the managers of those establishments have to pay for?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Modem Butterfly]

91. Prostitution is illegal in Reno

It's also illegal in Las Vegas.

There has not been a recorded case of HIV being contracted from a Nevada sex worker since the state began screening for HIV in the mid 80's.

[converted_democrat]

95. Sorry, I meant Carson City........

I was staying in Reno, when I got the Ads for the "service." That's how I found out about it. They had advertisements in the bathrooms at a couple different clubs, complete w/ trivia about how safe it was. Carson City and Reno are just down the road from each other.

edit-for my awful spelling

[converted_democrat]

96. Many of the "service" industry people all over this country have to go

through medical testing in order to get a license to get a job. I'm taking about waitresses and health care workers. In some places it's just local, in other places it's the whole state. They have to pay for their testing, so why wouldn't a prostitute in Nevada? I don't understand your logic, please explain to me, has you on the fence about this issue.

[bryant69]

98. You really don't understand my logic?

Hmmmmmm.

If prostitution is legalized across the united states there will be unforseen consequences. One possibility is McSex - some sort of corporate sex centers in order to tap into this potentially vast market.

You basically paint a picture in which McSex will act nobly out of self interest. They will want to avoid any bad press so they will naturally treat their workers well and make sure they get all their shots and so on.

My argument is that that's not necessarily what is going to happen. Certainly corporations have acted badly in the past; and I see no indication that they have changed. Parenthetically let me state that the corporate attitude towards women has been particularly bad (and odds are the employees of McSex will be largely women).

One solution is that McSex will be heavily regulated and thus will be forced to treat their workers well. That seems to be the Carson City Solution. My doubt there is that the Carson City Model would work for the nation as a whole - a corporation as small as ones that might exist in Carson City doesn't have the power to defend itself against government regulation; McSex, if it comes to be, certainly would have such defenses. Lobbyists and what not - to destroy regulation.

It's not like this isn't what's happened in the past - I don't see why the sex industry would be any different from anything else.

Bryant

[Modem Butterfly]

99. Please, oh please let me be the first one to market...

Once prostitution is legalized, I intend to be the first one to market with Starfucks!

ROFLMAO!

[bryant69]

100. That's a good name

I still like Kinko's. Has that nice ring of corporate solidity to it. But, unfortunately, it's now tied in with the concept of reproduction and so might turn people off.

[converted_democrat]

101. I think they will spring for the brand name condoms...........

and they use stuff beyond that, iodine dips and so forth. I don't understand it...The girls pay for their own testings. Are you sure your objections aren't moral? I mean from a safety standard there really is not the type of risk that I think, you think it to be. I respect any opinion that you have about the situation, and if your real issue is the moral perspective, I respect that to.

[bryant69]

104. Laughs

OK. I do have moral considerations as well, but I'm not going to move to that area.

If you want to believe in the benevolance of American Coorporations - that's your call. I don't.

[WoodrowFan]

102. McSex

would like that Supersized???

[jessicazi]

7. Yeah.

I believe I looked at the stats in Canada post-legalized prostitution and their crime numbers and what not, all decreased. Legalize pot and prostitution and we are on our way to a better country (oh and impeach the Shrub).

[zanne]

8. Fine with me.

I'd like to see prostitutes get rid of their pimps and maybe, just maybe, start being treated like human beings.

[lildreamer316]

9. ALL about it.

Would solve SO many problems IF HANDLED CORRECTLY.
Read "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do : The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country" by Peter McWilliams.

[pitohui]

14. what prob would it solve

you say it would solve "so" many problems but tell what it would solve

legal prostitution is already there for the girl who is clean, healthy, and not ripping johns off for drugs

this does not describe any large percent of the prostitute population

[lildreamer316]

21. Not talking about Nevada.

Everywhere.
Girls could be required to get health care and tested for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, much like some in the porn industry do (my SO used to be involved there so I have first hand account).
Girls would have recourse if a john hurt them or if a pimp tried to; but it would eventually put the pimps out of biz possibly; or get it to be run in a standardized regulated manner. (See Germany)
Girls would have recourse to get help psychologically and not be afraid to admit what they do for a living; possibly achieving the goal of getting some who do not need to be in the life out of it.
All of these factors contribute to a healthier happier worker who is at least a little less likely to use drugs in the first place. Of course if drugs were legal their use of that could be regulated and kept cleaner also. I have yet to study all the economics of it but the TAX REVENUE would certainly help alot of areas. If drugs are legal the price of such would eventually level out; so again if one was a junkie she would be just as likely to do another job than this one to get her money for her high; it not being as expensive as before.

[pitohui]

24. yes i realize many are unaware we have an open border w. nevada

fact remains, any usa citizen who wants to work in a legal brothel is perfectly free to do so

ppl move into nevada by the thousands every day

most whores can't work in legal brothels or in the porn industry because they're not clean

otherwise they'd already be there

who wouldn't rather be a porn star than a backstreet hooker

it is just a silly idea

not all movie stars are nicole kidman, not all women willing to sell their ass are gonna be jenna jameson

sorry

[zalinda]

28. Hookers go where the money is

and the money is in every town in the country. And most men don't care what you look like if they can get laid. Only the girls asking the big bucks need to look like movie stars.

zalinda

[freeplessinseattle]

42. omg, how judgemental of you! talk about movie stereotypes

your reasoning is illogical. so if there is one place in the country where someone with an IT degree could work if they don't uproot and move there then they don't really want that line of work?

where did you get this research?

[EOTE]

88. Very illogical....

I'm sure men are completely willing to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to get to Nevada just for the novelty of legal prostitution. How does having legal prostitution in one state do anything to eleviate the problems caused by illegal prostitution in all the other states? Take a look at the STD rates where prostitution is prominent in Nevada as opposed to where prostitution is prominent in states where prostitution isn't legalized.

What ills have befallen Nevada because of legalized prostitution which aren't outweighed by the decrease in crime and spread of communicable diseases, not to mention the FREEDOM that legalized prostitution provides. What is it that you have against these harmless, consensual crimes?

[VelmaD]

48. I always find it interesting...

when prostitutes are referred to as "girls". If they're grown women doing what they want with their bodies...why not refer to them as such. If they're really "girls"...then they shouldn't be out turning tricks.

[John Q. Citizen]

34. It does in the counties in Nevada where prositution is legal.

Plus all the legal prositutes are paying taxes on their incomes.

There are always people who will work in an undergroud economy. There are food vendors that aren't licenced/inspected by the health deptartment, but would outlawing food vending increase the problems?

[freeplessinseattle]

41. how do you know this? how many prostitutes do you know?

I'll bet I know many more than you do and the vast majority are clean healthy and not rip-offs. you should know better than to feed into a stereotype. maybe you are thinking of streetwalkers? a whole different ball of wax.

(FWIW, I am female)

[acmejack]

18. Ok, I will!

Just ordered it, it was rated 5 stars with 83 reviews. So it sounds like you aren't the only one who liked it.

[bryant69]

19. What are the odds it would be handled correctly?

Anybody want to give me odds?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[lildreamer316]

22. I would still rather a girl

be able to walk into a police station and say that some john beat the hell out of her and HAVE SOMEONE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT instead of just giving her shit or arresting her for HER activity.
In a perfect world we would not need prostitues, but then again who am I to foist my idea of a perfect world on everyone else when it comes to sexual situations?(CHOICE, right?). It is always going to be here. We might as well start to make it semi-bearable for those who are in the life (choice or not). Criminalizing just makes it worse for everyone involved.

[Modem Butterfly]

23. It's been a big success in Nevada

Why not use their model?

[bryant69]

25. I presume there would be more money in a national

legalized prostitution plan. I'm a capatilist and I believe in the drive to make money as a positive thing in our society if channeled correctly.

If not channeled correctly, well, lot's of bad stuff happens - I don't want to make it sound like I've made up my mind; but I have some concerns.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Modem Butterfly]

32. Certainly

The brothel industry is actually rather heavily regulated and taxed in Nevada. But it's an up-front tax paid to the assessor, and not some under-the-table bribe to a crooked cop or a sheriff. There is also the indirect result of increased police resources and decreased public health issues (prostitutes in Nevada are licensed independant contractors who must pass monthly blood tests and physical exams, ply their trade in certain areas, and use condoms to be licensed).

[lapislzi]

35. Can't see it on a national level...more a states' rights issue

It is one now. More states just need to get with the program. States are broke. It could generate revenue on both ends (no pun intended)--workers and patrons.

[Coexist]

12. we already have - the MSM takes money now for promoting Bush policy

... oh sorry, wrong thread.

[pitohui]

13. i think you are being silly

we have free borders w. nevada, anyone who wishes to work in a legal brothel & is a usa citizen may do so

most choose not to because they're aren't pretty enough, they are on drugs, they are diseased, hence, can't pass a health exam

if everyone could be jenna jameson & do their thing legally they would

most can't

where women have choices, clean healthy physically attractive women who are not in desperate straits don't choose to sell themselves to every fat sloppy smelly piece of middle-aged trash that has a benjamin

pretty healthy girls always have the option of selling themselves by marrying some rich old creep

they are not the women who really have a problem

legalizing prostitution for healthy women is not going to do diddly for most whores, who are not healthy, either because of addiction, mental illness, or std

[Modem Butterfly]

15. Ever been to Nevada?

It's some place that is definitely an acquired taste. What's more, there are plenty of "clean, healthy physically attractive women" who go into prostitution and other forms of sex work. Do the words "Sidney Biddle Barrows" ring a bell?

[pitohui]

26. i've been there more often than you have

i didn't see sidney biddle barrows there & neither did you

go to vegas sometime, friend, no one selling their ass in clark county is legal

women choose not to be legal because they don't WANT testing because they are diseased, they don't WANT to be stopped from ripping off rich johns because they have an addiction to feed

phone sex is not the same thing as real sex work down on the ground


you sat behind a telephone & want to tell me what you saw, that's pretty funny

if the women of nevada or usa WANT legal sex work, it's available, most do not and would not qualify if health exams are given

be real

[Modem Butterfly]

29. Wow, you're surprisingly ignorant

Sidney Biddle Barrows, AKA the Mayflower Madam, was famous for being a "society woman" in New York City. She came from a very well-healed background, fell on hardtimes, and became infamous for running a call-girl service full of beautiful, healthy women.

Not only have I been to Nevada, I have lived there. I've spent much time in Las Vegas, and can tell you that prostitution is illegal in Clark and Washoe counties (do you even know where that is?) and no where else in Nevada. Moreover, I can tell you've never actually been to Nevada, or anywhere else, otherwise you would know that there is next to no appeal to leaving everything familiar, including friends and family and whatever support system you've built to live in Winnemucca or Pahrump or even Carson City.

[EOTE]

93. Wow, you seem very against choice.....

Why shouldn't women have the CHOICE to work in a safe environment, where they have less concern about being physically abused (and don't say they have the choice to move to Nevada because many people don't have that choice and it's just foolish to suggest that they make it)? Why shouldn't men have the choice to solicit a prostitute that they know isn't possibly dangerous or being taken advantage of? Yes, we are all aware that women of Nevada can have legal sex work, and no one is defending the women of Nevada who choose to do sex work illegally, but what about everyone else? Instead of making ridiculous assertions about what women do and don't wan't, why don't you allow them the choice? I don't even know your sex, but it really seems like you've got an axe to grind with women.

[ret5hd]

17. Oh...my...god...please don't mention our "conversations"!

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. I think we should. There's no reason for it to be illegal.

[pitohui]

27. what modem butterfly proposes actually keeps it illegal

she just doesn't understand that

she thinks opening some legal brothels and requiring the workers to be health tested is "making it legal"

actually, since most hookers have addictions or social disease & wouldn't qualify for these brothels, it just means there is a civil violation added to their criminal violation when they're caught breaking the law

it's just more paperwork

it's a silly idea that ignores the reality of what prostitution actually is

pretty healthy clean girls can already work in the porn industry or as strippers & make better $$$, if they're really attractive, they can marry for money

it's the bottom of the heap who are working as illegal whores & they are not going to be helped by an additional requirement that they be "healthy," as human ppv, herpes 1 & 2, and HIV are not cured & don't leave the system

[Modem Butterfly]

30. Actually, sex workers in Nevada make a lot more than most strippers...

...it's only a minority of strippers who make money. Also, a big draw-back to pornography is the fact that your face and body are out there in the world for all to see forever and once you've collected your money, there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it. Finally, the growing popularity of pre-nup has taken much of the advantage out of marrying for money. Plus, being a prostitute is simply more direct and less permanent.

[lapislzi]

33. You keep quoting "most hookers" or "the majority"

Do you have statistics to back up your assertions, i.e., what percentage of sex workers carries disease or is drug-addicted?

Admittedly these statistics would be difficult to gather because most sex work is illegal most everywhere. So I wonder where you come by your information? Are you a social worker?

[Rabrrrrrr]

40. Uhhhhhhhhhh........

....................................yeah.

[freeplessinseattle]

45. hmm, you sound awfully bitter

it sure sounds like you have something personal against escorts. can you at least try to be objective, and quit tossing out stats with no source?

[WoodrowFan]

31. yay!

:popcorn:

I love Modem Butterfly!! :yourock: You start the best threads!

[Modem Butterfly]

67. LOL!

[titoresque]

36. It's a great idea, should have been legalized long ago

if a person wants to give this particular service in exchange for money...between two consenting adults.......it's none of the Governments business!
Besides it makes me sick to see all these "sting operations" where the police nab the "johns" and hookers and then do practically nothing about crack houses and meth users. Doesnt make sense!

Clean up the crack houses, get people off meth and heroin and maybe we'd see less hookers?

[etherealtruth]

37. I am still trying to figure out what useful purpose ...

... making prostitution illegal serves.

[melody]

38. the government's been fucking us for years and making us pay for it

So why not?

Seriously, I think anything legalized is easier to deal with in the open. And we can tax the folk (probably the real reason GOP doesn't want it legal)! :)

[mongo]

39. I'd like to see prostitution legalized

but I've also heard some bad things about the Nevada model.

In some Brothels, the ladies work 1 week on, 1 week off, and are not allowed to leave the premises during their work week. They are charged for their food, etc (kind of like the old company store).

The other thing is that this will not solve the problem of illegal prostitution/street-walking. There are always going to be the desperate/drug addicted types out on the streets. Also, why give half your take to a madam and have to go through STD testing, etc, if you can work on your own one block down the street?

IMO, a far better approach for the health of all would be to require local health departments to do free STD testing and issue photo ID's (that expire in 6 months) certifying a clean bill of health. Yes, a 6 month old ID won't ensure you won't get a STD from a prostitute, but it's far better than nothing.

That coupled with an ad campaign urging all sexually active Americans to get the health card, and to not have sex with someone who does not have the card - would be a good way to curtail the spread of disease. Especially if you know that no one is going to go home with you from the bar if you don't have a card. The card could even be anonymous, as is HIV testing today.

If we can curtail/eliminate the disease aspect of the equation, then I think the rest of the moral arguments become mute. At that point, it should just as legal as any other consensual sex act among adults.

[WoodrowFan]

43. "the card"

I'm imagining variations of the Capital One ads, "What's in your wallet??"

[mongo]

57. Or the clean health card -

Don't leave home without it!

[LincolnMcGrath]

50. Maybe they need a union?

[WoodrowFan]

51. sings "look for the Union label"

when you are looking, to get laid......"

[Modem Butterfly]

59. To be free of the pimps

A house may charge you, but you have safe shelter and food. A madam may some of your money, but a pimp will take all of it, and what's worse he will beat you and force you to peddle your ass at 4 AM in below zero temperatures. With a house behind you, you never have to worry about collecting, you never have to worry about being raped or beated by a john or worse. A house gives you the authority to demand he wears a condom, to refuse to perform whatever acts you object to, and to end the encounter on your terms.

The problems with our current system of prostitution isn't just disease or drugs. Johns and pimps are extremely violent and the industry is shot through with them. Women who begin walking the streets on their own soon find they need a pimp for even a modicum of protection, but that protection comes at a huge price. The prostitutes have little control over the encounters, relying on sheer force of personality to avoid being victimized again and again. Some are somewhat successful, but there are many who are not.

[mongo]

64. Most of the girls out here don't have a pimp

just a drug dealer. There's a couple of the part-timers that my employee is friendly with.

[Modem Butterfly]

66. A lot of women don't use the term "pimp"

They just have boyfriends who beat them up if they don't bring home $500 every night.

[RedCloud]

44. Did you ever know a phone sex operator to get a communicable disease?

This is what whacks the abstinence only people right out of their gourds. They pretend all forms of sex will ultimately result in some fatal or near fatal STD. Not even the three way phone sex call produces the devlish disease.

I guess working at sperm bank one would be more susceptible to STDS as you must show the customer substantial interest on each deposit and penalize them for early withdrawals.

[LincolnMcGrath]

46. Hmm

Nevermind

[WoodrowFan]

47. all well and good

but we details about your (old) job!

[Modem Butterfly]

70. LOL! (Graphic content - consider yourself warned)

Mostly it was men who wanted to talk. Really. Better than half of the calls involved no sex talk at all, just talking. And of the men that did want to talk about sex, all but a handful were boringly vanilla, what we called the suck and fuck. They wanted to talk about having their dicks sucked and then doing it commes les chiens (i.e., doggie style). There were a couple of guys who had serious foot fetishes and there was one guy who used to call at 4:30 every morning and ask to hear me say "hot sticky cum" over and over again until, well, you get the picture. But the rest of the guys were strikingly lonely or depressingly middle-of-the-road. The job paid great, my call times were good, but other than that it was much more boring than you might think.

I understand that the web has really decimated the phone sex industry. Men, after all, are visual creatures.

Edited to add warning. Not everyone wants to read about this stuff.

[WoodrowFan]

97. you mad eme blush

but that's what I never "got" about phone sex. I could never, ever tell a strange woman that I wanted her to (blank). I'd be way, WAYYYY too shy!

[Modem Butterfly]

103. If you're paying $3.99 a minute, you get over it quick I think

The worst part of the job was the nagging paranoia that I would hear my father or brother or some other male in my life on the other end...

[CatWoman]

49. you know, prostitution is legal in Germany

or, it was some years ago.

The prostitutes were required to keep on their bodies their health cards, too.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

52. A Couple Of Points....

Decriminalization yes.... Legalization no.......

Same for pot.....


In Israel prostitution is legal, pimping isn't.........


Oh, how are you going to get 250 billion dollars by taxing johns....


You will just create an incentive for an underground economy to avoid the taxes so you defeated the purpose of your mission...

[lapislzi]

53. I think I agree with you, but

could you make the distinction clear between "decriminalization" and "legalization?"

And would there be a legitimate, tamper-proof way to generate at least some revenue?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

54. Here

Decriminalization punishes certain offenses by means other than prison.... Under legalization prostitution would be heavily regulated and controlled...


I don't have a big problem with prostitution being legal in Nevada .....


Certain activities don't serve any public good but aren't bad enough to justify putting you in prison...

[lapislzi]

60. Good question...does prostitution serve a public good?

It can be argued that it does.

Depends on your definition of public good, and who the public is you're referring to.

The empowerment of women is very much a public good (IMO).

[DemocratSinceBirth]

63. Men Can Prostitute Themselves Too.

So it has nothing to do with gender equality....


I just stand by my assertion that most so called victimless crimes should be discouraged but not discouraged by putting folks in the hooskow....

[lapislzi]

65. Thank you for pointing out my bias--I'm embarrassed

But back to the point--and to a point I'm playing devil's advocate--is it crime or is it commerce?

I think there's a moral judgment implicit in your argument. Sex work is just that...work.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

68. There Is A Moral Judgement...

That's why laws against prostition are on the books....


My point is simple... I don't think going to a prostitute, smoking pot, doing a line of coke are good for you but I don't think those activities are so bad they require you being put in the hooskow....

[lapislzi]

69. How is prostitution "not good for you?"

Just curious.

Not good for the prostitute?
Not good for the patron?

I can think of instances where it might not be good for you:

if you get a disease
if it damages your relationship with your SO
if violence occurs

...but I can also think of instances where both parties can benefit, no harm, no foul.

Most of the drawbacks can all be addressed via a decriminalization/legalization scheme. (For the SO part, you're on your own...but there is no legislating morality, after all).

[DemocratSinceBirth]

71. Sex Is An Expression Of Love And Turning It Into A Commodity Isn't A Good

Thing...


I realize for some people this is the only relief they can get .... That's why I don't want to put them in the hooskow...

[Modem Butterfly]

72. Sex is a physical experience

Like all physical experiences, it can have an emotional component (think about how a Thanksgiving dinner makes you feel), but it is first and foremost a physical experience. The emotional weight that gets attached to it will vary in intensity and quality from person to person.

BTW, I love that you use the word hooskow!

[lapislzi]

75. SNAP!

"Hooskow!"

[DemocratSinceBirth]

76. This Conversation Is Going Far Astray And I Need To Get Back To Work

Any way... Like I said before prostitution isn't a federal crime or else it couldn't be legal in Nevada...

Good luck with getting it legalized everywhere...


I think we would be making progress if we didn't throw people in prison for it....

Any way, most prostitutes and johns don't get jail time but the johns get embarrassed especially those with businesses and families...

The people that get jail or prison time are the people who run the escort agencies if they get caught....

[lapislzi]

73. Sex is a lot of things. You describe one.

For sex workers, sex is a means of making a living. You may find that an unpleasant reality, but I see nothing wrong with it. Difference of opinion. Had I been born better looking or with fewer opportunities, I might have considered sex work in my youth.

Again, the idea of legislating morality is absurd on its face.

PS I love your use of the word "hooskow!" :D

edited for clarity

[mondo joe]

77. No. Sex CAN be an expression of love. Or not.

That's a personal matter.

[Modem Butterfly]

56. The business model has already been proven

Men come from all over the country to these tiny little holes in wall out in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. These places aren't attractive, the drinks are overpriced, the transport fees are huge, and there isn't any cachet. But the sex is guaranteed, the prices are posted, and the women are disease free. If you build it in Biloxi, they will come, so to speak...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

58. I Am Sure Men Will Come

I just don't see you raising a great ton of dough that way....


I'd much prefer the middle ground of decrinimaliztion....

Certain activities ain't good but don't warrant throwing you in the hooskow....


Any way... This would have to be done at the state level because I don't believe there are any federal laws against prostitution...

[Warren DeMontague]

85. Ouch. Double Entendre Alert.

You Must Be Pun-Ished, For That One.

[mongo]

61. The business model works out here in the 'hood too

There is way more demand than supply. I watch the johns circle a two block area.

If I go out front for a cig and there is a girl on the street, usually they can't make it two blocks before getting picked up.

[Meatwad]

62. It's between two consenting adults...why not?

There is no need for prostitution to be illegal. If two adults, who aren't hopped up on drugs or alcohol, can have sex, then why not legalise sex for money between two consenting adults?

Makes sense, eh?

[Warren DeMontague]

90. The part about "two adults who aren't hopped up on drugs/alcohol"

doesn't make sense.

Specifically, it negates about 80% of my college experience.

[Warren DeMontague]

78. Yep. Pot Too.

Legalize and Tax it, and even more importantly, stop wasting my money trying to fight it.

[MsTryska]

84. sure. i've got no problem with that. nt

nt

[onager]

87. And speaking strictly from an international diplomatic angle...

...legalizing prostitution would bring the U.S. into closer alignment with most of our European friends! ;-)

Seriously though...sort of...I've been lucky enough to travel to many different countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. I've always been interested in the different attitudes toward prostitution. (You in the back, stop laughing. This is a serious discussion).

And ESPECIALLY by the difference between nations with a sane attitude toward sex, versus our own One Nation Under Jebus with its twin flaming pillars of sexual obsession coupled with extreme religious hypocrisy on the subject.

Consider Zurich, Switzerland, still a locality under the dark shadow of Calvinism, much like the U.S. The bars close at midnight and AFAIK, prostitution is illegal. Yet I saw sober, well-dressed Swiss businessmen with briefcases trolling for the most dangerous sex imaginable--the women in the Spritz-Platz (Needle Park), who were selling sex so they could immediately go and buy more intravenous drugs. (This was back in the 1990's, so things may have changed. I sure hope so!)

But places like Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam? Pfft! Hookers are all over the place, intermingled with the ordinary folk, and nobody gives them a second look. Unless the looker is a potential customer, of course...:evilgrin:

[anarch]

92. I say "down with all the stupid morality laws"

but nevermind what I say...my opinions on personal freedom are too extreme for the masses, I am sure.

At any rate, despite my personal feelings about prostitution (I think it is incredibly sad--although I think people should be allowed to do whatever the hell they want, as long as it doesn't hurt other people), making it legal would make it a whole lot safer for the workers, although probably not quite as lucrative--I guess it would sort of be like making the state the new pimp, what with income tax and all.

It's more or less the same thing with legalizing drugs...the only people who wouldn't benefit from it would be the people making a fortune on the black market. How to eliminate the criminal element from all these activities that are prohibited solely because of "morality"? Make 'em legal.