IS PROSTITUTION WRONG?

it makes no sense whatsoever to establish laws prohibiting prostitution other than the health issues, or for that matter polygamy or any other regulation of human relationships.

I only see a problem with it when married people do it. Other than that, it's a sex at your own risk these days.

If both adults are actually freely consenting then what they do with their time, money and bodies is their own business..

My qualm with prostitution are the people on the fringes who exploit runaways, underage or otherwise misfortunate girls. Of course the illegality often has something to do with the way these businesses are conducted.

I think the jurisdictions where prostitution is legalized, and monitored to a degree, are probably the best. People needing an income can earn it, people needing whatever it is they need from prostitutes can buy it, and hopefully no one is physically harmed.

I agree with the first part of Craven's post, just above, though i'll add the runaway/exploited/underage boys. They seem to be having a particularly bad time of it these days in Toronto.

Beth it's likely to be sexual gratification. he he Dunno, maybe some people see prostitutes for the intelectual companionship but I'd not bet on it.

as long as they 'are' adults it's nobody's business but thier own.

Craven, I've worked with a lot of prostitutes over the past couple of decades. It's not always about sex or power. It often is, but not always. The johns pay, so as long as they don't harm the workers, it's their choice, sex/games/talk.

Of course I have a problem with either of the parties being under age, which I can only assume is a big problem.

I always thought it was strictly about the money!

I know there is the occasional "pretty woman" story. I used to maintain a website for a Brazilian escort service (it's legal there) and have never heard of it happening. I',m not saying this is always the case, I'm sure some men are dumb enough to pay the premium and just talk but it's gotta be the exception rather than the rule.

Anywho I digest again.

Nothin' to do with 'pretty woman'. No happy endings. But there have always been talkers, and always will be. It's an interesting side of the business, and most of the workers don't care for it (or at least the ones i've known). They complain that it's more personal than they want to get. In any case, i don't think it's wrong as long as no one gets injured.

Prostitution laws entrap consenting adults into a victimless crime. Our law enforcement officers should have to worry only about the real crimes.

I think law enforcement looking the other way is not as good as decriminalization. I don't like the idea of a law that is not enforced being on the books and I think the criminalization of prostitution is greatly responsible for the shady underworld aspect of some kinds of prostitution.

And there's lots of shady underworld aspects. The happy nympho rakin'-in-the-cash hooker must exist, and there must even be those who are see it as a not great but perfectly OK line of work, better than waitressing (or whatever.) But I've met and talked to, and read a LOT about, people who are absolutely destroyed by it. If there was regulation, health benefits, that kind of thing, that would be an improvement.

It's called the "oldest professsion," because there's always a supply and demand for it. I don't see anything wrong with it if a) the women participate in it freely, b) safety precautions are taken to protect both the women and customers, c) the women get their fair share of the money, and d) the women are protected from abuse. c.i.

CI, I agree with you and the ones here who think the same way. As for talkers, I might fit in that category in some respects. Once, I was a sailor in Japan. I sat drinking in a bar when I heard a ruckus from the back. The proprietor and a girl about twenty or so were having a heated argument. As she left the argument to sit on the stool next to me I had the distinct impression that she was being sat there against her will. I spent some time talking to her, bought her some drinks, and when she offered herself to me for 1,000 yen (about five dollars in 1964) I gave her the money to square her with the boss and left. She continually asked me if I were a country boy. When I told her I was a Texan she pointed her finger like a gun and said "Bang."

Criminalization and looking the other way only makes it an activity rife with exploitation and drug addiction. Legalize, regulate. It's not even a question of whether or not it's wrong, it's a question of what happens when you don't keep an eye on something you are never going to get rid of.

Just so.

Well, actually, wait. Murder is never going to go away, but I don't think we should legalize it. I think the key is whether legalization will increase or decrease the overall quality of life; yes for prostitution, no for murder.