----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Paul" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 12:16 AM Subject: RE: More hypocrisy on display than skin
> From: Ritu [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Well, after reading one of the mails in this thread yesterday, I > wouldn't say 'necessarily', but I would still say 'highly likely'. And > the reason would be that that is what most of us tend to do with most of > the people who provide us with services. [I, for instance, must rate > rather high on callousness index as I don't really care about my > doctor's or dentists's needs and pleasures - all I care about is their > competence and skill.] I see no reason to believe that there is a sudden > wellspring of personal interest when the service is sexual in nature. LOL, yes, you are well known for your callousness, you are clearly blessed with a heart of stone!. And I bet you do care about your Doctors needs, in some small way at least, by being polite and making small talk etc, as does one in any such interactions. >I get the feeling we are all being armchair experts here. It would be >best if we listened to one who had some experience in such matters. I >have no doubt there are women (and perhaps men) who are pushed into >prostitution, either by force, or by economic necessity. Equally, there >are some who choose it, of their own free will. Perhaps if we all >chipped in $5, we could book an hour or two for discussions with someone >who knew :) But, when one quotes people who have worked with women in the sex industry, their efforts are discounted. My wife worked with strippers as part of her work with incest survivors. That convinced me to not go to strip joints. Not because it was immoral because seeing semi-naked women was immoral, but because of the stories she relayed about why the women were in that line of business. When I relayed her work, it was meant with the objection that it was a self selected sample. When it was pointed out that the survey was taken at one establishment, the hypothesis that somehow that was that establishment was chosen by a network of women who were sexually abused as children. As a result of my wife's work, I've been exposed to literature in the field for ~25 years. I've seen multiple quotes about "turning my emotions off" with regard to prostitution. That may not sound like a big thing, but having to turn off one's feelings to manage is not close to healthy. There is no doubt that one can find some quote from some prostitutes that they are happy in their work, and its no big deal...just as there are quotes from girls who have been abused by their fathers who say its OK...or battered women who say they deserve to be battered. But, if you look at the patterns, if you listen to the vast majority of the stories, then they are sad stories. It's not just a religious issue. Secular feminists have also discussed the dysfunctional nature of the sex industry. I'll admit that there aren't as many studies on the web as I might want...particularly in countries where prostitution has been legalized. But the data that are available does not suggest that prostitution is problematic. BTW, I realize that I am focusing on female prostitution and male clients. The reason for that is not that I don't believe that there are male prostitutes, I know there are, but that my familiarity with the study of the dynamics of women working in the sex industry. BTW, I know my wife's work wasn't groundbreaking the prevalence of women abused as children working as strippers and prostitutes was well known. So, having been at least moderately familiar with the literature in the field, I was a bit surprised to see the results of the work I've seen discounted by any means possible. I'll admit that I've given somewhat limited documentation, but I see no documentation countering it. For example, I've seen no sociological studies of prostitutes showing nominal percentages of them having abusive childhoods. Instead, I've seen other documentation that I figured would be discounted because it was obtained in the US, and thus would be attributed to the opposition to prostitution by religious groups. Information on things like frequency of beatings of prostitutes by clients who enjoyed that as part of sex and by pimps who were enforcing their rules, about the frequency of rape, the denial that it was possible to rape a prostitute, etc. I'll be happy to give links, but all one has to do is google. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
