Should prostitution be legalized?
In my day job, I have interviewed sex workers (prostitutes, to you, most likely) and I went into those conversations with the firm belief that these women were victims of a society that forced them to sell their bodies. I came out of those conversations not so sure of myself and what I thought I knew.
I’m still not sure. Anyway. Food for thought.
Yes.
You can’t leave it at that! Why? I’m on the fence on this, and it’s not a comfortable place to sit.
I vote, no.
What did you learn from the interviews, dj? What changed your thoughts about this?
Weirdest thing, I’m old school feminist and so of course we can probably figure out how I approached this issue, but these women convinced me that they’d made these choices on their own and that I didn’t get a vote. No, it would never be something I’d do (I think I’m safe using that “never”) but it seemed more a choice than I’d originally thought. I’m not explaining myself very well. I think that’s because I’m mostly uncomfortable even entertaining this idea, legal prostitution.
Even if they made the choice, I can’t help but wonder if they had much in the way of other good options to earn a living.
There is something else that really bothers me about this and I can’t even really articulate it. It has something to do with how society, at times, views women as sex objects. That’s the same attitude I despise about the Polanski situation and the woman who was raped in Iraq in your post above. I guess I can’t get past that to be O.K. with prostitution. Now, I’m not explaining myself very well, but the “no” voice in me is pretty loud.
And here I rest, firmly and uncomfortably on the fence.
Like the pot discussion (I was the consensus spoiler as I recall), I think I may be all by myself on the “no” side of the legalize-prostitution-fence among us dj bloggers.
Every party needs a pooper, that’s why we invited yooooooouuuu…actually, I’m annoyed at myself that I can’t pick a side. I can, however, argue forcefully both sides.
I picked a side, but I’m not so rooted that I would say that I’d never hop over to the other side…ever. Discussion is good. :-)
There are 28 legal brothels in Nevada, according to Wikipedia. None of them are in Las Vegas.
I’ve never been to Nevada …
I passed the story over to DJ in part because I was curious about what the Bible has to say about the issue. There’s at least a sympathetic character or two, right? There’s nothing at the Commandment level about not taking money for sex.
Mostly the Christian scriptures talk about how Jesus was quick to welcome prostitutes and other disenfranchised people to the table. There was no judgment.
A lot is left out of the Ten Commandments. They don’t address beatings or rape or child abuse or countless other things, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok. I wonder if anything is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible though.
All right, so I had to look it up. DJ will rap my knuckles for sure for versifying, but:
Proverbs 23:27-28: “For a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men.”
Huh?
In the New Testament, I see prostitutes get lumped in with tax collectors as being redeemable. That part, I unnerstand. :)
I don’t get it either, but it sounds kind of un-Bible-like.
It’s the Bible all right … just one of the less quoted lines, maybe.
Maybe I’ll start going to sporting events an’ holding up a sign that say:
Proverbs 23:27
That would confuse the heck out of the crowd!
Well, all responsibilities for sin falls on the woman, right? And so it shall ever be. I hadn’t known of that verse in Proverbs. I like Jesus’ approach better. He just went ahead and befriended them.
The same type of abuse and exploitation which drives many to prostitution continues in an environment controlled by criminals, pimps and slavers who treat human beings like animals.
(No. I’m not talking about healthcare.)
The longer the sex trade stays underground, the more profit is made for criminals, with the workers remaining unprotected from the pimps or the johns.
Exactly.
Sometimes I wonder if people think that making something “legal” is telling people “we want you to do this”
It’s the argument against legalizing marijuana and against gay marriage.
It was the argument against selling beer on the Sabbath, too. Everything went to hell when they legalized that, huh?
But mostly? It was the fault of the women who drank. I kid!
Yes. They’re grown ups and it’s their own bodies and they can do what they want as long as they do it with other adults. While we’re at it, pot should be legal too. Thanks for asking.
We did discuss pot earlier. I can’t remember the concensus, but it was an interesting discussion.
Pot?
Did somebody say pot?
And consensus.
I know I heard pot and consensus.
Through the fog, you mean?