Escorts and other forms of "prostitution"

[melrich]

In which case, if it were legalized it would mean that the prostitution industry could be cleaned up.

 

Yeah, it's legal here and we don't have that strong connection between the two. Legal prostitutes work in very clean brothels, are well paid, pay taxes and receive pensions and are subject to monthly health checks.

[pianoguy]

I am surprised that I am the only one making the argument against prostitution. Where are the feminists? Hello? Anyone?

 

Isn't anyone here concerned about how degrading the career is to women? Doesn't anyone worry about the women in such situations?

 

Only on enotalone can I find a large gathering of men who think that women are primarily for sex... it frightens me, it does.

 

As for the statistics on other countries that have legalized it- my impression is that the picture is not nearly as rosy as everyone here says. And regardless of whatever else I hear, I refuse to believe that it is considered a respectable job in Amsterdam, Australia, or wherever. It is something no woman ever wants to do, and it is something that no woman should have to do, be it here in America, or elsewhere.

 

Cynical- I'm sorry about your situation, and I understand what you are going through. I was a virgin myself until I was 21- I neither kissed, nor hugged, nor went on a date, nor had sex until that time. It was not because I didn't want to, I can assure you. It was a pretty awful time in my life.

 

Yes, the thought of seeing a prostitute did enter my mind. But I didn't, mainly because I knew that in the long run it would make me even more unhappy than porn. It's only trading one addiction for another, and it doesn't satisfy you any more than porn does, and worst of all, it is much more expensive.

 

Channel your sexual frustration into something constructive. Go out and meet girls, preferably somewhere else than you are currently. Get your guy friends to hook you up. If you don't have guy friends, go get some. Try to look at the dating process as being fun in itself- meeting people, having a good time. If you look at it as paying for sex, like you seem to, then you will be just as miserable dating as with a prostitute. Dating and meeting girls should be fun... if it's not, you might want to think about why that is, and examine your attitude, rather than the process.

[Superfreak]

I am surprised that I am the only one making the argument against prostitution. Where are the feminists? Hello? Anyone?

 

Isn't anyone here concerned about how degrading the career is to women? Doesn't anyone worry about the women in such situations?

 

The job of the janitor that has to clean the crap off of the floor in a kindergarten-grade 5 school is also not the most pleasent. So what? Prostitution has always existed and always will. At least if we legalize it we can help to eradicate its worst elements (such as abuse, child prostitution and the increased probability of disease). For many women prostitution is a way to make alot of money when they don't have the education, intelligence, skills or discipline to enter more mainstream occupations. As long as it's safe and consensual, what does it matter? And the only way to ENSURE it is safe and consensual is to legalize it.

 

 

As for the statistics on other countries that have legalized it- my impression is that the picture is not nearly as rosy as everyone here says. And regardless of whatever else I hear, I refuse to believe that it is considered a respectable job in Amsterdam, Australia, or wherever. It is something no woman ever wants to do, and it is something that no woman should have to do, be it here in America, or elsewhere.

 

Of course it's not considered respectable. Again, so what? Some people prefer raking in tons of $$$ with a minimal amount of work to having a respectable job.

 

 

Channel your sexual frustration into something constructive. Go out and meet girls, preferably somewhere else than you are currently. Get your guy friends to hook you up. If you don't have guy friends, go get some. Try to look at the dating process as being fun in itself- meeting people, having a good time. If you look at it as paying for sex, like you seem to, then you will be just as miserable dating as with a prostitute. Dating and meeting girls should be fun... if it's not, you might want to think about why that is, and examine your attitude, rather than the process.

 

This I kind of agree with. To the orignal poster, a prostitute in the short term might be cheaper (that is, unless you can score a one night stand), but in the long term a girlfriend really is "cheaper". To put it in persepective (LOL this sounds awful) but over the course of 3 months I spent about $300 on a girl once and probably had sex with her once a week so about 12 times. $300 is about what it costs for one hour with a prostittute.

 

To put it EXTREMELY crudely, a prostitute is sort of like renting a home, the money is just thrown away after you spend it. However a girlfriend is like buying one, you get back what you put in to it.

[CynicalGuitarist]

Actually, my mom's a feminist, and yes, I've looked at both sides of the story objectionally. I find it a bit unfair that just because a few of us on here see the whole picture from a different light, we're supposedly "chauvenists". FYI, lots of vices legal in Amsterdam and illegal in the US (prostitution and marijuana) don't seem to interfere with the fact that Amesterdam is the "city of hugs". You seem to be a bit closed minded... there ARE places out there that are better than America; land of subliminal fascism... I mean, just 'cause you don't believe it doesn't mean it's not there.

 

Most guys that DO end up with prostitutes are usually as much victims as the women who are prostitutes themselves. Not victims to such a profession, but to society themselves; maybe they have a dead-end job, just cant bring themselves to sleep with their wives, have all their ambitions be turned to crap, and much more; so they go with someone else in hopes that they might discover some sort of new thrill in their life... do I agree with what they're doing? No, but I understand it. "Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccaisins".

 

I find dating in all respects ridiculous and asinine. You talk about how getting an escort is SO much more expensive, yet I know of guys who've taken a single girl out on several dates ($100 easily) and then get nothing in return anyways. In fact, girls are such great actors, they can fake liking you JUST to get that free movie ticket.

 

Get my guy friends to hook me up!? You're kidding, right? That's SUICIDE! Because your guy-friend knows that you are so desperate, he knows you're driven by emotion and that gives him EVERY opportunity to screw your romantic endevors up... trust me, it's happened to me before. I WISH I could think of dating as fun and joyous like many naive people do, but I'm starting to think there are more pitfalls in dating than getting an escort.

 

Oh yeah, GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!

[Taomagicdragon]

Why am I not surprised by the number of the proponents for this supposed idea that offer no factual reasonings that are younger than 30.

 

(The ones that give a grounded base I am not referring to)

[pianoguy]

Actually, my mom's a feminist, and yes, I've looked at both sides of the story objectionally.

 

Interesting. And what does she have to say about this?

 

I find it a bit unfair that just because a few of us on here see the whole picture from a different light, we're supposedly "chauvenists".

 

I never called anyone a chauvinist. I merely said that there seem to be men on here that believe that women are useful primarily as sex objects, and that frightens me. You have yet to argue with this. I suppose if somebody believes this, that would make them a chauvinist.

 

Amesterdam is the "city of hugs".

 

LOL. City of hugs? Have you been there? I have. It's an interesting place. That's as much as I will say. Anyways, it doesn't really have anything to do with our discussion.

Most guys that DO end up with prostitutes are usually as much victims as the women who are prostitutes themselves. Not victims to such a profession, but to society themselves; maybe they have a dead-end job, just cant bring themselves to sleep with their wives, have all their ambitions be turned to crap, and much more; so they go with someone else in hopes that they might discover some sort of new thrill in their life...

 

I strongly disagree. All of the faults you described are basically shortcomings in the individual, not society. It's not society's fault that these men lack social skills, motivation to do the right thing, or to change their circumstances. Society is a convenient scapegoat for the shortcomings of individuals. They are victims of themselves and their poor judgment, not society. The fact that somebody feels sorry for themself does not make them a victim.

 

I find dating in all respects ridiculous and asinine. You talk about how getting an escort is SO much more expensive, yet I know of guys who've taken a single girl out on several dates ($100 easily) and then get nothing in return anyways. In fact, girls are such great actors, they can fake liking you JUST to get that free movie ticket.

 

I'm not sure where you live, but in this day and age it's fairly normal to split the check on the first few dates. But that's not my point.

 

You are still missing my primary point that dating is more than just sex. A date that does not end in eyeball-popping sex is not a failure unless you view it that way. If all you want is sex, then yes, by all means, get a prostitute. It will not make you happy, I can guarantee it.

 

Dating is about courtship and love and all those mushy things that they talk about in old movies. It will not come along on every date that you go on. I'm sorry, but if you view dating as another form of prostitution you are guaranteeing failure with women. This might be part of your trouble, in fact, but that's another discussion.

Get my guy friends to hook me up!? You're kidding, right? That's SUICIDE! Because your guy-friend knows that you are so desperate, he knows you're driven by emotion and that gives him EVERY opportunity to screw your romantic endevors up...

 

I would hesitate to call somebody who intentionally screws up my romantic endeavours a "friend." Friends are people who are nice to you. You might need better friends. In any case, going out to the bars with guy friends is a great way to have fun and meet women.

 

I WISH I could think of dating as fun and joyous like many naive people do, but I'm starting to think there are more pitfalls in dating than getting an escort.

 

Well, I'm very sorry that you feel that way. Being bitter is the easy way out though, it's much more work to try again.

[pianoguy]

As long as it's safe and consensual, what does it matter?

Because it is degrading to the woman. Why did we outlaw segregation? Couldn't we just regulate it? No- it is inherently degrading to black people. Prostitution degrades women.

 

To put it EXTREMELY crudely, a prostitute is sort of like renting a home, the money is just thrown away after you spend it. However a girlfriend is like buying one, you get back what you put in to it.

 

That IS extremely crude. It also proves what I said in my earlier post about chauvinism, if you think of a girlfriend as a free prostitute.

[Superfreak]

Because it is degrading to the woman. Why did we outlaw segregation? Couldn't we just regulate it? No- it is inherently degrading to black people. Prostitution degrades women.

 

You'll have to do much better then that. The effects of segregation on blacks in terms of limiting opportunities are readily apparent objectively. Your characterization of prostitution as degrading, not just to the prostitutes themselves but ALL women is subjective. More importantly, prostitution does not limit the opportunities of an entire gender. This is a total red herring on your part and you know it.

 

 

That IS extremely crude. It also proves what I said in my earlier post about chauvinism, if you think of a girlfriend as a free prostitute.

 

If I'd thought about her that way I'd have never been able to sustain the 2 year relationship that I had with her. It was a challenge to the idea that sex with a prostitute is economically cheaper all the time. If he doesn't want to have a girlfriend that's fine, but the fact that a girlfriend can be demonstrated to cost less monetarily then a prostitute IS a valid challenge to the argument that sex with a prostitute will always cost less. How else would you argue that point other then comparing it to what is spent in a relationship?

[ResonanceTheory]

Prostitution does a disservice to women because it perpetuates the ancient practice of stratification on the basis of gender. In my opinion, if it becomes socially acceptable for a woman to sell herself for sex or companionship, it also becomes harder to the undo the damage that has been done to half of the world's population for centuries, and to advance women's position as man's equal.

 

As for what the posters that have been arguing for prostitution as simply another form of paid services have said, I have to contest. Sex is inherently different from say, cleaning someone's home or cutting someone's hair, or serving them food at a restaurant. Sex involves intimate, physical contact with another individual. Growing up normally, I was taught that it was something special, something done for emotional reasons rather than material gain, something that was saved for someone that I cared for, or --in the least--knew. The prevalence of STDs in this day and age only ups the ante. And while I know that this vein of thought isn't necessarily present in ALL women (and is, most likely, also absent in many prostitutes), do we really want to perpetuate that mindset in women--that their bodies are just a means to an end, that their bodies are only worth as much as they can hook on any given day? And moreso, do we want to advance the social mindset that sex is just a commodity, that women are not so much men's equals as chattel that can be bought and sold by pimps and johns?

 

Even if prostitution were legalized, it wouldn't really change how prostitutes are viewed by men and women alike. It's bad enough that men's social domination of women would be reaffirmed by men's sexual domination of women. And women aren't fans of prostitutes either. I suggest a quick search of the "infidelity" section of this forum if you need evidence. Prostitution not only hurts the prostitutes, but makes infidelity a lot easier. And I'm sure that many people would agree that cheating on someone--regardless of who it is with--is wrong.

 

I don't believe that it is truly feasible to eliminate prostitution in all of it's forms, but I think that looking at it as a healthy and secure way to make a living is wrong. You have to realize where many prostitutes are coming from. Many are desperate, strung out, runaways. Some have been abused, raped, molested or abandoned as children, which leads only to a cycle in which the children of these women may be abused and abandoned as well, and become subject to the same forces that put their mother out to the streets.

 

In the end, the root of this thinking seems to boil down to primitive preconceptions about men and women that some of us have. Why hasn't anyone spoken about male prostitution? All I've read about here is man's "biological drive" to have sex. But what about the female sex drive? I know that almost everyone who has replied to this thread has been rather cool towards the op's rather bitter view on women. I know I can't change his way of thinking, but he should understand that the majority of women aren't the gold diggers that he'd like to make them out to be. I also suspect that the OP's query is less rooted in his fundamental opposition to the illegal status of prostitution and more related to lack of success in relationships and a low opinion of women in general.

 

While I don't deny that some women resort to this as a way to make money when there are in the serious down and outs, it is extremely ignorant to believe that the legal sanctioning of prostitution will eliminate it's ties to all the social problems that caused it in the first place--such as poverty, addiction, and physical and mental abuse. And while I know that no one said that it WOULD end all those things, to allow prostitution to continue without any such upheaval would be an extremely inhumane and backward thing to do.

[CaptainPlanet]

Men will always view women as submissive in terms of a sexual relationship. I hope you realise that. Nothing personal just the way it is.

[melrich]

Only on enotalone can I find a large gathering of men who think that women are primarily for sex... it frightens me, it does

 

Is that what you think we are saying if we advocate legalisation? How did you get to that?

 

I refuse to believe that it is considered a respectable job in Amsterdam, Australia, or wherever.

 

Again I am not sure how you got to the position that where it is legalised it is considered respectable.

 

Arguments for legalisation are around health issues and crime association, not morality and ethics.

 

Why hasn't anyone spoken about male prostitution?

 

That is legal here too. And a burgeoning part of the industry.

[JadedStar]

I hate to compare this to dogs because obviously you are talking about people, but since I am very into dogs it is the same thing when people say "why not buy from that petstore, everyone wins...that puppy needs a home".

 

No one things about the deplorable conditions these dogs come from. It all looks like a sweet happy transaction but the parents of these "petstore dogs" aka puppymill dogs, are living in wire cages, breeding every heat, no teeth in their head often because they have been kicked out by mill owners, they are not well, poor health....

 

Now i know some of you are like what the he11? What kind of analogy is this? But it is similar. So many people think prostitution is a big deal. Quid pro quo. Everyone is happy. But it's not eutopia for the girl who is having to live like this. Sure she makes a choice, or does she? Who knows how she was coerced or thrown into this life. Contrary to what many men think women don't just say "hey i want to make a lot of money, I"m going to sell my body tomorrow".

 

no there is a lot behind the scenes that is deplorable that would really shake the comfy notions that some of you have running thru your head. It is not a victimless crime.

 

It just reminds me in a very odd way of the buying that puppy in the petstore window...everyone thinks it is a win/win situation because they are totally unaware of the heninous acts that goes on behind the scenes.

[melrich]

Now i know some of you are like what the he11?

 

LOL ...you got that right.

[Shiranai]

I'm a woman, a feminist, and I support legalizing prostitution.

 

It's not about who "I" am, it's about what's fair and good for society.

 

I would not choose to be a prostitute, but that does not mean I should take away another person's right to be a prostitute if s/he so chooses to be one.

 

A prostitute is not always a woman. Although the majority of the prostitutes are women, men can also be prostitutes. They're just called escorts.

 

 

There are PLENTY of unrespected jobs that are legal.

Tell me, which young girl or boy says he wants to grow up and be a plumber, mail man, taxi driver, truck driver, garbage man, lawn mower, house cleaner, maid, waiter?

 

These are unrespected jobs, but many are well paid because people are UNWILLING to do them. You don't grow up wanting to be one. One just decide to go into the industry for better money.

 

That brings me to a point. Many feminists say prostitution will somehow degrade other women in OTHER INDUSTRIES. Prove it! Prostitution is legalized in many countries, prove they think of women less.

 

That is simply not true. Garbage collectors are MOSTLY male, just as prostitutes are mostly female. Do we think lower of all men because there are garbage men? I don't think so. That is simply not true. (Besides, they make good money. The world does not laugh at those with unrespectable jobs, it only laughs at those that are poor.)

[Superfreak]

Prostitution does a disservice to women because it perpetuates the ancient practice of stratification on the basis of gender. In my opinion, if it becomes socially acceptable for a woman to sell herself for sex or companionship, it also becomes harder to the undo the damage that has been done to half of the world's population for centuries, and to advance women's position as man's equal.

 

Where's the evidence? Explain to me how a consenting woman and man having sex with one person paying for the encounter undoes anything. It certainly doesn't take away a woman's right to vote, or have an abortion or earn as much as a man does for equal work, so again, how does prostitution curtail the rights of women? I'm really interested to know since alot of people like you assume this without giving any justification.

 

As for what the posters that have been arguing for prostitution as simply another form of paid services have said, I have to contest. Sex is inherently different from say, cleaning someone's home or cutting someone's hair, or serving them food at a restaurant. Sex involves intimate, physical contact with another individual. Growing up normally, I was taught that it was something special, something done for emotional reasons rather than material gain, something that was saved for someone that I cared for, or --in the least--knew.

 

As you said yourself, not everyone views sex as something that needs to be a big emotional experience, some people can have it be totally mechanically. If you view sex and love as intertwined, then don't become a prostitute, but if some women can separate the two and want to make some easy cash, why stop them?

 

The prevalence of STDs in this day and age only ups the ante. And while I know that this vein of thought isn't necessarily present in ALL women (and is, most likely, also absent in many prostitutes), do we really want to perpetuate that mindset in women--that their bodies are just a means to an end, that their bodies are only worth as much as they can hook on any given day?

 

Yet legalizing prostitution doesn't perpetuate that mindset. Legalization doesn't mean we make it mandatory for all women to sell there body, it just means we give them the choice (and men too) to sell there body. It gives people more choice, not less.

 

And moreso, do we want to advance the social mindset that sex is just a commodity, that women are not so much men's equals as chattel that can be bought and sold by pimps and johns?

 

Sex is an intimate experience when done between lovers. Yet it also can be viewed as a service. When we were moving from our old house, we hired movers whom were guys with huge muscles, I never complained that they were advancing the mindset that men are only useful for there physical strength, that would be ridiculous since so many men work in different occupations where there intelligence or humour or hard work are more important. Likewise, unless every single woman in the world becomes a prostitute, young girls in a soceity where prostitution is legalized are going to have other role models to look up to.

 

 

Even if prostitution were legalized, it wouldn't really change how prostitutes are viewed by men and women alike. It's bad enough that men's social domination of women would be reaffirmed by men's sexual domination of women.

 

Of coures it wouldn't change any views, it would still be considered a low status occupation and I wouldn't want my daughter or son involved in it for similar reasons to why I wanted want them to aspire to have a career in picking up aluminum cans. What legalization would do is make it MUCH safer for women to be escorts and their clients as they would be required to undergo drug screening, std testing, and if a john turned violent, they would now have the option of reporting it to the police rather then keeping it under wraps for fear of being arrested as a prostitute.

 

 

And women aren't fans of prostitutes either. I suggest a quick search of the "infidelity" section of this forum if you need evidence. Prostitution not only hurts the prostitutes, but makes infidelity a lot easier. And I'm sure that many people would agree that cheating on someone--regardless of who it is with--is wrong.

 

There's two things in the world that won't go away: infidelity and prostitution. These have always existed and its pie in the sky idealism to not acknowledge that these things are going to happen. What legalization of prostitution would at the very least do is make it a more disease free experience. I realise this is a small comfort to any woman cheated on with a prostitute, but it is still a step up from the status quo.

 

 

I don't believe that it is truly feasible to eliminate prostitution in all of it's forms,

 

Finally, some sense

 

but I think that looking at it as a healthy and secure way to make a living is wrong.

 

True, but legalization would go a long way to making it more healthy and secure for all parties involved.

 

You have to realize where many prostitutes are coming from. Many are desperate, strung out, runaways. Some have been abused, raped, molested or abandoned as children, which leads only to a cycle in which the children of these women may be abused and abandoned as well, and become subject to the same forces that put their mother out to the streets.

 

And so these often uneducated women often pursue prostitution. It is unfortunate but if it were legalized, it would be safer for these women and there could also be more support for these women to ensure that those that want to get out of the life eventually learn the basics of saving money to get an education and are kept off the bitter cycle of drugs that traps many women in to the sex industry.

 

In the end, the root of this thinking seems to boil down to primitive preconceptions about men and women that some of us have.

 

Yes, the desire for sex is one of our base instincts. There was a recent article detailing how there are monkeys that pay for sex to give you an idea of how old the industry is.

 

Why hasn't anyone spoken about male prostitution? All I've read about here is man's "biological drive" to have sex. But what about the female sex drive?

 

I'd fully support brothels or escorts for straight females. Only problem is these places often can go belly up since many women seeking casual sex can just go to a bar. If a male escort agency gets enough business to be profitable then more power to them and the women that use it.

 

I also suspect that the OP's query is less rooted in his fundamental opposition to the illegal status of prostitution and more related to lack of success in relationships and a low opinion of women in general.

 

Probably.

 

While I don't deny that some women resort to this as a way to make money when there are in the serious down and outs, it is extremely ignorant to believe that the legal sanctioning of prostitution will eliminate it's ties to all the social problems that caused it in the first place--such as poverty, addiction, and physical and mental abuse.

 

But it will be a step far above the status quo in which much of the money may be eaten up by a 3rd party (such as a pimp) keeping the woman from earning and saving enough money to eventually leave the business, it also will make it possible for prostitutes to report incidents of violence to the police and it will have the effect of treating or at least screening out women with drug problems or mental illness. The status quo is anyone can be a prostitute without any regulations with it all feeding the underground economy. If legalized it could also be taxed meaning that like cigarrettes, its tax could go towards government programs aimed at dealing with societal ills. Maybe use the tax money to enlarge the police force, or better healthcare etc.

 

 

And while I know that no one said that it WOULD end all those things, to allow prostitution to continue without any such upheaval would be an extremely inhumane and backward thing to do.

 

Wrong again, what would be wrong is keeping this industry underground so that disease and abuse run rampant, and it is pimps, drug dealers and other figures of the underground economy that benefit from the amount of money spent on prostitution rather then the prostitute themselves and the government through taxes.

[KG]

Superfreak,

Hear hear!! Very consise...

[KG]

Yeah, it's legal here and we don't have that strong connection between the two. Legal prostitutes work in very clean brothels, are well paid, pay taxes and receive pensions and are subject to monthly health checks.

 

There is the whole argument...can work hand in hand if you are willing to admit that it exists, and will continue to. Disease free, win/win. It's my belief that the puritans in the U.S. will never acknowledge this tho...and how many of our elected officials have women on the side?

[CaptainPlanet]

People just place a higher amount of sacrifice on having to work for sex all jobs involve sacrifice.

[melrich]

It's my belief that the puritans in the U.S. will never acknowledge this tho...and how many of our elected officials have women on the side?

 

Does it ever get talked about? Legalisation I mean.

 

I too get most of my perceptions on prostitution in the uS from shows like COPS.

 

I know it must be sensationalised but you see these stings they set up, 10 or 12 cops working them and a customer comes along and they all jump out and nab him and I can't help but think is that really where so many police resources should be going?

[musicguy]

I want prostitution to be legal so that I can get laid whenever I want to since I can't really get it from a hook up or a girlfriend

[Shiranai]

Does it ever get talked about? Legalisation I mean.

 

I too get most of my perceptions on prostitution in the uS from shows like COPS.

 

I know it must be sensationalised but you see these stings they set up, 10 or 12 cops working them and a customer comes along and they all jump out and nab him and I can't help but think is that really where so many police resources should be going?

 

No, it doesn't ever get talked about. America, as a puritan country, holds onto a lot of puritan ideas. Some can be good, some are backwards and sometimes downright inhumane.

 

So far, I'm content with prostitution not being talked about. After all, this country has yet to allow same sex marriage. It'll be a long way before they recognize people's right to sell sex.

 

Sex's always viewed as some taboo thing that should be hidden or stopped, when that's not at all what it should be.

[CynicalGuitarist]

I'd say Superfreak and Shiranai have gotten closest to what I've been meaning to say...

 

What the nay-sayers are missing here, is the fact that I agree that prostitution is corrupt. It's mostly the pimps and the unsanitary environments amongst other things that can corrupt a valuable service that not everyone may agree with (helping the lonely and unfortunate with intimate contact). Just because marijuana is frowned upon as a medicine doesn't mean it hasn't done any good for people. I never did agree with prostitution in it's widely-known current American state in the first place... I've just been wondering a lot lately because I find modern dating absurd in my eyes. It's not the same now as it was back in my parent's day. I'm treated horribly by women anyways (yes, including the ones people theorize I have "a chance" with). Not EVERYONE has politically correct monogamous relationships (especially men and women that don't fit in "the norm" for whatever reason,) and anybody who uses logic will get mad if I told a physically handicapped person "ITS ALL IN YOUR HEAD! STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF AND GET YOUR LIFE BACK ON TRACK!!!" I mean, we can give the physically (and mentally in these modern times) handicapped people help... why not make this world a better place by helping those who would NEVER have gotten sex or even a mere relationship otherwise (aka the socially handicapped)? It's not like there are over 1 billion Alex Hitches for the socially handicapped I mentioned. Also, like I said, this ain't the 50's anymore. At least I KNOW that an escort doesn't want me as a companion. I don't have much else to say about this, but I WOULD rather myself (or someone else) have sex with an escort, rather than become an alcoholic (alcohol does a LOT more harm to society, but it's socially acceptable... so it MUST be ok, right?)

 

Gotta add this, though; a lot of people work in unsanitary and/or dangerous environments, yet they make life much more convenient and/or sanitary for the rest of us. I guess the human race isn't spiritually evolved enough to establish the connection that this really accounts for right-brained services, too (has anybody ever wondered how psychologists/psychiatrists ever felt after dealing someone with major problems?)

 

Ah yes, here comes that there "YOU'RE REPULSIVE" disagreement...

[CynicalGuitarist]

I would hesitate to call somebody who intentionally screws up my romantic endeavours a "friend." Friends are people who are nice to you. You might need better friends. In any case, going out to the bars with guy friends is a great way to have fun and meet women.

 

The problem is, there ARE friends out there that are like that. Sadly, relationships can change a friendship, too. We are all weak creatures. Even the best male friend in the world will become an enemy when a woman both people desire comes between. Trust me, it's happened to me before, and totally ruined everything with a once best-friend of mine. We've reconciled (even though things will NEVER be the same, sadly), but still, you see my point? It can ruin everything; EVEN lifelong friendships.

 

BLEGH, the bar... see, they see escorts as slovenly people and brothels as slovenly places... but BARS!? NAH! They're socially acceptable, even if they're over-run with surly, idiotic, unhygenic, overly-emotinal drunks, they MUST be OK!!! Plus, this is 2008 here, it's not like the role of "wingman" is valued much anymore... now we call 'em DOORSTEPs. Granted, I can still drink, as I don't like drinking anyways (won't get addicted), but that'll happen in about a year. I find it ironic how people can applaud the meat-brained jerk wad that took advantage of that there drunk girl, but when his nerdier, more withdrawn counterpart gets an escort, he's suddenly a FREAK!

 

Ah yes, America; land of double-standards.

[pacodemil]

Because if they glorify it and promote it then someday your or my daughter (hypthetically speaking) Will end up being a prostitute because it is an easy way to make money and because it was glorified. It is also a good way for diseases and other things to spread.

[Taomagicdragon]

As long as most of the prostitution in the US is tied to:

 

Drugs

Alcohol Abuse

Drug Trafficking

Child Abuse

Rape

Statutory Rape

Gun Violence

Gang Violence

Kidnapping

Spreading Disease

Spouses cheating on each other

etc etc etc

 

It will never be legal in a wide spread sense. Never mind them oral argument in the US.

 

If the OP wants, he can move to Las Vegas or head to Europe/Asia/Australia/Etc for paid-sex. In America, overrall, it is not legal so there's very little reason to debate beyond that unless enotalone is now the senate floor. An e-forum is not grounds to make an Initiative for any proposed change to a law.

 

I reinstate my amusement at some of the proponents for this idea that offer no real grounds of reasoning on their own, are closer to the age of 20 and apparently have exhausted all means of love and have become jaded/victims of "the system" and can somehow "see" through the "lies" of love.... Not naming names, but they likely ought to reevaluate a few more things than how to get laid in a fast manner. Then again, I may just see them on Cops.

 

Go to where its legal if it's something you want/need or try to make an Initiative in your state for it.

 

PS: Initiative is when someone acquires a number of signatures necessary to bring a proposed idea to the state govt (or federal govt in some cases) to be debated and possibly become a bill that, if it passes a referendum, may become a law in that state.