posted
Assuming some kind of registration for prostitutes, and periodic testing for std's of said prostitutes, prostitution should be legal.
Posts: 413 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Actually, let me rephrase that. There is no a priori reason. However, just as you wouldn't want a great big smoking factory right in the middle of your neighbourhood, communities can legitimately not want prostitution in their midst, too. I'm not saying it's logical, just that it's a desire many communities have, and it's not totally unreasonable. We regulate many other kinds of business, especially in residential districts; why not prostitution?
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
It's not, nationwide... just most states in the US outlaw it.
Ironically, Nevada, the only state which currently allows legal prostitution, was the first state to make it illegal... or so I read somewhere.
I'd say the general argument is that trivializing sex to the point it is a business transaction does something to de-humanize people and that the psychological/spiritual damage is bad enough to warrant government intervention... like mandatory seat belt or anti-smoking laws.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
To get anything legalized in this country you need major corporate backing, and the major corporations have yet to find a profitable marketing plan.
Wal-Mart tried opening a Brothel in one of its Nevada superstores, but had to close it for several reasons:
10) Not as many people were interested in their cheap Chinese imports as was assumed.
9) Sex Discrimination lawsuits.
8) A lawsuit occured when Mr. Tom Feldman had his regular shopping list confused with a list of--um--accesories. While the coolwhip and cheeze whiz were acceptible, the hard salami and Travis Tritt CD were not. We don't even want to mention the lawn clippers.
7)Stock boys really hated having to fill in for the "Greeters" when lines formed.
6) There are some things illegal immigrants just won't do for minimum wage.
5) Handling returns was a big issue.
4) While more men were volunteering to do the family shopping, they routinely forgot to shop while at the store. Hence store sales fell.
3) "Pimp" did not look good on a Human Resource managers resume. "Walmart Pimp" looked particulary bad, or redundant.
2) They caught the Smiley Cost Cutter Face staring through the privacy curtains one time too many. That does explain his creepy smile though.
And the number one reason why prostitution just didn't work at Wal-Mart? For the same reason Prostitution is illegal.
1) There are some things where Generic just can't replace Name Brand?
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
As long as both porn and extra-marital sex continue to be legal, prostitution should be legal. It's the exact same thing as porn--charging money for orgasms. Since I am very much against legislating morality, I have no reason to make porn (or extra-marital sex) illegal, and consequently no reason to make prostitution illegal. It should simply be well-regulated--checks for STDs, available contraceptives, waivers to be signed . . .
Posts: 3801 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
To regulate practices, ensure (more than now, anyway) that practitioners are providing service for the price and are clean and disease-free, to provide legal recourse for practitioners who have grievances with customers or employers, and to increase the tax base like crazy.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
And there are plenty of sex workers who bill at lawyer's fee levels, especially in the large cities. Not streetwalkers, of course, but call escorts.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
You sound as if you are speaking from some sort of experience. What sort that could be I have no idea.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
I live in Nevada, and really the only impact I really notice is: 1) No state income taxes 2) Don't look up Entertainment in the Yellow Pages if you're just looking for somewhere fun to go with your wife Then again I've only lived here for about 6 months, so who am I to say.
Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Joldo, I worked 6 different part-time jobs at one time, and none of them were even remotely near the sex trade.
1. Showbiz Pizza (worked the front desk & dressed up as Billy-Bob and Chuck E. Cheese)
2. Nursey care during services for a Presbytarian church
3. Live-in housekeeper
4. College philosophy and math tutor
5. Part-time worker at hospice for HIV-infected infants
6. Maid for private parties (hey! not that kind of party -- these were very formal British Tea affairs, although I did wear a little outfit)
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
Sorry, number 1 and 4 sound dubiously close. And how short was your maid outfit for number 6, and did they ask you to speak with a French accent?
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:It may be a little close-minded from me, but I can't imagine anyone beig happy to sell his/her body.
Firefly anyone?
The only reason why someone shouldn't be happy with prostituting, assuming they could to be a prostitute and could choose their clients, is if they received no respect as a result of their work.
If it were respected as much as any other job in society, then... *shrug*
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:assuming they could to be a prostitute and could choose their clients,
I can't see that coming. They would need protection against people they didn't want to "work with" and who could become violent. Then if they want to stop the job the protector becomes vilent himself and the vicious circle is on again.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Prostitution happens regardless of government regulation. Some forms are outright illegal, whereas the more subtle forms are much more accepted by society.
However, to completely endorse prostitution would seem to de-humanize people, as Jim alluded to, and I would also be concerned about the further exploitation of women that the acceptance of prostitution might lead to.
Posts: 1256 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
The more I think about it, the more I dislike the idea of legalized prostitution. If people want to sell their bodies and are able to choose their clients, that's fine, there are legal ways for them to do that now (Anna Nicole Smith comes to mind), but my concern is for the people that naively get locked into a contract or essentially become forced to sell their bodies against their will. Legal prostitution would not be able to distinguish between the willing or the coerced prostitute.
Posts: 1256 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
To expand on my post, why couldn't people simply chose to take a job as a prostitute, just as they chose to take a job in a factory, and office, a school, or anywhere else? If they decide that the costs of the job (time, effort, the feeling of selling themselves out to The Man, using their bodies in a way they don't feel comfortable with, etc) aren't worth the benefits of the job (money, feeling of achievement, and so forth) then they can chose to leave the job. Simple as that. Why should we think that legal prostitution would lead to some sort of slavery or "sweatshop" houses of pleasure?
If there prostitution becomes legal, then we can regulate the industry for safety of both the prostitutes and the johns - let the prostitutes choose their clients, have a panic button or be within hearing of a very big man should the client push the limits the prostitues agreed to, STD testing of both parties, etc.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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What if all the prostitutes refuse a client based solely on "lack of desire?" Wouldn't the company then have to turn the customer away? Can a company actually refuse service to a person just because they are phsycially, or any other way, undesirable? Isn't that some sort of discrimination?
Posts: 1256 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
They can discriminate all they want... private organizations can turn away anyone for any reason...
but it's not good business.
I heartily disagree that respect from society is the only thing that keeps prostitutes from being happy with their jobs... not saying they couldn't enjoy it... just that societal respect isn't the only potential issue.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
It might be (appropriate? useful?) to keep in mind that there is a thriving industry of escort services billed out at $200-400/hour in most major cities. These, indeed, are women (mostly) that chose their clients, sometimes even charging $50-100 for a half-hour or hour initial consultation (no sex, neutral environment like a cafe). I know a woman who does this, and she is quite happy -- educated, with a wide history of travel on paid trips to Europe, and a nice sum set aside for retirement.
Whether or not you believe this is a moral practice, it is true that the experiences and options of such escorts are very different from the streetwalkers you see either in real life or portrayed on television.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
it's funny how things can seem better when there's more money involved. I'm not saying this to impugn your acquaintance at all, Sara, but it's an odd thing the effect money can have:
It's perfectly legal to own fully automatic, silenced weapons in the US (I've been in the presence of one being fired as a civilian) if you can afford the tax stamp and pass a background check. Both are heavily influenced by your financial situation.
And here, like you say, a high class escort has a very different life than a streetwalker... and the initial reaction (or at least mine) is "oh... that's all right, then."
I happen to think that the illegality of prostitution just makes sure that pimps have the power and works against the success of individual contractors, so I am not here concerned to say that prostitution is bad... just interesting that in rich trappings it seems very civilized and has often been societally acceptible... that a large segment of our sordid images of it come from the desperate straits that sometimes surround it.
And, of course, I needn't mention our justice system's propensity for lettting wealthy, and particularly celebrity types off the hook...
Like it or not, it seems it's a fact of society and a flaw of civilization (I'm sure this is not limited to the modern day US) that permissiveness is directly proportional to wealth. Maybe even exponetially proportional...
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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