Posted By: BadCollegeGirl
A) Because...movie.
B) An interesting supposition. My guess is that it would actually be even more condemned. Think about it: while female sexuality has become more acceptable over time (thanks in large part to academics like Kinsey and the sex positivity movement as a whole), women are still expected to repress their sexualities to a much more significant degree than our male counterparts (think 'slut' vs. 'stud'). Again, there continues to be quite a bit of progress in Western society's acceptance of female sexuality, but there's still a lot more progress to be made. That said, you're right that heterosexual marriage is still considered to be the main social institution in our culture, but think about the people who tend to oppose things like same-sex marriage, prostitution, pornography, etc. Such folks tend to share one commonality: opposition to anything that threatens the patriarchal structure of the traditional, American, nuclear family. A threat to patriarchy means a threat to the status quo, and that's pretty much been the common element in any instance of oppression in history: when those in power feel as though their legitimacy is being threatened or even questioned...BAM! Down you go, women, blacks, Jews, queers, etc!
So to bring my little tangent back to the central argument, no, I don't think that prostitution would be more acceptable if women clients became more common because, quite frankly, the reactionary folks just aren't down with anything that might interfere with their Leave It To Beaver pipe dreams.
Posted By: thegoodsh
A) How exactly would the stay puft marshmallow man have destroyed the whole world? He was relatively very small, and seemed to be made of... well marshmallows. Surely we could have destroyed him in some mundane fashion, even in a scenario where crossing the streams was not possible. I mean sure, back in ancient times (6000 BC) we'd have been in trouble. But now? Totally unrealistic! But I'm prepared to be convinced otherwise. Thoughts?
and / or
B) Would society still disapprove of prostitution, if as many women paid for sex as men? I think the reason it is primarily stigmatized is because of marriage being the corner-stone of nearly every civilization. It might also be the reason why prostitution is also a feature of nearly ever civilization. However, the testosterone levels in males is higher - so consequently the aggression and sex drive are too - thus men seek it out more than women do (nature not culture)... etc. Anyway. What do you think?
Choose, and perish.