On The Morality Of Prostitution.

DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011

#201: Feb 22nd 2011 at 10:33:51 AM

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian

HersheleOstropoler You gotta get yourself some marble columns from BK.NY.US Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Less than three

You gotta get yourself some marble columns

#202: Feb 22nd 2011 at 1:12:04 PM

even in countries where prostitution is legalized, the black market sex trade overshadows legitimate institutions utterly.

What DG said; presumably there's a difference between legal and illegal prostitution in these places aside from legality itself. I doubt people are hiring prostitutes in order to break the law.

You seem to postulate that people hire legal prostitutes for sex and illegal prostitutes to abuse them. I'm not sure how that works; I don't know how this black maket would operate that the prostitutes in question would be unable to go to the police.

The child is father to the man —Oedipus

Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001

Nemesis

#203: Feb 22nd 2011 at 1:27:19 PM

All I know is that the people I know who've worked in prostitution would rather it were legal, and if it were they would be; and the people I've known who have been customers would rather the legal kind as well.

Of course, if there's a reason you want the illegal kind you might not be talking about that.

edited 22nd Feb '11 1:27:55 PM by Morven

A brighter future for a darker age.

HersheleOstropoler You gotta get yourself some marble columns from BK.NY.US Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Less than three

You gotta get yourself some marble columns

#204: Feb 22nd 2011 at 1:40:55 PM

I wonder how well these terms are defined: "Prosttution is legal if you're 165 cm tall and named Ethel"? I can understand why there still might be an active black market. More realistically, if incall is legal but outcall is not, or vice versa, or only streetwalking is legal, or the law requires a prostitute to live alone (as in parts of Canada), that rather skews the data.

The child is father to the man —Oedipus

Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009

NOT THE BEES

#205: Feb 22nd 2011 at 1:44:37 PM

Yeah, commerce only works when supply and demand meet. Sure there are going to be circumstances where overregulation will result in prostitutes that wanted to be legal dropping off the radar, but unless there's something else in play your average nice guy Joe consumer just looking for a good night will probably prefer the legal assurances to the absence of them. Having things like 90% of the trade remaining in the black market in parts of Australia tells me said average Joes probably aren't indicative of the majority of the business.

edited 22nd Feb '11 1:49:29 PM by Pykrete

Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001

Nemesis

#206: Feb 22nd 2011 at 1:49:02 PM

It may simply be that legal prostitution is more expensive than clients are willing to pay. This may be due to over-regulation, or just that it's impossible to price legal work competitively with indentured illegal immigrants. More research needed.

A brighter future for a darker age.

Newfable Since: Feb, 2011

#207: Feb 22nd 2011 at 5:19:49 PM

The morality of prostitution is boiled down to one’s moral opinion on having sex itself. The reason why this thread has also discussed the legality of prostitution is because the issue of making it legal is a moral dilemma instead of an ethical one, very much like the abortion debate. That in no way means that there isn’t any ethical dilemmas brought about by the potential legalization of prostitution, but simply means that the question is always sparked from a moral standpoint instead of an ethical one. Much like the abortion debate, there are terribly large implications from both a moral and ethical standpoint on the issue, and neither can be ignored. And yes, I understand that the abortion argument may seem like an out of place comparison, I’m using it for the purpose of demonstrating that powerful arguments or “problems” are usually brought into question from moral standpoints first instead of ethical standpoints.

It simply won’t happen in this country I feel primarily because, as far as public relations are concerned, sex is some kind of “holy” act or, if we’re to avoid religiously connotative word choice, “something special” that’s primarily an exclusive performance between Alice and Bob (or Aaron and Bob, what you will). However, should this perception change, you’d see more openness to legalizing it (after, hopefully, those in power also heavily weigh the ethical arguments and implication associated with it).

neoYTPism Since: May, 2010

#208: Feb 22nd 2011 at 5:34:50 PM

"The morality of prostitution is boiled down to one’s moral opinion on having sex itself." - Newfable

Not necessarily. People of various attitudes towards sex think prostitution is immoral, and people of various attitudes towards sex consider prostitution okay.

Also, the morality of prostitution is often discussed on a Guilt by Association basis, where prostitution's morality isn't so much discussed "in and of itself" so much as by looking at what tends to be associated with prostitution in practice.

drunkscriblerian Street Writing Man from Castle Geekhaven Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: In season