> From: Dan Minette [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > I'm unsure, furthermore, how you make the jump from paying for sex to > > treating the sex partner as an object. > > A guy goes to a prostitute because he loves her and cares about what > happens to her as a person? Is that what you are arguing? Its about > relationships? >
I doubt love, in the wider sense of the word comes into it, but I think there is a form of relationship, albeit a brief one in many cases. It seems a dark view of human sexuality that there is no relationship established during sexual congress, whatever the reasons behind it. Is sex only meaningful in the context of marriage? I also think you are being unfair to assume that the client has no interest in the needs or pleasures of the service provider. I get very little pleasure from the mere act of sex, it is as much about sharing, giving and receiving pleasure as it is about the physical act. If I want the latter, there are cheaper and simpler ways that involve just myself. And what about other services we pay for? Is your doctor an object, or your dentist, your masseur, your tennis coach, the guy you pay to clean your office toilet? All of them take money in return for services rendered, does that mean we have no respect for them, and they are just objects. Some people choose to use their bodies, or more specifically their sexual organs, for the purposes of generating an income. Some people sell their body for other physical pursuits, like boxers, or football players. I find it hard to draw some big black line between that, prostitution, and what we all do, day in day out, by being paid to do a job to earn money. If I did not have to work, I probably wouldn't, not doing what I do anyway. We all sell our services, be it mind, body or soul. What is the inherent difference between paying some guy to play an hour of tennis with you a week, and some girl to **** you for an hour a week. In both cases, they would probably rather be doing it with someone else (if at all), and are only doing it with you for the money. Sure, there seems to be a correlation between drug use, violence etc and prostitution, but is it cause or effect. How many jobs can a drug addict get, that requires no training, is flexible, does not require drug tests etc, and pays enough to support a $1,000/day habit? And is the stigma something that is inherent in the job, or something society ascribes it? I think it should be legalized, and controlled, just as other industries are. I also wonder what impact the complete abolition of prostitution (if such a thing were possible) would have on the occurrence of rape and other sex crimes in our society. And finally, perhaps I am being cynical here, but I have seen a few marriages in my time that seem to differ little from a long-term version of prostitution. He pays, gets what he wants, she takes the money, and gets what she wants, and there is very little in the way of respect or love. Does marriage somehow automatically generate love and respect, or does that come from somewhere else? Andrew _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
