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Another essay/rant; opinions and arguments are most welcome. Informed opinions and arguments are formed and honed by intelligent debate, and I welcome opportunities to hone mine. My usual caveats apply: I consider this a work in progress, and if you leave a comment that causes me to change my position on some parts of the content, I may alter it to reflect my altered position (though I will also reply to the comment to acknowledge it).
There are a few topics I have recently found myself discussing or debating. One of the more controversial (and frequently recurring) is prostitution and the morality and legality (or lack of one, the other, or both) inherent to it.
The first point to get out of the way is sexual conservativism. Some people tend to mix these things up, but I think they are separate issues; if, for example, you think it is wrong to have premarital (or extramarital) sexual relations, or merely sex outside of a committed relationship, it is not prostitution you take issue with, but sex, and you would consider prostitutes immoral even if they didn't charge. My take on this is based on my usual criterion: If it doesn't hurt anyone, it's not inherently wrong. Don't misunderstand me—if it feels wrong for you, don't do it. If it's cheating (that is, breaking the established rules of a relationship), it's hurt your partner, so don't do it. If it feels right and does not constitute a betrayal, and is done with the proper precautions, frankness, and honesty, then where is the harm? You can read this older rant on the topic, if you feel unconvinced or uncertain of my views.
With that out of the way, we come to the issue of prostitution. It is probably unsurprising at this point that I think it is not immoral, and should not be legislated against. We return to the notion of harm: Does any harm come from it? I say no—and I say that we should not have laws except against acts that cause harm to, or infringe on the rights of, other people.
Having sex with whomever you like is legal. Giving money to whomever you like, or accepting it from whoever offers it to you, is legal. In many places, however, the one in exchange for the other is illegal. I fail to see the logic.
Prostitution does not cause cheating. Someone who would cheat on his or her partner could probably do so by picking up at a bar, hitting on a coworker, or something similar. (More crucially to me, someone who would cheat on his or her partner with a prostitute is already deserving of distrust, whether the deed be done or no.)
Prostitution need not spread sexually transmissible diseases. Unprotected sex spreads STDs, and unprotected sex happens between people who have sex under any circumstances—probably at a higher relative frequency when money is not changing hands. Yes, there will always be a risk, but well-designed legislation requiring prostitutes to use condoms (as I expect virtually all prostitutes do—just because they sell sex, that does not mean that they are stupid, and they damn well ought to know they are at risk) and get regular check-ups.
Prostitution is not inherently degrading. Degradation is a psychological issue; a function of society. To some, it would feel degrading to be stuck flipping burgers at McDonald's, to work in garbage collection, or to clean up blood and tissue residues in an emergency room; others may feel there is nothing wrong with even grunt work in either the restaurant business, environmental services, or medical care. The same is true for sex work. A prostitute who feels forced into the business by despair and a lack of financial means, who is treated like human trash by clients (and worse yet, by those who should be supportive: Friends and family, if they know) will obviously feel degraded. A prostitute who approaches her job with a smile, regarding it as just another job, with the perk of some good sex now and then and the disadvantage of some very unpleasant customers, and who does not let herself be taken advantage of, may not feel degraded. Don't believe me? Ask ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) starlet_harlot, for instance—in fact, read her LJ, and start here.
Degradation and being taken advantage of are not defined by any specific acts. They are defined by whether a person performs said acts willingly or not. Sexuality is not inherently shameful.
I do think that there are serious problems associated with prostitution. I do think that many women who prostitute themselves are probably unhappy. (I have no statistics to base this on, so I will not use words like majority or minority .) I do not think, however, that these are inherent problems, but problems that stem from society's dim views on prostitution and, in many places, poor legislation.
Consider Canada. As I understand, prostitution is legal in Canada. Soliciting clients is not; I don't imagine this matters a terrible lot—prostitutes and clients will find each other. Additionally, there is a law—this is the real kicker—there is a law against bawdy houses . A bawdy house is any place kept as a place of business for prostitution or indecent act —basically a brothel by a broad definition. This is a terrible idea. This basically forces prostitutes to either break the law to ply their trade (effectively depriving them of legal protection), or to do it entirely at their clients' terms, perhaps by coming with clients, or going to places with which they are not familiar and where they certainly have not arranged security—exposing them to dangers of robbery, abuse, rape, even murder. Additionally, it makes the trade more difficult to control.
What I would like to see is a prostitution law that allows it, but controls it. Legalise brothels. Require prostitutes to work out of registered brothels (small enough that they could, if they so desire, run them out of their own apartments); require brothels to keep health records of all employees, require regular STI checks (bimonthly, perhaps?), require the use of condoms and dams. Remove prostitution from the streets, bring it to places where clients know how to find it (removing the need for soliciting), where security can be organised, where both prostitutes and clients can be safe.
I do not know whether it is truly relevant, but a reader may at this point wonder what my personal view on prostitutes and prostitution is. The answer is that I have no personal interest in it—I would not care to purchase the services of a prostitute. Call it sentimentality, self respect, or vanity; the simple truth is that I have no interest in having sex with anyone who does it for any reason but that she wants to have sex with me, motivated by lust and affection, not financial gain. Nevertheless, I do not think that there is anything inherently wrong with taking a different view—regarding sex as something purely physical, a need that a prostitute can satisfy—nor with accepting money to satisfy those needs.
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