What Sex Workers Want

Besides, why give it away for free when you can make money at it.....I am tired of men who say they love you then black your eye, or cheat with another woman...I'd rather have something other than empty promises, like cold hard cash...Then again, I've never tricked, so maybe it isn't all that glamorous, but money talks b.s. walks

Part 2:

The government can try to regulate all these areas I speak of, prostituion, drugs, and child pornography. But it will always exist and flourish and it always has, and do you know why? Because as much as it is hard for some of you to understand this, it has gone on since the beginning of time, because people want certain pleasures in life, even though others would see as morrally wrong. You want to do something to protect children from real abuse ? Think of how many children could be saved from starving to death or dying from some preventable disease in the world right now, if the trillions of dollars that are being given to the Rich elite wall street crowd and by our own U.S. government, were used instead for helping the less fortunate among us?

Its time for us to get back to the basics, and actually care about things that are REAL: abuse , and REAL crimes against humanity. I know I will probably be demonized by many, by taking my position, but I will speak my mind, and speak my mind freely. In ending my statement, I agree with 90 percent of the people in here that believe prostitution should be legal. But then again, like I said, people do many things that are deemed illegal, which can be considered to be morality crimes. I say, get back to the basics, like it used to be. And care about the stuff that matters, and stay out of peoples buisness. Its why this Country has so many problems right now, and why the government is broke, and the system is collapsing. If they don't change their priorities now, and that includes you all out there that read this, all i can say is, that if we go into another Depression by the end of next year, there are alot of things that people won't care about anymore. And the prostituion issue is just one of them. Have a nice day.

pasha2patek:

Part 1:

You say that Prostitution is not a moral issue, but I disagree. Morality is in the eye of the beholder, and which is why I believe that prostitution should be legal, simply because you cannot legislate morality in my opinion. However, just like prostitution is a moral issue, so is alot of other issues as well. Drugs and one you mentioned , child pornography. Child pornography like prostitution are huge industries where even though they are both criminalized, they flourish. In alot of ways you can draw parallells to the two. For those of you who disagree, let me ask you this. There was a person earlier on this board that said prostitution has gone on since the days of cavemen. Well, what I can tell you is, just because cavemen didn't have cameras and the internet, there was alot child molesting going on as well, just like prostitution. And I would dare to say that it was probably going more then than it is now, just for the fact that back then there was no stigma against it, and there was no huge government regulation and enforcement like there is today. There is only one difference, is that prostitution of a certain age of consent vs a child that someone who would say cannot consent. But that opens the argument of what is consent, which in some countries is as young as 12.

For all those who want to demonize me for mentioning these issues can put a sock in it. We live in a country where if a man were to touch a child sexually, then the government and peoiple want to throw him in jail for the next 25 years and crucify him, but yet Andrea Yates a mother of 5 young boys can forcibly drown her kids in a bathtub and she gets to go to a mental rehab where they routinely go to parks and go shopping in the mall. And you call me the one who is messed up? Please. People in this country really have to get their priorities and thinking straight if you want anyone out here to abide by the laws you speak of wanting to be enforced. You can't legislate morality, period.

The sub-headline is rhetorical. Of course it would make prostitution safer. It happens anyway; it always has. And legalizing if wouldn't make that many more men step outside of their marriages. The positives would outweigh the negatives. So, yes, regulate it and tax it.

If prostitution were legal it would enjoy the same protection as any other business. Why shouldn't it be legal? The ladies have a product they are willing to sell and they have buyers willing to purchase, plain and simple. I am all for it. The industry can develop its own standards and rules just like any other business, all without government meddling and taxation. Besides, when a young woman can make more money in one night of selling herself than she can working three months at McDonald's, which is the better alternative? All this senseless talk about losing self-respect, committing sin, blah, blah, blah is a bunch of worthless propaganda put out by self-rightous fools who wouldn't offer a prostitute any viable alternatives to her lifestyle. How many church-goers would open their homes to a prostitute who needed a place to stay? How many would even talk to a prostitute? Okay, then, leave them the hell alone and allow them to earn money their own way without government interference or meddlesome social groups. This industry has been around alot longer than any other business and I doubt will ever need a bailout.

If trading sex for money/gifts is wrong, please explain why it is not wrong for a woman to give her sexual favores to a man who has put a ring on her finger or bought her a new car etc. when they aren't married...In other words, prostitution is illegal but being a gold digger or high maintenance isn't---use your body to gain "stuff"---same thing by a different name.

Dannigurl thats wy they have security and healtcare and doctors and the right to report abuse to the police,if it was illegall they would not even mention the word Police,when condoms r a must this will be the safest job in the world

The sub-headline is posed as a rhetorical question, right? It gets done anyway. It always has and it always will. Regulate it and tax it.

well its time for me to go. so in closing let me say this:
prostitution can not and will not be stopped,ever. it is a sad fact of life. that said why not pass laws that make it harder, and provide stiffer penalties, for those who choose to hide behind the protection of current laws? and while making prostitution legal will not stop human trafficing, violence against women, and other exploitations;
it will certianly allow for more prosecution of those who do. these types of violence are so prevalent because these criminals have little fear of prosecution, as they know their victims will most likely not report their crime, for fear of being outside the law themselves. by making prostitution a crime you attract crimnals to it. just as a church attracts the religious, and a bar attracts drinkers. making prostitution legal will allow more of the people involved to be law abiding rather than criminal.
common sense tells you that if you bring a group of criminals together you will experience more crime, disperse the criminals, and while crime will not cease, but will reduce.
thanks to everyone for a MOSTLY civil conversation on such a heated topic.

Perhaps the sex trade would decrease but I do not think rapes, assaults, and murders will decrease. There are a lot of sick men out there, regardless whether something is legal or not. The problem lies deeper...we need to start education about these matters at a young age for women and men. Why aren't people questioning why people are selling something like sex in the first place???? Why don't we target that and ask ourselves "Well why would someone put themselves in a very dangerous and risky situation for money?" And please, there are a ton of people that are broke ass poor and need money but you don't see them prostituting themselves to make ends meet. There are other things that need to be addressed. And legalizing sex will not decrease the amount of life threatening diseases that are being spread all the time. Also, I think we would just be contributing to a vicious cycle and not helping these women and men in any way. I am not saying that they need to be saved or anything but studies have shown that individuals who have suffered childhood sexual abuse are at a greater risk for being arrested for prostitution compared to non-victims and studies have found that individuals who were raped or forced into sexual activity were more at risk to become involved in prostiution than non-victims. Do your research and let us look at this issue in a totally different light. Perhaps the target should be more treatment for prostitutes rather than punishment but legalizing it seems to just cover up possible deeply imbedded issues.

I am surprised by the number of men (at least I suppose they are men) commenting here that married women are prostitutes. Really? So your mothers were? And your wives are? You must have some pretty great relationships, guys. Many of us (women) have loving and coequal relationships with our husbands. I happen to make more money than my husband and have more education but I consider him my equal partner. He brings things to our marriage that I absolutely cannot. He has a wisdom and a way of being that I cherish. He makes our house a home as much as I. Just because his chosen profession pays less than mine, am I to value his contribution less? He works just as hard. We pool our resources so that there is no "my money" and "your money" - except for small accounts that allow us to do a few things for ourselves or each other. (I do indeed have a modest but nice diamond ring that he could afford and he has a few nice things I can afford as well - we're not extravagant spenders.) How is this any different than what more traditional couples do? We don't have kids because I had cancer early in life and with my medical history we're unable to adopt. But if we did, he would have most likely stayed home. Would this mean that he would prostitute himself to me to get "my" money? No. His contribution to the family would have been in the home, raising our child. Look up how much that costs, as well as housekeeping, before you say that these services are not of any worth.
In short, marriage is about partnership. It is about two people trying to come together as a team to support and love one another. If there are children involved, it is also about creating a loving home to support the nurture and development of good people in that way as well. It is not about delineating mine and yours and attempting to subjugate one partner to the other. If you have that view and you are married, I hope your partner finds the strength to get help. I also hope you find the help you need to heal from the hurt that must have caused this view to develop.

The whole point of this article, before the point was hijacked, was about sex workers. I, for one, would like to see ways in which these people could be more protected. They live in unsafe working conditions and we continue to turn our heads and pretend we just don't see. Perhaps we could try a pilot program in a major city where we license facilities for a certain amount of time (say 2 years) and keep track of the statistics of disease, violence, and trafficking. We compare that to a similarly sized city that also similar numbers beforehand. Say Los Angeles with San Francisco. It puts off action for 2 years (and that's not good) but it does give us some idea whether or not legalization might work. Of course you'll have to fight the political battle with the church groups but you can't do that without data. This might give you usable data. Just a thought.

I am surprised by the number of men (at least I suppose they are men) commenting here that married women are prostitutes. Really? So your mothers were? And your wives are? You must have some pretty great relationships, guys. Many of us (women) have loving and coequal relationships with our husbands. I happen to make more money than my husband and have more education but I consider him my equal partner. He brings things to our marriage that I absolutely cannot. He has a wisdom and a way of being that I cherish. He makes our house a home as much as I. Just because his chosen profession pays less than mine, am I to value his contribution less? He works just as hard. We pool our resources so that there is no "my money" and "your money" - except for small accounts that allow us to do a few things for ourselves or each other. (I do indeed have a modest but nice diamond ring that he could afford and he has a few nice things I can afford as well - we're not extravagant spenders.) How is this any different than what more traditional couples do? We don't have kids because I had cancer early in life and with my medical history we're unable to adopt. But if we did, he would have most likely stayed home. Would this mean that he would prostitute himself to me to get "my" money? No. His contribution to the family would have been in the home, raising our child. Look up how much that costs, as well as housekeeping, before you say that these services are not of any worth.
In short, marriage is about partnership. It is about two people trying to come together as a team to support and love one another. If there are children involved, it is also about creating a loving home to support the nurture and development of good people in that way as well. It is not about delineating mine and yours and attempting to subjugate one partner to the other. If you have that view and you are married, I hope your partner finds the strength to get help. I also hope you find the help you need to heal from the hurt that must have caused this view to develop.

The whole point of this article, before the point was hijacked, was about sex workers. I, for one, would like to see ways in which these people could be more protected. They live in unsafe working conditions and we continue to turn our heads and pretend we just don't see. Perhaps we could try a pilot program in a major city where we license facilities for a certain amount of time (say 2 years) and keep track of the statistics of disease, violence, and trafficking. We compare that to a similarly sized city that also similar numbers beforehand. Say Los Angeles with San Francisco. It puts off action for 2 years (and that's not good) but it does give us some idea whether or not legalization might work. Of course you'll have to fight the political battle with the church groups but you can't do that without data. This might give you usable data. Just a thought.