(Blog) The Legalization of Protitution and Femanism

The legalization of prostitution, like the legalization of marijuana is a controversial issue in the United States. When it comes to the issues that are addressed in the video, I find myself riding the fence. Let's first address the motivations behind the feminist, and why they are divided on this issue. The overall goal of feminism is to increase the power women have in society. I would say that the majority of hard-core feminists (the ones with that bitter attitude towards men and society in general) are opposed to the porn industry and obviously the legalization of prostitution. The reasons they have for this are: the objectification of women, it is harmful to society, amoral, and so on. The, what I will call "soft-core" feminists believe that the porn industry is not harmful, and support the legalization of prostitution (I use the terms 'hard-core' and 'soft-core' loosely, and am using them merely to label, don't read into them all too much).

Now, why would some feminists not only support the legalization of prostitution, but go out of their way to make those views heard? In other words, why do they want this so badly? It is hard to tell; I feel that it has to do with a combination of a slight desire by some feminists to get-rich-quick of the exploitation of horny-desperate men that will do anything for sex. My opinion is that prostitution is morally wrong (opinions are not factual, so it by definition cannot be wrong, so don't bother telling me I am). However, I do not at the same time feel that morality is something which the law should enforce. The only justification the courts can have for opposing prostitution is if it is deemed harmful to society. In order to judge whether or not it would be harmful a few questions must be asked. Some questions are impossible to know unless it became legalized for a few years. Here are a list of some questions, and my guess and/or opinion on what the answers would be.

1). What sort of women would go into this line of work?
             Answer: Majority would be young, poor, and nonreligious

2). What age would the majority of them be?
             Answer: 17-25

3). Are women between the ages of 17-20 smart enough to make such a career choice and not regret it down the road?
             Answer: Absolutely not

4). What sort of danger would this put the women in?
             Answer: Probably great danger, if prostitution was legalized, women would be alone with a person who is probably disturbed in some way, and could be in danger. Danger in that it could lead to murder, stalking, robbery, rape (yeah I know what you're thinking), etc.

5). Rates of self-destructive behavior (drug-use, suicide etc.)?
             Answer: Any women that go into prostitution as a line of work, especially for any length of time will probably emerge with emotional damage. This along with the possibility of being disowned by friends and family who find it morally objectionable, leading to depression and self-destructive behavior.

6). What sort of regulations would be put in place?
         Answer:  I assume that a mandatory registration and regular std screening would be put in place.

7). Will businesses hire ex-prostitutes?
         Answer: Probably few that pay much above minimum wage (if even those businesses would hire them due to company appearance issues), and many women that enter young will probably not have attended college because of the easy money they were making. Thus leaving them uneducated, and with a poor resume, ultimately to be dependent on the welfare system.

8). Who stands to benefit?
           Answer: Only the women that went into prostitution and don't regret it down the road, and get lucky enough to avoid catching an STD.

9). Who stands to lose?
            Answer: The men that spend large sums of money to have sex with the prostitutes, which would lead to addiction and financial trouble; the women that get victimized by their own stupidity; families that suffer financially etc.; society will be forced to spend billions in order to regulate and later provide welfare for ex-prostitutes that are too old or std infected.

10). What sort of people would be buying?
              Answer: The typical buyer will probably be men of nearly all age groups 18+ with the financial means to be exploited by their own biological desire for easy sexual intercourse



I would have to say that I am anti-prostitution from a moral perspective (remember, this is an opinion), but riding the fence from a legal perspective (laws can only protect people and the societies they make up). I see how arguments can be presented on both sides. I feel that it may be all but inevitable due to the bias of horny old lawmakers desire to buy their sex the legal way (*cough* Spitzer *sneeze*). The feminists that support prostitution see their own sexuality as having power (which it does). Their sexuality has power when used against men; such as when they are looking for a new job, they may show a bit more cleavage in order to garner more attention. Feminists that support prostitution know of the potential financial power that such an industry can have. They also see that it would be the men that stand to lose financially, and women stand to gain. Money is power in this world, and feminists are power-hungry; such a shame they are hungry for something which is ultimately poisonous to their cause. Women would be in a lower place than they are in the current state of things. Lower income women, desperate for some income may see no other alternate. This would lead to the perception of women as being sex toys for those that can afford them (which is already occurring in a lesser way). There seems to be a struggle among women in the United States to fight for the attention of men, this sex-arms-race is displayed in a very obvious way on TV, magazines, the Internet etc.. The more sex that men are confronted with, the more it will take to suck power (money) from them. Perhaps you could say their that there is a "gold rush" like behavior that women are flocking to.



Perhaps this is the only way women can become equal to men: by using their sexuality in-order to profit from the one weakness of man (sex). The problem with using sex as a means of exploiting the weakness of man is that it is essentially leeching off of the general productivity of a society. Women have often used their sexuality in securing there place in the house hold by producing children and pleasuring the husband. This is taking the power of sexuality to a whole other level. For a feminist to claim that prostitution should be legal is an admission that women are not capable of being nothing more in society than sex toys for the men (or at least eye candy). And even though it is us men that are being tricked by the sexiness of women, we do love the show /clap. So, to those particular feminists, if you think your sole purpose of existence to be to make men hard and collect your check then carry on with your little campaign. If you wish to fight for your right to be a whore then I do not see many men trying to stop you.  But just remember, if the status quo is for women to sell sex then women will end up morally bankrupt. In other words, don't be so shallow; looks fade, dumb is forever, and selling your body for sex is dumb. Giving women the freedom to be dumb does little to progress the status of women in society, especially for the dumb ones.

I am not saying that women should not use their sexuality to obtain a higher standing in society, but there needs to be some moderation -- prostitution is an extreme. I thought women were above this sort of thing, but feminists like in the video seem to disagree, who am I to argue.