J
JustSwingingTheD
Experienced
- Jan 31, 2022
- 204
Prostitution interests me a great deal both as a guy who has visited escorts out of lack of alternatives, (im ugly) and as a larger societal issue. The ethical dilemmas surrounding prostitution are somewhat complex. I think that the most central problem surrounding prostitution is that almost nobody who is involved in either selling sex or buying it wants to stand up and talk about it. Both clients and providers desire to keep their anonymity, because selling/buying sex is still a taboo in our societies for various reasons. Because of this the existing laws on prostitution are often both lobbied, legislated and executed by people who don't have any idea what they are doing and why. It's a very divisive subject that awakens complicated emotions, and i think that's an another reason why there is so much confusion about what is the right manner of approach from the humanitarian viewpoint.
The various existing legislations on the issue around the western world speak for this. Just consider for a moment how many different legislations there actually are: there is is 1) legal and regulated prostitution (brothels), 2) abolitionism (prostitution legal, organized activities illegal), 3) neo-abolitionism (only buying is illegal) and 4) decriminalization, (no criminal penalties, just a fine). And then, of course, 5) prohibitionism, although in the west this is quite unpopular nowadays, only developing countries such as the US use this anymore.
Speaking from personal experience, I used to have very negative attitude towards prostitution when i was younger, that was mostly picked up from the attitudes of people around me. It really took me a lot of lonely, miserable years before i finally "got low enough" to start seeing these girls. I almost immediately realized that most of these people are just normal, healthy free women looking for fast and easy money, and i'm not a monster for seeing them. I personally think that in the western countries where there is little human trafficking, such as the country where i live (a nordic country), prostitution still has a bad reputation mostly because aside from losers such as myself, most people who use these services seem to be men already in relationships, with problems with commitment and empathizing.
Women often seem have more hawkish attitudes towards prostitution. In some ways this is kind of understandable (when they have the idea that it's all one sided exploitation by men for example), but i think that there are also some more selfish reasons behind this. I have some theories which may or may not be a bit agitating for some people to hear. As absurd as it might sound, i think that with many women it's because they never "got to do it" by themselves. Women are all physically and mentally different, and not everyone is suited for this kind of work. The easy money some other women might be making by renting their bodies (easy for them), can arouse jealousy in these women. Then there is the fact that its harder to control males through sex in an environment where the selling and buying of it is widely accepted. It's easy to project your negative feelings caused by these things by being judgemental about something that is already quite widely seen as ethically questionable.
In some ways, it's quite common these days to blame men for everything wrong with being a woman. It might seem like a strange thought that women themselves would be advocating puritanistic approaches to sex that end up being harmful to other women, but that's actually not nearly as rare as you would think. In the developing countries where FGM is widespread, it's the women of the community who are responsible for "operating" on the young girls of the community, passing on the terrible trauma and violence. At it's root, it's all about competition too, women who have not undergone FGM will have less pain and more pleasure during intercourse. So they are able to offer more of it to men, increasing their sexual value in their eyes. These societies are really fucked up beyond words, but as you can see it's not all black (men) and white (women).
As for what is my idea about correct approach in legislation, i think that the "neo-abolitionism" model is a failure, no matter how you look at it. On the other hand, legal and regulated prostitution apparently paradoxically seems to often lead to more human-trafficking, i'm not sure why but i think it might be the overall looser attitudes towards the industry and the increased sex tourism that causes this. It might be somwhat a regional issue too, if just one country (or state) on the area legalizes prostitution, then of course all the problems are going to move there too. I'm personally sitting on the fence between complete legalization and regulation and abolitionism.
Personal experiences or otherwise, feel free to offer your opinion.
The various existing legislations on the issue around the western world speak for this. Just consider for a moment how many different legislations there actually are: there is is 1) legal and regulated prostitution (brothels), 2) abolitionism (prostitution legal, organized activities illegal), 3) neo-abolitionism (only buying is illegal) and 4) decriminalization, (no criminal penalties, just a fine). And then, of course, 5) prohibitionism, although in the west this is quite unpopular nowadays, only developing countries such as the US use this anymore.
Speaking from personal experience, I used to have very negative attitude towards prostitution when i was younger, that was mostly picked up from the attitudes of people around me. It really took me a lot of lonely, miserable years before i finally "got low enough" to start seeing these girls. I almost immediately realized that most of these people are just normal, healthy free women looking for fast and easy money, and i'm not a monster for seeing them. I personally think that in the western countries where there is little human trafficking, such as the country where i live (a nordic country), prostitution still has a bad reputation mostly because aside from losers such as myself, most people who use these services seem to be men already in relationships, with problems with commitment and empathizing.
Women often seem have more hawkish attitudes towards prostitution. In some ways this is kind of understandable (when they have the idea that it's all one sided exploitation by men for example), but i think that there are also some more selfish reasons behind this. I have some theories which may or may not be a bit agitating for some people to hear. As absurd as it might sound, i think that with many women it's because they never "got to do it" by themselves. Women are all physically and mentally different, and not everyone is suited for this kind of work. The easy money some other women might be making by renting their bodies (easy for them), can arouse jealousy in these women. Then there is the fact that its harder to control males through sex in an environment where the selling and buying of it is widely accepted. It's easy to project your negative feelings caused by these things by being judgemental about something that is already quite widely seen as ethically questionable.
In some ways, it's quite common these days to blame men for everything wrong with being a woman. It might seem like a strange thought that women themselves would be advocating puritanistic approaches to sex that end up being harmful to other women, but that's actually not nearly as rare as you would think. In the developing countries where FGM is widespread, it's the women of the community who are responsible for "operating" on the young girls of the community, passing on the terrible trauma and violence. At it's root, it's all about competition too, women who have not undergone FGM will have less pain and more pleasure during intercourse. So they are able to offer more of it to men, increasing their sexual value in their eyes. These societies are really fucked up beyond words, but as you can see it's not all black (men) and white (women).
As for what is my idea about correct approach in legislation, i think that the "neo-abolitionism" model is a failure, no matter how you look at it. On the other hand, legal and regulated prostitution apparently paradoxically seems to often lead to more human-trafficking, i'm not sure why but i think it might be the overall looser attitudes towards the industry and the increased sex tourism that causes this. It might be somwhat a regional issue too, if just one country (or state) on the area legalizes prostitution, then of course all the problems are going to move there too. I'm personally sitting on the fence between complete legalization and regulation and abolitionism.
Personal experiences or otherwise, feel free to offer your opinion.