Prostitution

Discussion in 'Debate Corner' started by Peace and War, Sep 8, 2011.

  1. KeybladeSpirit [ENvTuber] [pngTuber]

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    It comes at no cost to the prostitute. The prostitute is providing a service which costs nothing for the prostitute. It's a 100% profit which is not economically acceptable in the grand scheme of things. It's good for the prostitute, but not for the economy as a whole.
     
  2. Makaze Some kind of mercenary

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    Ah, I see. So you find any product that brings gain at no loss to the seller a problem? I see that as the goal of business. If you find such a trade, it would undoubtedly be the most profitable one for you. As far as I am concerned, if there is a demand for something, you are helping the economy by supplying a product for that demand. Creating commerce. Explain any other problems that you are implying with this model.
     
  3. LARiA Twilight Town Denizen

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    mortals get so easily riled up

    My view on this is something like Sakura's. I hold nothing against those who willingly submit to it, however I myself would never even consider it. I find the thought of "selling" myself revolting, all of that needed personal space lost. Money being involved has me less open to it. Perhaps if it was just us relieving ourselves, I would see less wrong with it...

    But I see something distinctly wrong with selling it off. It objectifies the performer.

    BUT, I have never been in the position of seriously requiring the bucks to dine and sleep and live. I have not ever been desperate enough. Still I doubt that I would ever. It is that damned human part flipping upside again - dignity and pride over all else, irregardless of need. How very human of us.

    Can't fathom why it would be illegal. Indignant. They cannot tell me what or what not I can do with my body. Bleh.
     
  4. KeybladeSpirit [ENvTuber] [pngTuber]

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    With no loss, there is no need for a supplier. There are two parties involved, the servicing party and the receiving party. As a result of there being an endless supply of sex, something which serves no function but pleasure, the servicing party is adding nothing to the economy by taking money in exchange for what is effectively nothing. That money is then spent toward far more than nothing. By supplying for a demand that adds nothing lasting to any human's life, the prostitute is hurting the economy. A movie, alright. A human can reflect on the various plot elements and note many possible life lessons that be derived from it. A game, same thing plus the fact that is interactive, can be played many times at no extra cost, and may have a social mechanic. Food provides sustenance. Television provides both entertainment and, in some rare cases, information about the outside world. Internet does the same thing plus the ability to communicate with the outside world. Telephone service also allows for communication. Prostitution provides a momentary pleasure that can only be renewed by paying for it again. While there is a demand for it, it adds to nothing meaning to any aspect of life.
     
  5. Makaze Some kind of mercenary

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    This is subjective. From an economic perspective, they are not giving out nothing, they are giving out their time. Many workers are paid simply for time, and it is considered a valuable commodity. It brings something very meaningful in my eyes, but that is irrelevant. Meaning is a subjective thing, and it does not apply in an economics based argument.

    I would argue that all trades are trades of pleasure. Whether you can take that pleasure home with you physically is irrelevant to the point. Some people want pleasure in the form of money or other objects, those being sellers, prostitutes being among them. Others want pleasure in the form of physical stimulation and enjoyment, those being the buyers. Yet others want pleasure in the form of objects for money. Forms of sustenance and medication also fall under temporary pleasures that, depending on the source, become worth next to nothing. Consider the job of a body guard who is payed for his time alone. Does his job take more effort than a prostitute's? I would think that it takes less. He is selling his body just as a prostitute is. He is hurting the economy under your model, but I do not think that you would call his job meaningless. Again that strikes me as irrelevant, but it drives the point home all the same. Do you disagree?
     
  6. EvilMan_89 Code Master

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    well, i see it kind of like a one night stand because it's two adults (i assume two adults, because if it were someone underaged i would think it falls under child molestion) it would be consentual. it's not like anyone is being exploited unwillingly. i can understand that it's just a difference in opinion and can understand why people think it's immoral, but i (respectfully) disagree with them.

    i have to wonder why it's illegal though. i suspect it's to protect people from prostituting themselves and putting themselves in dangerous situations (like with that Craigslist killer who killed people who were expecting sex from him?) or prevent spreading of STDs? i think they are both valid reasons for banning it, though not likely to stop it.
     
  7. KeybladeSpirit [ENvTuber] [pngTuber]

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    Sustenance is not a temporary pleasure unless you consider staying alive unnecessary. As for the bodyguard, he does not sell his time or his body. He sells peace of mind, which is far more valuable than sex.
     
  8. Makaze Some kind of mercenary

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    I consider all things unnecessary in one context or another.

    They are equivalent in many instances. Subjectivity and hormones play a large role in that.

    Also, he does sell his time and his body. What he does with them is the only difference.
     
  9. Droid Hollow Bastion Committee

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    Although I am vehemently against prostitution, makaze is right that when he says technically a body guard is doing the same thing. He's being paid to offer his body and time, just to protect instead of please. So in Pillows model, Body guards, maids, butlers, and psychiatrists should be done away with.
     
  10. Peace and War Bianca, you minx!

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    *clicks fingers*
    Alright, time to go to work, my keyboard.
    I'm just gonna group some general ideas together about what most people are talking about in some posts.
    It depends where you live to its legal status. In all states of the US (except Nevada) it is illegal. In Nevada and certain countries, prostitution is regulated, such that the prostitutes have to be tested for STIs on a regular basis, and occasionally, depending on the establishment, tests have to be taken out on the customers as well. I personally believe that the more regulated something is (e.g. prostitution, drugs) the safer it is for all involved since, and by law, those involved should be protected by law. However, there are countries that allow it but so that is not organised, such as the UK, which I find as dangerous as it being illegal. When prostitution is not regulated, you will find that the criminals who run brothels and such are in many cases abusive, negligent of their workers and care or profit only without protecting their employees. It also increases the amount of illegal sex trafficking and funds for criminal organisations. Being illegal or unregulated is less beneficial then it being legal in my eyes, which is why I think it should be legalised fully by everyone. The main problem about the whole debate about prostitution is people think the worst of it, like a hooker on a street corner in a ****ty mini skirt and tights asking a john if he 'Wants a good time?' when instead of thinking about the possibility of what could really be the case of legalising it. Clean, safe a and healthy.


    In older Japanese culture, certain women called Oiran were considered high class courtesans and celebrities of their time, who were required to have skills in dancing, music, art and even educated wit and the ability to debate was considered essential for sophisticated conversation. Sex wasn't the only thing these women offered these men, they offered an ear and companionship, even if for a price, but sex was never the only choice. Actually the system consisted of casual visitors usually being rejected by the Oiran for sex, only committed customers were allowed the choice. Personally, if any system was put in place I would respect one similar to this. Anyway my point was the fact that the harsh idea of selling your body is disgusting and vile isn't necessarily the case of things in history. the Oiran built up a rapport with customers before anything happened, which is more like a modern day relationship with the inclusion of money.
    You won't necessarily end up with an STI, that's misinformation, respectable prostitutes and establishments make sure that they're clients and workers are both clean and healthy.
    I don't quite get your point, in that you say it adds nothing to the economy, but obviously all money that has been produced by the government is part of the economy. The one of the basic premises of economics is money flow, where firms give people an income for their work, they then spend that income on firms, the firm gives money to its workers for their services, and so on in a repeated circle. Even if prostitution in certain areas is part of the black market dealings, the money circulating in the black market community always, at some point or another, goes back into the regular flow of the economy. Furthermore, if regulated and taxed by the government, prostitution could be another means for the government to gain income for themselves, spending it on public sector areas such as education.
    And actually the service of prostitution is a great example of inelastic supply and inelastic demand. Effectively this means that the selling of sex is always in constant demand, because someone is always willing to pay for sex, which never changes and is always in constant supply, since we all have the ability to sell sex. It is the perfect service that someone could sell since it will almost always result in a profit.
    You put a price on a good or service, it is effectively in the realm of the economy. No matter what happens really.
    The prostitute loses time and energy, like any job entitles. More so a skilled prostitute puts effort into pleasing their customers and their desires. It is not a simple fact of laying down and let the customer do all the work, you as a prostitute serve to fulfil your customers sexual desires according to the assigned rules and regulations in place. At least where it is regulated of course, and not drugged up cocaine addicts that lack the energy and the will to do anything more than act like a sex toy.

    What do you consider the process of massage, or aroma therapy or acupuncture?
    They are all similar to prostitution, since they allow for a physical relief through external acts on the body. Do you consider them not adding anything to any aspect of life?
     
  11. Ars Nova Just a ghost.

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    I must admit to responding only to the OP, so if someone has made or refuted this point already, just pass me by.

    If guns can be sold, sex can.

    This is the part where I dilute the raw power and significance of that statement by, paradoxically, meeting the standards for content and contribution.

    A person can kill with a gun. The point of a gun is to kill. Whether handled properly or not, there is a good chance that the use of a gun will kill someone. A person can, technically, kill with sex. But it is far less likely, and depends on the incompetence of the person. If you are not gentle, you will injure your partner; if one of you has an STD, the other may catch it; if you do not use adequate protection, an unwanted pregnancy may occur. But a safe, careful, and altogether successful session of sex typically does not lead to damages. (I mean, unless you're into that.)

    That in mind, why can't it be sold? If the practice is safe if done with due caution and both the buyer and seller consent, there is no reason it ought not to be able to be sold. There is no other argument that is consistent and that makes sense for purposes of determining the law. Law is not about morality: whether it is right or wrong to sell sex. Nor is it about respect: whether the seller respects his/her body or not in selling sex. It is about protection: whether or not allowing something to go unregulated will result in severe consequences, or whether or not banning something will prevent some terrible thing from happening. Since people still injure, get STDs, and experience unwanted pregnancies from perfectly legal forms of sex, it would seem prostitution is not the problem there.
     
  12. Technic☆Kitty Hmm

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    My first thought . . . who cares? I mean honestly, what you do with your body is your problem. Even if it isn't morally correct, it's not your (by your I mean the person who isn't committing prostitution) choice. There are a lot of Prostitutes who are trying to make enough money for there family because they can't work anywhere else (don't give me there is always another choice crap, sometimes there isn't) Which, if things are bad enough you have to rely on that to make enough money to support your family then . . . that's just sad. There are some people out there who do it to try and make an extra buck because they want new shoes or whatever and that is just plainly and simply f****n stupid. I actually cannot say that supporting your family is stupid though and when it comes to your kids you would go to any length to protect them. So to put it simply I see no problem in giving people the choice. And here is my viewpoint on the act itself . . .

    1. Prostitution to support your family and put food on the table= Understandable
    2. Prostitution because you want something for yourself= )*%*%&$(%&*^*%(% your so )*%*&%*&%*%(*) and I would )%)*^ kill you if you ever %^*&%(*&^ thought of *&^(*&^) crossing my path!!!

    . . . Yea, pretty sure you got it.
     
  13. KeybladeSpirit [ENvTuber] [pngTuber]

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    In the right context, they serve a medical purpose. In others, it can take a placebo effect. Your doctor tells you that a massage will help your back even though just stretching for a few minutes each day will might do the same thing, and so it works perfectly. In this case, massage therapist is, like the body guard, selling peace of mind. Consider the sugar pills sold in World War II that supposedly provided immunity against radiation. Utter bullcrap. But people bought them because it removed that fear.