Remember that men wrote the rules and laws regarding most aspects of our lives.  It would reason that men would want access to sex, but as much as we love sex we seem to love control and power more.  Allowing women to make large sums of money with little or no education is not something men want.  Men seem to like having women dependant on them for subsistence and position in life, which is a control issue.  Think how bad it would be if women of humble means and education could control their own destiny without the help of a man, I think the world might stop spinning on it's axis.   If prostitution was legal the slime of the earth,"pimps", would be unnecessary (I do make the distinction between pimps and madams, one good, one bad).  With all the headlines these days about various inditement concerning our hobby/industry one has to think it is the good old boys up to their old tricks, which is keeping women down.
About the religious guilt that some providers feel about what they do, I don't believe there were too many women involve in the writing of the bible and setting religious doctrine. I feel pretty confidently that the female point of view was not considered in the writing of "the good book".
I know this may sound like feminist crap, but effect all of us.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.





-- Modified on 9/9/2002 10:04:35 AM

And quite a number of prostitutes are mentioned in what is supposed to be a religious book. The people who claim to believe in the bible, don't even know what it says.

You make some very good observations. There must be a reason for this ridiculousness. Why are we as a society, trying to control the sex life of individuals?

I believe that prostitution is illegal because we live in a sexually repressed (yet great in many other ways)country. Simple, basic answer. I find this sexual repression, and hiding of sexuality amazing considering how we all came about being here. Sexual desire is often associated with guilt and other negative feelings for both men and women. This is often due to upbringing, as well as the social pressures to fit in and be "normal." The one thing that doesn't fit into my theory is the fact that prostitution is legal in a small part of the country. Any ideas as to why??

Why... Moral Issues, Legal Issues, Tax Issues, Religious Issues,
      Political Issues, Regulatory Issues, etc.

Although its legal in Nevada is this a double standard or what?

My guess is that as far as it's legality in one small area.  Even repressive societies realize a need for a vent.  Add that to the fact that Nevada at the time of its basic beginnings as an industry was Family owned and you have a solid basis for why it works within your theory.

Rebecca

Shoot....i'm in big trouble now!

Prostitution was legal in USA until the suffrage movement in the 1920’s.  Susan B. Anthony and her group were radical feminists and lobbied for more than the right to vote. They felt that any heterosexual activity was an act of control, assault and abuse of women by men.  They clearly knew they needed the organized Christian women’s groups to put pressure on key state legislators to get the votes for ratification of the right to vote and the Christian’s wanted anti-prostitution and anti-liquor legislation. This unlikely cooperation was enough to amend the US constitution to allow the vote, plus the prohibition of liquor and criminalization of prostitution in most states. The religious zealots now had a way to control individuals through guilt, intimidation and incarceration, something they are very good at. This continues today, as there are no logical reasons to retain criminalized prostitution. This Christian attitude is very clearly shown by John Ashcroft and his assault on the hobbyist/provider industry via local and fed LE.  Obviously the wiser approach would be to decriminalize it and assess the same taxes that are applied to any licensed professional, passed through to the client. The caveat is public health.  By simply requiring providers to have a business license, and that license would be predicated upon timely health checks by approved clinics, would meet this public need.  Secondly, the Christian political movement advocates that they hold the copyright on morality, and thus they will define what is moral or not. The collective societal attitude has not objected to their siege of this non-existent right since most who believe in a God fear the guilt and intimidation the churches would impose for opposition.  Only until a movement with enough funding can show that criminalization is costing large sums of tax dollars, will the attitude start to change. This also applies to recreational drug use.

Interesting post, and I don't necessarily disagree with any of it, but I might phrase it differently. Certainly, just as our anti-drug laws have little to do with stopping the use of illegal controlled substances, our anti-prostitution laws have little to do with stopping men and women from contracting out purely meretricious services (for my pal Schlong, Marvin v. Marvin). In short, of course it's hypocritical. After all, are our fighting men and women going to Iraq to fight for our country, or to keep Haliburton's share price up? Same same, only different.

But then how would the drug companies make money.  As far as sex is concerenced, they put up this line about morality, but I still think it's about control.  Also remember the arbitors of morality seem to always get caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

It is a morality issue among religious fanatics IMHO.  Although we live in a country with the most freedoms allowed in this world, I find it amazing at how sexually repressed American society is.  I do believe that in supporting those extreme ideals that we tend to shoot ourselves in the foot.  Statistically, we have the highest divorce rate in the world and sex crimes. An affect from the supposed moral laws that are forced upon us.

Much is misconstrued in interpretating the Bible and historically the words have been used for political gain.  For example, the reason that we celebrate Christmas on December 25th has everything to do with the Catholic Church.  The pagan ritual of a winters festival was the reasoning for that.  Unable to stop the people from celebrating this ritual the Catholic Church ordained the day as Christ's birthday and the holiday evolved from that.  In doing so they were able to stop the practices that the Church deemed as morally wrong.  Open sexual practices during this celebration was one of those reasonings.  Man made religious doctrines imposed for political gain and society has bought it hook, line and sinker.

The concept that prostitution is illegal because of a control factor in a male dominated society, is in my book wrong.  This endeavor empowers women.  Of course there are different layers in this endeavor as in anything else in life, but take away those who are pimped out for drugs and the like, the majority of women, such as myself (and are educated), are vehemently independent, more comfortable with their sexuality and least of all controled by men in all aspects of their personal lives.  I find myself empowered in a different way all together (all positive and non man controled).  The earth is still spinning on its axis though-LOL!

I believe in God and have no religious guilt in what I am doing whatsoever.  The Bible tells me that what I am doing is not wrong for Jesus himself befriended prostitutes and nowhere do I read of Him bringing down a moral gauntlet on their head.  The Bible itself has historical significance for it does give a detailed account of what the culture and political framework was around that time.  To much is read into that framework and taken as religous doctrine.  Women have always been suppressed throughout history and that time period wasn't any different.  The Bible reflects the ideals and culture at the time, but does not always support it.  Another crude example is the consumption of meats.  We all know that refrigerators weren't invented at the time and meats spoiled quickly within that hostile climate.  It makes perfect sense to ordain that certain foods could not be eaten at the time.  Disease would have run rampant.  Those meats are safe today with proper handling.  Common sense and rational dictates why those laws would have been imposed at the time.  

I do believe that in time, the genre will be legalized.  It may not happen in our lifetime, but do believe that once the babyboomers (whose ideals are more open) have filled all the seats within government and the prior generation dies out, the possibility will be even more readily acceptable.  The Bible belt itself is in the southern states and is comprised of individuals that are from that era.  Where do the older folks go when they retire?  Demographically it explains a great deal.

Enough of my rant...I could go on forever and already have.

Lauren

Reidn't You Mean, "Post-Feminist" Crap?

As a long-suffering shareholder, I can assure you that only something desperate like a war on Iraq could elevate Halliburton's stock price. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that any additional money that Halliburton reaps from this adventure will be siphoned off for executive compensation.

in regard to the pledge and their betrayal of the constitution and the separation of church and state it will be a long long time before prostitution is legal though out our great land.  Religion is big business and keeping the masses guilt ridden about sex and anything else they could come up with keeps the money plates full.  I guess the masses feel they can buy away their guilt. Maybe one day the world will figure out man invented god, not the other way around.