Paying For It...

Tonight we watched something that I had recorded on the DVR, the National Geographic Channel(HD) to be exact. Taboo - Prostitution. It discussed the topic of third world prostitution in Bangladesh, where you can be sold into the trade at age 18, and is legal, but abortion is not.

Then look to Australia where brothels and prostitution have been legalized. Strict rules, inspection, blood tests, and safe working environments are purported to reduce illegal activities against the women, some of whom make over $150k US per year.

Over and over they had a shrill woman with some college credentials shrieking that any act of women selling themselves for sex hurts *all* women in all forms of sexuality. That it is a violent act, even if no violence against the woman actually occurs. The damage is damage. Damage to one woman is damage to all women.

Thought #1. If it is a woman's body, and it is legal in the country, is it really harmful? The woman is making (hopefully) an educated position about herself and her body and her career path. She is making money for herself, legally, and she may in many cases make more money in a few short weeks of work than some of us might make in an entire year. I say that if she is not coerced into it, and she can quit at any time, and is making money for herself in a safe environment, isn't this a good thing?

Thought #2. If a woman tells a guy that she isn't going to be intimate with him until he takes her out to a movie, dinner, dancing, drinks, and then also shows off all night to her friends, how is that not a barter for services? Not that there is anything wrong with that. Is there? Why should that be ok then?

Thought #3. The program talked about a disabled man living in the UK. Poor guy. He has some form of muscular / skeletal disorder that rendered him unable to use his arms or legs, but miraculously (incredulously, or just plain meanly of his creator, deity, spaghetti monster etc) had the ability to be sexual aroused. He is wheel chair bound, and relies upon his dad as a care giver. He can not get women to have sex with him. He's in a wheel chair! Some women are off put by that, I'd suppose. He had his father accompany him / drive him to Holland, where sex is legal for pay, and he went to a brothel and paid for an hour with a woman. He left satisfied, though he'd wished he could find someone long term. The shrill shrieking woman was adamant (see above) that even though he was disabled, his act of paying for sex was deplorable. And wrong. So, I have a few words for her:

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEX WITH HIM.

You seem to think that he should be able to have sex 'in an egalitarian manner', so you should provide him the service. Prove that its possible for him. I suspect you won't. I suspect instead you'll just prattle on and on about how harmful his behaviour is to other women. The woman, I might add, that he paid, had health care, and made a better living than I do.