> From: Dan Minette [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > From: "Andrew Paul" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >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. >
Dan, I was not taking issue with your input, in fact I can't even recall what we were debating. From my point of view, it was a general discussion about legalizing or otherwise prostitution. I am sure that many working girls are victims of sexual abuse. I would not be at all surprised to find that this was a much higher percentage than amongst the general populace. I was just wary of generalizing, and not sure if banning prostitution was going to reduce child abuse and why it might be that abused people end up doing it. I guess, being in favour of legalizing it, I was querying what an increased level of respect etc may have on the industry. > 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. > It is problematic, and, like the war on drugs, all that keeping it illegal does is drive it deeper and darker, and make all the things you point out above, more and more likely to occur. I don't argue that it is currently often a very nasty business. I was wondering if it could be a much better business, if it were legal, and respected, as I don't see anything inherently wrong with people choosing that as a way to make a living, if it is genuinely their choice. It is just meeting a demand after all. And demands tend to be met, one way or another. Andrew _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
