Do you think prostitution should be legal?

Yes it should. The whole stigma around sex, in general, comes from how uncomfortable we are around it. It's almost like it's some kind of guilty pleasure. I'm a bit of a radical when it comes to this but I don't view prostitution as any different from construction labour or modelling; they're all different ways of selling your body so why discriminate between them? I know how most people view sex as something sacred and intimate that shouldn't ever be turned into a mere service but that's not how some people think and it's not our business to tell otherwise. It's also ridiculous how we hold prostitutes and their customers to different standards. The transaction is what its critics should condemn, not either one of the parties. And like all sexually active women, female prostitutes get the most flak because someone made the vagina the temple of purity but the penis an all-purpose tool.
When you license something, you control it. By kicking prostitution under the rug you only maximise its risk factors. Like some European countries have done already, you can maintain a systematic database for hookers. By registering consenting adults, you can eliminate human trafficking and child prostitution and with routine health checkups, you can track STDs. Some countries even provide employee benefits in state-run brothels like pensions that help restore their dignity and have laws checking exploitation. Not to mention the growing economic potential the industry has to offer.

Do I like the idea of prostitution? No. Will I be happy if someone close to me resorts to pimping or prostitution? No. But I don't need to like something to not deny basic rights (hey that sounds familiar) especially when it's the educated decision to make. One of the world's oldest professions is here to stay so we should just use it to our advantage.

 

100% yes and no concerns whatsoever about it. I may be a little biased because I admit I paid for sex once as a kid, but here's my reasoning.

1. It actually already is legal in only one place in the U.S. so the theory has been tested even here, there's a particular fully legal brothel in Nevada which has been featured on TV shows. They did a whole documentary on it where the prostitutes explained they have to get tested for STD's every week, and there are many health precautions in place they have to follow to stay legal. So if it's regulated like that it's tons safer than hiring an illegal prostitute. It's quite expensive there (like $1,000+) because they're the only legal place, but if it were legal everywhere the prices would be able to match illegal prostitution anyway (like $50-$200). The government can tax it and make a fortune to help pay down the deficit too.

2. It's called the world's oldest profession for a reason - there always has been and always will be people selling their bodies. Humans like sex and will gladly pay for it if they can't get it for free regardless of whether it's legal or not. It's ridiculous to expect it to just go away by banning it, and it forces people to get involved with criminal elements to participate in it which puts them in danger needlessly.

3. Do we really need to be spending money locking people up in prison just for selling an hour of sex? It costs like $10,000 per prisoner per year to keep someone locked up, it's a huge waste of taxpayer money to imprison people for this.

4. It could reduce rape and sexual violence. If someone normally would have raped another person to get sex but can just easily buy it legally instead, rape is no longer as appealing.

5. Why not? I mean really, other than religion what reason is there for it not to be legal? As long as it's regulated with STD tests there's almost no health risks and pregnancies can be dealt with the same way they are for normal sex - the parents decide what to do about it.

 

People like money. (Most) people like sex. Why is it illegal to get money for sex if both parties are consenting and of legal age? The only things keeping prostitution a crime are BS religious hangups. I say legalize it.

 

I definitely don’t care for the idea. I’m sure there would be pros to it like regular std and drug testing as well as free abortions for any unwanted pregnancy.

I think more people would consider prostitution as a job/career and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.

Like instead of working some minimum wage job, why not be a hooker? These would be fresh faced high school grads with no real world experience making this decision.

Obviously the people who like paying for sex wouldn’t mind that at all, but I have to think about the young people possibly throwing their lives away for a quick buck.

Young people would be “recruited” just like with the porn industry. Struggling actors and models are prime.

 

[QUOTE="
3. Do we really need to be spending money locking people up in prison just for selling an hour of sex? It costs like $10,000 per prisoner per year to keep someone locked up, it's a huge waste of taxpayer money to imprison people for this.

[/QUOTE]

actually it averages more like $30,000-$60,000 per prisoner per year!

 

actually it averages more like $30,000-$60,000 per prisoner per year![/QUOTE]

So more money than it costs for me to live for a year. Yet my environment is incredible compared to a prisoner. Interesting.

 

So more money than it costs for me to live for a year. Yet my environment is incredible compared to a prisoner. Interesting.[/QUOTE]


yep. it is even more in certain states, like california. the prison systems are horrendous in many ways. especially privately run ones.

 

So I’ve always lived in places where prostitution was either legal, or where the government applied the Nordic model. The Nordic model is designed to reduce demand for sex work by making it illegal to buysex (but not to sell it) and to organize sex work (i.e. by running brothels) which has the purpose of reducing prostitution without punishing the group which is already vulnerable and of which a large number of people are already victims (i.e. victims of sex trafficking or forced into sex work due to poverty etc). So I’m basing my arguments here based on my experience with living in places where selling sex is legal and where you can actually see the effects of decriminalization. I personally don’t have a strong stance on this because it is a complicated matter and I’m not yet sure which solution is best, though I do lean towards preferring the Nordic model [if executed well].

In theory, I believe anyone should be allowed to do with their bodies whatever they wish, and that only they have the right to decide about that. So if someone wants to have sex in exchange for money, that is their decision to make, and I’m not inherently against that at all. I do agree that as a society we should seek to remove some stigmas around sex work and sex overall, and legalized prostitution would definitely mean better control over STDs etc, and better safety for sex workers who willingly choose to do this.

However, decriminalization does not just allow people to choose to do this, but also creates a space for a lot of this to happen against people’s wills. And it’s really difficult to differentiate between people who are in the business because they genuinely enjoy it, and those who are because they’ve been forced to – either forced by a person or forced by the circumstances, such as extreme poverty.

In the Netherlands, the government has repeatedly acknowledged that the decriminalization of prostitution in the Netherlands has had the OPPOSITE effect of what they’d hoped it would do. Instead of reducing illegal prostitution, the country has actually become a top destination for sex trafficking in Europe and many eastern European women find their way to Holland to work as prostitutes against their will. Many of them are still registered in the system and if asked by police will say they want to do this, because they are afraid of whoever is forcing them to do this, or because they consider prostitution their only option to survive and are afraid of losing even this option. We need to remember that if someone doesn’t feel like there are any other options, that is not the same as them choosing to do sex work. Just because someone is working in Amsterdam’s red light district doesn’t mean they genuinely want it at all, unfortunately. Research has shown repeatedly that in places where prostitution is legal, larger sex trafficking inflows are reported (x , x) so it definitely does not stop other, but related criminal acts from taking place.

Decriminalization also does NOT reduce rape overall. It doesreduce sexual violence against sex workers because with their job being legal, they don’t have to go underground and work in unsafe spaces. But we do need to acknowledge that legalization will not necessarily make anyone more likely to believe a sex worker if they have been raped: they will still have a hard time proving it was sexual violence because they will without a doubt be confronted with arguments such as that it was just part of the job, the risk of being a sex worker, etc. Also, if sex trafficking to a country increases, that also means more rape is taking place – a woman who is forced into prostitution is raped, repeatedly, no matter how you put it. Outside of sex worker circles however, it does not reduce rape at all. Rape is not about sex, but about power. A rapist is not just some sex-deprived person looking for a quick orgasm but someone who seeks to exert power over someone through one of the most traumatizing ways possible. Whether prostitution is legal or not does not affect that at all. Furthermore, brothels, like strip clubs, are often extremely sexist and misogynist spaces and could potentially just strengthen cultures that lead to rape and sexual violence which would actually allow for an increase in rape outside sex worker circles.

I also can’t say the legalization of prostitution removed the stigma around sex in the Netherlands. Europe has varying approaches to sex and the Netherlands is not the most prude-ish but everyone still considered prostitution a ‘dirty’ profession despite it being legal. If you tell someone you’re a sex worker you’ll likely get looked down on for it. Whether it is legal or not does not change attitudes. I can't change for other places where it has been legalized but I think in order to de-stigmitize sex and get rid of ideas of purity we need a much bigger societal change that just legalizing prostitution.

Full decriminalization mostly benefits the customer – less risk of an STD from a prostitute, no risk of getting arrested, not needing to go underground. It only partially benefits the sex worker, however, mostly in ways that makes it sound like you’re talking about cattle rather than human beings. It doesn’t make their profession any less stigmatized, it doesn’t at all reduce the amount of women forced into it against their will, and it does nothing to change overall rape culture. I’m all for bodily autonomy but we need to stop pretending sex work is always just a choice, particularly in a patriarchal society. Which is why I lean towards the Nordic model: we shouldn’t punish those who fall victim to the system, or those who simply choose to do with their body whatever they wish. But we do need to address the problems and acknowledge that in too many instances, sex work is not as simple as “people can do with their bodies whatever they want”.

 

People do work because they have to and not because they want to. People go into coal mining for the money, people enlist into the military because of the money, people will go into deep sea fishing because of money. ALL of those professions has a high risk of death, yet we don't bat an eye to it.

So yes, if the only way you can get out of poverty is through being a sex worker then why the hell not? It beats A LOT of other jobs where you will be demeaned as a person by customers, abused by employers and all for little money.

This is a hard reality and more things have to be done about this, but I think its far easier to control it when its legalized. We just need tools on top of legalization for this to be the safest we can for all workers. But I think its naive to think that legalization will solve all problems. To this date wage theft by other industries is rampant and abuse of workers in other industries keeps happening so we just have to keep at it!

So this is very interesting because sex workers are actually the ones leading the lobbying work that is being done in most countries for the legalization of the industry. In the US it has been sex workers that have been organizing themselves to oppose the recent policy changes that will actually put them at a greater risk in the US. I think it would be unfair to their work for you to paint the movement to legalize sex work as it being pushed by the consumer and not the sex workers themselves.

 

I mean I literally clean houses for a living so yea I know people work because they have to not because they want to.

I would also not do any of the jobs you have listed. They are dangerous and ultimately not worth it for me personally since I don’t have anyone depending on me.

Those jobs also all provide something that we all rely on. Protection, food, and power.

Now tell me how we need legal sex workers.

 

I would like to think full legalization would make it easier to control but in practice this unfortunately has not been the case yet...

i'm sorry it came across that way - i did not mean it but i can understand why my post maybe sounded that way. I was trying to provide a counter to the arguments here which have been dominantly about benefiting people other than the sex workers and did not really consider their well being beyond STDs and i think it's important to stress not just the positives of legalization - it's unfortunately not an easy fix in itself, like the places where it has been legalised show. (but yes, i can see why it looked like i was saying it is driven by customers only. the sex worker movement actually has a lot of great arguments, which is partly what makes it such a complicated matter, and also why i'm not 100% against or in favour of legalization)

 

Not sure if you noticed, but you are implying that you are morally okay with sending people into harms way only if it benefits you directly even though you would personally never do any of the jobs that are required for your own personal well-being. But you are against high-risk jobs if you are not personally benefitting from it?

We don't NEED sex workers just like we don't NEED football players. We also don't NEED people to make gold-plated toilet seats or people to risk their lives building mansions that can fit 40 people in them, but those jobs are still protected even if it doesn't benefit everyone in society.

But the reality is that you are able to earn a living by doing sex work. That work, like any other work out there, should be protected so everyone involved can be as safe as we can make them.

Its also important to keep in mind that sex work, for better or worse, has allowed many LGBT people to survive. If we don't legalize it and protect them, they will be forced to do this work either way and without any protections.

Yep, I'm with you. Its something that I just recently came around to because of the amazing work that sex workers have done to organize and explain their perspective. For the first time, maybe in history, we are able to hear the story of sex workers and see them advocating for themselves because of access to the internet. Its quite amazing truly.

 

there is so much more to sex work than just prostitution... Zoë Ligon has written and shared some really informative stuff on the subject and how people’s rights are being taken, including freezing bank accounts of people in the industry.

not prostitution as an industry, but sex work of all types...

phone sex operation, exotic dancing, webcam nude modeling, film performing, and peepshow performing... etc.

 

Lol
I never sent anyone anywhere.

My dad used to mine silica sand so I know how dangerous of a job that is.
He hated it more than anything but he did it because he had a family to support. Im sad that he had to do that but guess what he made the decision to marry and have kids with a high school education so idk wtf he expected.

I’m against all of those jobs, I just didn’t mention it. I don’t rely on or condone the coal industry. I don’t eat fish of any kind. And I’m not even going to start on the military.

People are gonna do what they do so yea let’s legalize prostitution so everyone can be protected.
I honestly have not looked into who is lobbying for legalization but historically I’m guessing it’s whoever is making the most money from it.

 

I don't see anything wrong with it. It's ridiculous how much it costs to prosecute and lock someone up for a 5 minute blowjob.

 

It depends, In one society it can helps, But it is possible to harm another. But until i'm not sure about it, My vote is it should be legal.

 

If you become a prostitute legally because you want to and not because you are being forced then definitely. There are brothels in Nevada that are legal. The women in the legal brothels can charge as much as they want because they are probably the best of the best and not something picked off the street. They are probably regularly tested for STDs and no ones going to get arrested for it. They can also say no if they want to. The brothels should be legal, being able to pick up someone from the street who's probably addicted to drugs with some awful STD should not.

 

I was about to say it myself because we needed to hear it. It's because people repeatedly ignore the power aspect of sexual violence that they also start victim shaming and blaming for sending the 'wrong' signals by wearing the 'wrong' clothes and hanging out with the 'wrong' people in the 'wrong' place at the 'wrong' time.

 

I say no because I personally don't like the idea of it. I think it will further promote prostitution and increase crime rates involving prostitution, such as rapes/murders/robberies prostitute , in some situations in could cause the spread of disease more. And I know if it were legal and I were a parent I would be so upset if my child was like, "mom I want to be a prostitute when I get older."haha. But that's my opinion, my girlfriend however has a complete opposite opinion on this subject than me.