Its Funny How Many Countries Have Legal Prostitution

[Backindiapers]

I was looking at craigslist for different countries for fun and realized Australia had an advertisement for call girls essentially. And I was like is it legal there? So I googled it of course and found Sexwork

I find it interesting that the U.S. is so far behind the times on this one. I guess realistically every other country is a bit more liberal and progressive than us. But still interesting.

[Santiago]

I find it interesting that being considered progressive is inherently good, and further that changes in the legalities of social moors is necessarily included in that. I don't agree that prostitution hurts no one - even if legal as your website proclaims. Perhaps in some circumstances it is a victimless crime. Not saying I disagree with it being legal - I just bristle at the value judgement on the rest of us who may not fit your progressive definition. That makes it sound like all changes are good - certainly not the case.

[LuvsGurl]

I find it interesting that the U.S. is so far behind the times on this one. I guess realistically every other country is a bit more liberal and progressive than us. But still interesting.

Blame it on the strong grip that Religion still holds on this country.

The only nations more socially backwards than the USA are the Muslim ones where women have no rights and are treated as property.

[DaddyHatiwolf]

How is going backwards progressive? Dont you mean "pro regressive"? Prostitution was once legal in the US, so it would be known as regression to reinstitute treating women as sex objects for petty cash. We have progressed into the belief that women should have things like rights. Its sad to see that liberal rednecks have not gotten over progression in society.

Have you considered trying to woo a female to get attention rather than buying her? Men really are pigs ... good job taking mankind back to the 1800s! Go progress! Whats the next move for the progressive society, trying out new and improved segregated bathrooms?

[moi]

We have progressed into the belief that women should have things like rights.

...and yet you apparently do not support women having the right to earn a living by engaging in sexual activity?

Many countries/groups/religions/people that oppress women claim it's for the women's benefit. Kind of how royals during medieval times claimed their treatment of the serfs was for their benefit.

[DaddyHatiwolf]

obviusly kiddo youve never seen what happens to a woman in that situation. all you want is your pleasure at their misery. again ... liberal rednecks worried about themselves and fulfilling their desires, not the plight of others or the world around them.

[DailyDi]

Sometimes I'm glad to be asexual - I've never been desperate enough to pay for meaningless sex with a stranger.... that's what Craigslist is for! lol

[Total Trash]

degradation

is not trading sex for money

but it is exchange

of social security number for food

degradation

is not stripping away the minidress

but it is not having curtain

covering me in a public shower

degradation

is not faking orgasms on the phone

but it is faking compliance

with the court order

degradation

is not even being raped on the street

but it is the doctor asking me

"why does it bother you if you fuck strangers anyway?"

-Emi Koyama

[underwhere]

Lets throw a wrench into this discussion. Can somebody please tell me what a nymphomaniac is? Yes, there are people who derive great pleasure simply by engaging in sex, almost like a compulsion. Supposing such a person fed their compulsion by becoming a prostitute. Would they be wrong for doing so? It is, after all, a person's right to choose their profession, correct?

[sarah_ab]

legalize sex workers, let them unionize, let them have set fees, insurance and the protection of the law...

and they won't be just a prostitute......

its legal to get naked and have sex on a camera for money, with a different guy in every scene even... but its not legal to have sex in your own bedroom for money..... doesn't make sense.....

legalize sex work! let them have rights, let them have legal protections, there are a lot of worse things out there, then making it legal for someone to pay for sex.. i mean you can pay for a half naked person to grind against your penis, its not that much more of a step to letting them being naked putting your penis in them....

[FretaBWet]

Prostitution is legal in the United States. It's just illegal in most state and local jurisdictions. It's legal in Nevada but not in Las Vegas itself.

Hugs,

Michelle

[Little Faerie]

Sarah has it right. Keeping prostitution illegal at the state and local levels is a result of the religious fundies keeping women from having rights. These are the same asshats trying to defund Planned Parenthood because they claim that all they are in it for is killing babies. No, they are in it for protecting women's physical health like giving pap smears and breast exams and preventing unwanted pregnancies from even happening in the first place. But, I digress. Anyway, like Sarah says, legalizing and regulating prostitution would allow women to be in control and have the right to do with their bodies as they wish. Legal prostitution shouldn't be strung out hookers on the street trying to get a buck for drugs, it should be well-kempt and documented clean women (and men) exchanging pleasures on THEIR terms for money as an occupation. Law should require annual health exams including STD screenings such as is required in Nevada. You can fuck anyone on camera for money so people can watch it, and that's perfectly legal. You can give away sex for free to anyone. But without a camera it's not legal unless you don't charge, how messed up is that? Why is it that having sex for money is illegal but you can give it for free? I also think that there would be less incidences of rape, because desperate men who can't get any would be able to find and buy it from a willing sex worker, and wouldn't be tempted to force themselves on a woman. I still think rapes would happen, because some people are just sick, but it might help. There is a silly musical featuring Dolly Parton called "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas" which shows sex work, albeit in an old fashioned setting, in a way that fairly accurately reflects the activities which take place in places where selling sexual favors is legal. This puritanical view of sex work has got to go. Once upon a time, in a far away land, sex was not an evil bad thing. It was a natural desirable thing. All this mixing restrictive religion into it only began in the last couple of millenia, and didn't even take off widespread until the last 800 years or so. Some people never took to it, and I think that's a good thing. I do not believe in forced prostitution, that is so very wrong, but for a woman who has a healthy active sex drive to engage in what she enjoys for money, I see no harm in that at all.

[moi]

all you want is your pleasure at their misery.

Um... how can you claim to know what I want? You've never met me and know nothing about me. For what it's worth, I've never partaken of the services of a prostitute, never would, and have no desire to. So your made-up statement about what I want is incorrect.

[sarah_ab]

well it most likely would not reduce the isntances of rape... rape isn't about men being desparate... rape is about power and control...... if the woman is willing to give you the sex, then it doesn't fulfill the need.

[froggy]

I agree that prostitution is not victimless. To make it legal seems to be a step backwards to me. I do not believe that the sex workers would be truly in the business of their own free will.

[sarah_ab]

by making it legal, then there is no more 'black market' there is no more sneaking around, hiding, covering up for your pimp.... by making it legal, it is also much easier to see those who are not in it of their own free will, because right now, people are afraid to step forward and say "i'm forced into it" thinking THEY will be prosecuted for just engaged in prostitution.... making it legal, means to come forward and say "i'm forced into this" without fear of being prosecuted.

its sor tof like when amsterdam instituted the registered addict program, although there are still some illegal dealers, the rate of crime related to drugs went down drastically... making prostitition legal and the crime related to such will be cut down drastically.....

[moi]

I agree that prostitution is not victimless.

Actually, I also agree it's not victimless. However I don't agree with what some seem to think which is that everyone involved is a victim. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, as with so many other things. And like sarah_ab, I think that legalizing it would reduce the number of victims by bringing it out in the open.

[BriGuy]

I always think its amazing When the government tells us what we can and cannot do with our own bodies. Progressive, regressive, what ever the hell you want to call it stay the fuck out of my bedroom.

I hate it when people tell ME what Is morally right or wrong, no one but me knows what's best, same as you. If you want to sell your crotch sell it! Whys the government gotta tell us what we can and can't do?

[LuvsGurl]

When you outlaw something, you lose all ability to control it as there only becomes one punishment, arrest. Look at the historical evidence of what Prohibition did to alcohol. Crime skyrocketed, the quality of alcohol went way down (bathtub gin) and the government spent millions on enforcement while losing millions in tax revenue.

When something is legalized it can be taxed, regulated, inspected, standardized, etc.

[BriGuy]

When you outlaw something, you lose all ability to control it as there only becomes one punishment, arrest. Look at the historical evidence of what Prohibition did to alcohol. Crime skyrocketed, the quality of alcohol went way down (bathtub gin) and the government spent millions on enforcement while losing millions in tax revenue.

When something is legalized it can be taxed, regulated, inspected, standardized, etc.

Careful. You may make too much sense for them to understand... logic never wins... only emotion will remain victorious!

[Total Trash]

I agree that prostitution is not victimless. To make it legal seems to be a step backwards to me. I do not believe that the sex workers would be truly in the business of their own free will.

That's all well and good that you've never been in a situation where sex work was your best employment option, but don't you think it's a bit presumptuous to assume no one could make an informed choice to pursue a career as a sex worker? As for whether prostitution is "victimless," I'm assuming you mean prostitutes themselves are victims. If so then wouldn't keeping prostitution illegal be punishing the victim, either directly via arrest or barring them from rights afforded to other workers?

[Diapered Jason]

Hmmmmmm, that's our hypocratic government for you. We've got politicians who are firmly against same-sex marriage, but enjoy watching lesbian porn. We've got politicians that advocate the dangers of marijuana, but enjoy getting drunk. More recently, we've got mostly republicans that are advocating smaller government and deregulation, but at the same time trying to pass bills allowing the government to enforce their ideologies on the people thereby spreading the power of government. Of course they are wasting their breath.

There is nothing really wrong with prostitution. It is more political than anything else. The problem though is what LuvsGurl pointed out. If it is illegal, it cannot be regulated, thus promoting the spread of STDs in the case of prostitution.

For me personally, I would never pay for sex. Morals have nothing to do with it. I just think money can't buy me love.

[FretaBWet]

I've never prostituted myself although a fair percentage in the transgender community turn to that because it's the only way to come up with the tens of thousands of dollars it takes to finance just the surgery. I've never paid for sex either, not because it's illegal or immoral but just that it would take all the fun out of it for me. This seems to be one of those issues that doesn't have an easy solution.

The federal government doesn't outlaw prostitution. It's better to leave it up to state and local governments to decide whether they want it or not. Either way, they have to live with the consequences of the decision. The feds outlawed alcohol and they paid the price for that decision. They turned many good and moral people that never committed real crimes into criminals. History is pretty clear how that turned out. Alcohol can still be outlawed on a state and local basis and in fact is outlawed in some counties in the south and midwest today. You don't have the crime wave that comes with it because if you want a drink you can drive to another county or state and get it. Prostitution and gambling are treated the same way. It seems to me that this works pretty well. It used to be that Las Vegas was about the only place to legally gamble in the U.S. but then other states began to ease their restrictions. They saw the money they could make on taxes and voters decided the money was better than their morality.

Our country is slowly becoming more open minded because people are motivated by money. I'm surprised the Indian reservations that have casinos on their land haven't opened up brothels yet. It's really the same as gambling in that it's not illegal under federal law so I'm surprised they haven't seized on this opportunity to expand. BTW, I want my cut for giving them the idea.

Hugs,

Freta

[Leilin]

I've never prostituted myself although a fair percentage in the transgender community turn to that because it's the only way to come up with the tens of thousands of dollars it takes to finance just the surgery. I've never paid for sex either, not because it's illegal or immoral but just that it would take all the fun out of it for me. This seems to be one of those issues that doesn't have an easy solution.

The federal government doesn't outlaw prostitution. It's better to leave it up to state and local governments to decide whether they want it or not. Either way, they have to live with the consequences of the decision. The feds outlawed alcohol and they paid the price for that decision. They turned many good and moral people that never committed real crimes into criminals. History is pretty clear how that turned out. Alcohol can still be outlawed on a state and local basis and in fact is outlawed in some counties in the south and midwest today. You don't have the crime wave that comes with it because if you want a drink you can drive to another county or state and get it. Prostitution and gambling are treated the same way. It seems to me that this works pretty well. It used to be that Las Vegas was about the only place to legally gamble in the U.S. but then other states began to ease their restrictions. They saw the money they could make on taxes and voters decided the money was better than their morality.

Our country is slowly becoming more open minded because people are motivated by money. I'm surprised the Indian reservations that have casinos on their land haven't opened up brothels yet. It's really the same as gambling in that it's not illegal under federal law so I'm surprised they haven't seized on this opportunity to expand. BTW, I want my cut for giving them the idea.

Hugs,

Freta

What an interesting thought, Freta.

Since some states, like California, now allow the operation of Indian Gaming outside of their land in certain circumstances, such a trend could open the door for brothels off of said land as well, theoretically.