My friend over at The Rail-Splitter recently published a post regarding our media culture. In it, he explores the recent Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal and the media’s varied coverage of the woman involved, Ashley Dupre, which led me to consider this topic a little more.
To me, prostitution is an interesting debacle. Obviously, there are health concerns when it comes to prostitution, as well as many people whose lives could turn to drug abuse and violence when delving into such a matter. I think this definitely shows that some sort of control upon prostitution is necessary. However, I do not agree that the actual idea of prostitution is a bad one. Who is to say that one can or cannot be paid for some sort of sexual interaction?
Just as people are paid to sing for you or serve you food, it seems that someone could similarly be paid to perform a sexual service. I do not think that people can be denied the right to be given money for something that could in many ways be compared to so many other jobs and tasks that we, as normal members of society, utilize. I’m not trying to say that paying for a prostitute is the same thing as hiring a plumber to come over and fix a leak, but many parallels can be drawn.
I think we have been so conditioned to assume that prostitution is this awful concept that we do not tend to consider many other alternate views on the topic. Yes, there might be an image in our heads of some unfortunate street hooker whose life is a mess of drugs, but that is not the type of legalized prostitution I am speaking of (and, the part that said “regulated” system would not allow), nor would this problem really be heightened through the use of a controlled system.
So, I guess I’m all for prostitution…not in the sense that I support it, as I do not necessarily personally approve of it, but I do not think that matters. Really, I think the matter is: who is to say you can’t be a prostitute? …and I do not think anyone is to say. Prostitution could, for example, be contained to safer brothels that are under some sort of government regulations, and not be necessarily something that is encouraged…but something that is allowed, nonetheless. Many other countries, especially in Europe, use this system (as well as in Nevada, to some extent), and I think it is at least something to think about.
To me, prostitution is an interesting debacle. Obviously, there are health concerns when it comes to prostitution, as well as many people whose lives could turn to drug abuse and violence when delving into such a matter. I think this definitely shows that some sort of control upon prostitution is necessary. However, I do not agree that the actual idea of prostitution is a bad one. Who is to say that one can or cannot be paid for some sort of sexual interaction?
Just as people are paid to sing for you or serve you food, it seems that someone could similarly be paid to perform a sexual service. I do not think that people can be denied the right to be given money for something that could in many ways be compared to so many other jobs and tasks that we, as normal members of society, utilize. I’m not trying to say that paying for a prostitute is the same thing as hiring a plumber to come over and fix a leak, but many parallels can be drawn.
I think we have been so conditioned to assume that prostitution is this awful concept that we do not tend to consider many other alternate views on the topic. Yes, there might be an image in our heads of some unfortunate street hooker whose life is a mess of drugs, but that is not the type of legalized prostitution I am speaking of (and, the part that said “regulated” system would not allow), nor would this problem really be heightened through the use of a controlled system.
So, I guess I’m all for prostitution…not in the sense that I support it, as I do not necessarily personally approve of it, but I do not think that matters. Really, I think the matter is: who is to say you can’t be a prostitute? …and I do not think anyone is to say. Prostitution could, for example, be contained to safer brothels that are under some sort of government regulations, and not be necessarily something that is encouraged…but something that is allowed, nonetheless. Many other countries, especially in Europe, use this system (as well as in Nevada, to some extent), and I think it is at least something to think about.
2 comments:
Well, sure, if it's a prostitute who is willingly giving herself out for sex and reaping all the benefits. However, consider the large number of prostitutes who are sex slaves, children w/ pimps or just plain crack addicts. Prostitution causes unwanted children, the spread of STDs and the funding of other crime via drugs. When we consider all the social harm that prostitution does, I think it would be better to just spend some money and find those women a new line of business.
Regulated prostitution would likely be a huge improvement over what currently exists the United States--women selling their bodies under dangerous circumstances, risking imprisonment, often not protecting themselves and others against disease.
Most people who criticize legalized prostitution have never investigated legalized prostitution as it exists in Europe (and Nevada for that matter). It would be much safer and better for woman and their "clients." I think it's fine for people to object to prostitution on moral grounds, but I do not think it fair for them to impose their moral views on others.
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