A Lesser Species - Part 1

Prostitution

I would like to begin by stating that this essay is not about male-bashing although initially, it may appear that way. My wish is to paint a picture of the current state of sexual relations that, as we know, reflects mainly the fantasies and desires of one gender to the exclusion of the other. What I hope to achieve is that by shining a light on the dysfunctional nature of human heterosexuality, we may begin to critically examine why it is this way and what we can do to change it. The material for the following fictional story was culled from extensive readings on this topic. You will likely find it to be in poor taste, as it is meant to be.

_{"A man's face over a prostituted woman, from her perspective"}

A gentleman by the name of John Doe is on his way to seek sexual gratification with a prostitute. One of his friends suggested a certain place because it had just received a fresh supply of young Asian girls. He is grateful for this information as he would like a change from the Latino girls he had had sex with previously. After paying the fee, John was informed he could do as he pleased with the girl he had chosen out of the line up. When he finds himself alone with the little woman, he immediately starts to ‘work’ her over. Although she seemed awfully young and appeared rather subdued, he didn’t care to find out why as he was singularly focused on his sex organ. He proceeded to insert his penis into several of her cavities and finished himself off by depositing his semen on her face. After this most pleasant and exciting afternoon activity he makes his way home and arrives just in time for supper. His wife asks him about the meeting. He lies. He is a little annoyed with her because she did not remember their wedding anniversary. Although he forgets it all the time and even brags about that to his friends, he feels his wife ought to remember it. After all, women are supposed to enjoy being married. He decides to push aside the unpleasant thought for now and spends some time with his children. As the evening progresses he proceeds to check his email and visits his favorite blog to read up on some of the latest articles and comments. In the past, he had been particularly peeved with the whole Waterboarding affair. He had agreed with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s view that the U.S. would lose its moral authority in the world if Bush was allowed to veto the Bill outlawing CIA Waterboarding. John is adamantly against using torture to illicit information from suspects believing the practice is inhumane. He had posted a comment to the article to express this view. After his wife has retired for the night, he visits “The World Sex Guide”, which provides "comprehensive, sex-related information about every country in the world.” This is just what he needs to help him organize a business trip that will include a little harmless pleasure on the side. He found the many comments about women posted by other men very useful – like them, he prefers the kind of place where the women are destitute and human rights is not an issue so that he can express his fantasies with complete abandon. He would like to try out some of the explicit acts he has witnessed on various porn sites. He turns in for the night, deciding to continue his research at another time as he plans to rise early in the morning to attend church with his family.

"Women on the Internet are completely objectified and evaluated on everything from skin color to presence of scars and firmness of their flesh. Women's receptiveness and compliance to men buyers is also rated. The scope and detail of this exchange is completely unprecedented. The men buying women and posting the information see and perceive the events only from their self interested perspective. Their awareness of racism, colonization, global economic inequalities, and of course, sexism, is limited to how these forces benefit them". (pdf pg. 27)

While the above described scenario is entirely fictitious, it has been based upon factual research examining real life scenarios. Before I continue, I would like to make it clear that I am well aware that the majority of men do not necessarily visit prostitutes and do treat their wives and other women with respect whilst having a satisfactory sexual relationship with their partner. Sadly, it is still necessary to be cognizant of the human tragedy brought on by a masculine driven insistence on privileged sexual status as it may affect the emotional stability and sexual relations of their children plausibly extending to generations thereafter. If our gaze does not turn towards the topic of prostitution, trafficking of women and children, and pornography, we may only succeed in reversing the progress made towards equalizing the political and social status of both men and women, furthering the hyper-sexualization and degradation of the latter - not only prostitutes, but all women.

As previously stated, some of the ideas in the fictitious story above come from my readings on prostitution, trafficking of women and children and pornography all of which are linked. For example, it is a fact that "Contrary to the position held by the prostitution defenders that prostitution and trafficking should be separated, males who buy women and girls in prostitution do not ask them whether they are in prostitution voluntarily or if they have been forced, or whether they are local or were trafficked into the country". (pdf pg.10) Men must not know and do not wish to know that the majority of these women and children were forcibly taken from their families, abducted, sold, raped, tortured, and drugged into submission to be served up to them on a platter, so to speak, with their legs and mouth wide open. Men have constructed numerous subtle, and not so subtle, psychological reasons to justify the creation of a separate and inferior class of females whose sole purpose in life is to cater to their every sexual need. Since demand greatly outstrips the supply of consenting prostitutes, prostitution has become synonymous with entrapment, enslavement, and abuse of millions of women and children worldwide.

The most prolifically cited and infamous rationale is the saying: "Prostitution is the oldest profession". This statement is applied commonly to cement the idea that prostitution is inevitable and that therefore, any attempt to abolish it from our social fabric would be futile. Archeological studies have indicated that hunting and gathering, followed by subsistence farming, preceded prostitution. It is believed that women, who traditionally were the gatherers, invented agriculture through long term observation of the behavior of plants. Sadly, their invention proved to be their downfall as it heralded the onset of a change in their status from equal to lesser human beings that necessitated control. "The sedentary lifestyle that accompanied agriculture resulted in the dominance of new and different means of social organization." Agriculture then, not only cultivated and nourished the soil to fulfill humans’ basic need for food, it also provided the seed from which patriarchy sprang forth and bloomed in nearly every civilization on earth. It would therefore be more accurate to say that prostitution is as old as the invention of agriculture.

Another popular psychological construct to justify the sex trade is romanticizing prostitution by calling prostitutes 'sex workers' with rights of their own. Really? Who knew prostitutes are entitled to be degraded and have their bodies repeatedly violated. Referring to prostitutes as sex workers is an attempt to normalize prostitution - "sex worker…and in that one word – work – the sexism, racism, and violent degradation of prostitution fade from sight. (pdf pg. 4) The concept of ‘sex worker’ is aggressively promoted by organized crime and the pro-prostitution lobby. But more on that later.

"Sex work ” empowering for prostituted women?
…..Spokespersons for the Prostitutes Collective of Victoria (Australia) have explained that men are becoming more demanding in the type of services they want. The demand for oral sex, for instance, has been replaced by the demand for anal sex, frequently demonstrated by men simply sticking their fingers into women’s anuses during their "bookings." Other normal practices include women being lined up and looked over like any other commodity, and sex without condoms." (pdf pg. 30)

The greatest fallacy is the notion that legalizing prostitution will remove the criminal element, leading to a decrease in violence against prostitutes. The opposite is true and worse; it makes the harm done to women more invisible. When demand greatly outstrips supply, not only will girls and women continue to be forced into prostitution but the abuse and exploitation of females is sure to follow. As men become more confident in their sanctioned behavior, requests for additional sex services and more explicit sex acts will increase. In addition, human rights and equality for women erodes when boys and men subconsciously begin to view other women as an extension of prostitutes. Even worse, as an official pimp, the state no longer functions to fully protect all women

"The tens of thousands of men who use women in the sex industry in the State of Victoria are expected to understand that women in prostitution are suitable objects for their unwanted remarks, hands and penises, whilst their female workmates in factories and offices are not. Of course, many will fail to understand this distinction. If it is acceptable to insult, grab, abuse and harass a woman in one place just because a man has paid for it, why should it shock a woman in another place to have the same treatment?" (pdf pg. 30)

The most harmful effect however is that legalized prostitution with its resultant explosion of sexual services for men will make an absolute mockery of marriage (an institution that has been historically, and is still presently used in many parts of the world, to enforce patriarchal constructs) as is well illustrated in my story. It was telling and strange that a google search for "prostitution/hypocrisy" mainly produced articles on how hypocritical it was not to legalize prostitution because it was, you guessed it, “the oldest profession”. In fact, prostitution is rarely mentioned in relation to marriage, which is rather odd since a large number of “Johns” are married men. The argument that prostitution should be acceptable if the prostitute freely chooses this activity is moot and inconsequential when viewed from the perspective of wives, girlfriends, and female partners or lovers of the prostitute seeker. In this case, the defenders of prostitution render their values in line with the virtues of hypocrisy, deceit, infidelity, and distrust – none of which provide a good foundation upon which to build a strong relationship and a lasting egalitarian marriage that provides a nurturing environment for children.

Additional reasons that men use to justify prostitution is the assignment of blame for their behavior on their genetic disposition. Many males often view any study on human sexuality by evolutionary biologists, psychologists, etc., in support of the prevailing double standard as additional ammunition in support of their cultural dominance – rarely questioning the validity or masculine bias inherent, further skewing the results in their favor.

It is easy to understand therefore, how John Doe in the story above can function as a respected individual in society, condemning torture under any circumstance, while turning a blind eye to the torture of women and children because it serves to meet his culturally approved sexual needs. Despite the fact that prostitution meets and sometimes exceeds the legal definition of torture, "the existence of state-sponsored torture is decried by social critics on the Left, yet the identical treatment of women in prostitution is ignored by those same analysts". (pdf pg. 15) In contemporary society, John Doe not only decides what sex is and how it is to be performed, he also believes that as a male, he is entitled to avail himself of a prostitute when and as he pleases – married or not!

Finally, different theories exist about when and why the downfall of women occurred. In one study, the origin of patriarchy and prostitution is traced back to the era of ancient Mesopotamia that existed four thousand years ago. The historian, Jacqueline Hammack, refers to this civilization as: "The Mother of Female Subordination" providing an excellent and detailed account of its roots and early development. She explains how agriculture, as described earlier, provided the trigger for the subjugation of women. An alternative view of the change in the status of women is provided by natural scientist and geographer, James DeMeo, in a rebuttal to a review of his book, "Saharasia", that refers to a hyperarid dessert belt encompassing North Africa, the Near East, and Central Asia.

Since Saharasia is known to have been a relatively well-watered grassland-forest environment in ancient times, converting to harsh desert around 4000 to 3000 BCE, the specter of drought-induced famine and forced migrations was suggested as the mechanism for devastating early unarmored matristic culture (egalitarian, peaceful, child-positive, sex-positive) towards armored patrism. Older social institutions which protected babies and mothers, which preserved love between young people and constituted the core around which social organization was maintained, were utterly destroyed in those same drought-affected regions. New social organization developed in the wake of this widespread famine disaster, emphasizing pain over pleasure, and driven by sex-frustration and sadism, as is the case with much of the modern world today. (Source)

_Ishtar

Although the aforementioned theories appear to offer a different interpretation of why women became subordinate to men, historian, Gerda Lerner links the two together. She explains, without mentioning drought, that "after commodifying women in their own families or clans, the rise of military elites associated with developing states led to the increasing enslavement of women". The descent of women into subordination was not a linear and continuous process; it emerged overtime in isolated regions as the domineering social order. "Patriarchy finally triumphed when the Hebrews developed Monotheism. From then on, Ishtar (also known as Inanna, Hor, or Hora from which the words harlot and whore sprang), the ancient goddess of fertility, female sexuality and love would be referred to as "The Whore of Babylon." Her myth was reinterpreted by the patriarchs who transformed Ishtar into a decadent and evil figure to reflect their distorted views of the female libido. The patriarchal version is the one described in Wikipedia

Despite the fact that one or more theories may exist, what is evident is that the subjugation of women has a clear historical beginning. Lerner’s following observation therefore, is rather astute. "If a system such as Patriarchy was organized historically, it can also be ended by the historical process". What better time to bring Patriarchy to a conclusion than in the current age of Enlightenment.

Next: Part II - The Prostitute
Part III - Pornography

adrena December 3, 2008 - 9:45pm

adrena's diary | printer friendly version |

( categories: Human Rights | Opinion )

Prostitution is a unpleasant subject, kudos for addressing it.

But, I'm troubled by a couple of assertions, which are perhaps not completely true worldwide:

"The greatest fallacy is the notion that legalizing prostitution will remove the criminal element, leading to a decrease in violence against prostitutes."

Where do you get your information? I'm curious that you avoid mentioning Western Europe's expirement with legal prostitution that has reduced criminilization. Which leads me to the next assertion I noticed:

"The most harmful effect however is that legalized prostitution with its resultant explosion of sexual services for men will make an absolute mockery of marriage"

Is this true for the British, Belgians, Dutch, French, Germans and Scandinavians? And also for Nevada?

I always wonder about the effect of Prohibition (making things illegal), and the promotion of crime...

Synoia December 3, 2008 - 11:47pm

Thanks for your questions

"The greatest fallacy is the notion that legalizing prostitution will remove the criminal element, leading to a decrease in violence against prostitutes."

The problem is the demand. There will never be enough women that can freely endure the objectification, degradation, humiliation, violence etc, etc, that is part of being a prostitute. When there are not enough legal brothels, organized crime steps in to bring in sex slaves from all over the world. One example is a study done in Australia

The experience of Victoria, Australia provides a good object lesson as to why legalization is not the answer. Legalization in Victoria has perpetuated the culture of violence and exploitation that is inherent in prostitution. The new liberalized climate has facilitated the expansion and diversification of the industry.

Though it was hoped that legalization would control expansion of the industry, in fact it has had the opposite effect. Legalization leads to massive expansion. It would be surprising if it did not, since this is the very reason that business interests are pushing so hard for legalization. An investigative report by Victoria’s Age newspaper in 1999, found an increase in the number of legal brothels from 40 a decade ago to 94 today, along with 84 escort agencies. Ironically, the real growth area is in the illegal sector. The over 100 unlicensed brothels outnumbered the “ legitimate ” sex businesses in 1999 and had trebled in 12 months

Since the legalization process began there has been an explosion of forms of sexual exploitation in the industry. Tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex and pornography – all are developing profitably as part of a multi-million dollar industry of sexual exploitation. (pdf. pg. 30)

A more recent example is Holland, where prostitution related crimes have also increased.

It's Like Signing a Contract to be Raped": Work in Nevada's Brothels

"The most harmful effect however is that legalized prostitution with its resultant explosion of sexual services for men will make an absolute mockery of marriage"

Is this true for the British, Belgians, Dutch, French, Germans and Scandinavians? And also for Nevada?

As you mentioned, "prostitution is an unpleasant subject". There is a reason for that. It would be difficult to promote prostitution and marriage at the same time. That's why it's not openly discussed on blogs. It's hard to argue for hypocrisy. But, if you were to ask any woman in the world if she would mind if her husband visited a prostitute the answer would be the same: "Like hell I would". To deceive your partner corrupts your conscience and that's never a good thing.

I always wonder about the effect of Prohibition (making things illegal), and the promotion of crime...

Either way, prostitution = abuse of women.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 1:26am

I have a problem with this assertion too.

"The most harmful effect however is that legalized prostitution with its resultant explosion of sexual services for men will make an absolute mockery of marriage"

I'm not so sure that making a mockery of marriage is such a bad thing. Marriage it seems to me, in the traditional sense, has itself for too long been about the subjugation of women, the primary domain of procreation ONLY, about political alliances, etc. . . and not about two people, of whatever sex, joining together in love.

It seems to me a redefinition of marriage is an important component in creating real equality of the sexes.

One other thing you don't address is male prostitution, gay prostitution and other aspects of prostitution like 'Lady Boys,' transvestites, trannies and the like. Prostitution, whether you like it or not, is NOT ALL about women. Mostly, but not all.

^{“Is not our first thought to go on the road? The road is our source, our vault of treasures, our wealth. Only on the road does the ‘traveller’ feel like himself, at home.”

Ryszard Kapuscinski}

Sean Paul Kelley December 4, 2008 - 12:37am

Regarding

Redefinition of marriage I will be discussing this topic in Part 111 (lol, here we go again)

I should have spelled this out but I will only be discussing female prostitutes for heterosexual men.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 1:48am

Ah, yes, you should spell that out. But I don't think it

is appropriate to only address female prostitution when you are writing about something as amorphous as human sexuality. Yes, yes, I know your post says it is about human heterosexuality. But I think it's much more approprriate to discuss the whole gamut. But of course, if you did so your entire argument about it all being the fault of patriarchy would fall apart.

Sean Paul Kelley December 4, 2008 - 1:52am

I don't agree that

I have to discuss the whole gamut. Again, my area of interest is female prostitutes for heterosexual men.

This is why.

It is estimated that 80 percent of trafficked persons are women; half are under the age of 18. ..... Up to two million women are trafficked across borders each year. Taking into account situations of domestic bondage and trafficking within borders, the numbers are even more alarming. Source

adrena December 4, 2008 - 2:31am

alarming numbers?

I think that 400 million plus folks in India live below the poverty line and an unverified webpage suggests that 26,500 children die each day and that's about 10 million a year! nobody knows what to do as far as I know.

mrmx December 4, 2008 - 2:45am

Furthermore, I don't have a problem at all with

men and women practicing consensual and promiscuous safe sex. As long as they are adult, who am I to tell a man or woman what do to? Linking marriage to the ills of prostitution is I think, problematic, at best, and farcical at worst.

Sean Paul Kelley December 4, 2008 - 12:55am

human behavior refutes her claims

the claim that women never let their husbands sleep with other women seems flimsy since some couples like to swing and, from what I've read, a couple will swing with another couple or a single woman but not with a single man. my point is that a married women isn't necessarily happy with one partner.

mrmx December 4, 2008 - 2:43am

Single swingers

"...from what I've read, a couple will swing with another couple or a single woman but not with a single man."

Maybe it's just the folks I hang out with, but I know a lot more single men that are very busy entertaining with swinging couples than single women.

Then again, I have a lot more male friends than female friends, so that sorta skews the sample population for my anecdotal evidence. No money is exchanged, so I guess it doesn't count as prostitution and is a bit off topic.

I'm sure one could write fictional stories about horrific sexist degradation and hypocrisy that might be at play before these encounters ever come to fruition, but likewise, one could write erotica about the pre-encounter dynamics as well.

IMHO, as far as mainstream legalized prostitution in the Western world is concerned, the subdigation is consentual. When you can make $200 per hour performing sexual services in front of a camera, or make $8 per hour performing customer service in front of a register, moral relativism comes into play in a hurry.

Heavy handed judgements about what is right, wrong, rewarding, or injurious, in regards to what one wants to do with their own body seems absolutely idealistic.

Human trafficing is a gruesome means to an end. But please don't confuse teleological ethics with deontological ethics.

dot_txt December 4, 2008 - 4:17am

RE: "doesn't count as prostitution and is a bit off topic"

I think that swinger behavior is "on topic" since many folks, even when married, don't feel guilty about seeking out other sexual partners.

in most jobs, some part of righteousness dies: soldiers learn to have enemies; factories learn to consume the environment; prostitutes learn that sex isn't the same as making love; etc....

mrmx December 4, 2008 - 10:48am

This is a major issue ...

"consent', that is. I'll address that in my next article.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 2:04pm

Thanks for this series.

I'm looking forward to the next installments and will be bookmarking all of this. I've gone up to a point with my own library, but the material you mentioned goes beyond what was known the last time I followed any of this. Looking forward to catching up.

Thanks for having the integrity to post this. I know how much push back you have to absorb for doing it, here and especially IRL.

As regards Lerner's observation that what was created historically can be fixed going forward, where would you recommend I look to find other women who understand this and are doing something about it?

someofparts December 4, 2008 - 9:19am

Your acknowledgement

is very much appreciated. After the completion of this essay I said to my daughter: "I've been working on this topic since August, I have read numerous articles and documents. I wonder if someone will say: "Great essay, well done!" So your comment is most welcome.

I must have had my cursor on "send" for at least 5 minutes before I had the courage to plant my essay in the Agonist universe. I could feel my heart beat rapidly. Now there is a discussion. I couldn't have asked for more. Dialogue is the beginning. The fear of losing something tends to cloud a vision of a future that could be so much better - for men as well as women. Nature has given us the most powerful tool to bring us together: The sex drive. Let's not degrade it but respect, and cherish it. How to do this? We must find a way.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 1:11pm

So long as the sex drive, as

So long as the sex drive, as a pleasure producer, is repressed and so long as we are encouraged to see it only as part of a transactional process related to power and control and tied to notions promoted by most of the world's religions as being limited solely to reproduction we will not escape the problems you are involved in articulating.

And, although I am disturbed by the violence that underlies much of prostitution, I think that problem pales by comparison with the violent consequences of repressed sexuality felt everywhere in the world. Prostitution itself is not the problem. The problem is actually the violence that attends most of our sexual and quasi-sexual (the repressed homoeroticism obvious in the violent relationship between football coaches and their coachies for instance) encounters and so obviously permeates the prostitution business as it currently exists.

Although I wouldn't argue that you should stop advocating for your position re prostitution, I think that it is looking down the wrong end of the barrel. Too much of feminism has devolved into protecting women (a position not far removed from some of the worst atrocities promulgated by the world's most retrograde religions) rather than empowering us all to make positive use of our sexuality.

The bonobo prove that "god" can tolerate sexuality employed constructively for purposes other than reproduction.

hvd December 5, 2008 - 11:50am

I definitely am not going to suggest

to repress our sexuality. Far from it. And I also do not agree with some of the positions taken by feminists. It will all come together in my final essay.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 5, 2008 - 5:51pm

Someofparts, just remember, I specifically asked

that she post this series of articles here. While I disagree with many of her points, it is a worthwhile series and important. Having traveled in 43 nations I have a keen interest in seeing the place of women the world over improved. And dealing with prostitution in an honest fashion, recognizing that human trafficking and men play a key role is essential. She may get pushback, but as I said, I encourage her to continue. A very worthwhile endeavor in my opinion.

Sean Paul Kelley December 4, 2008 - 11:40pm

To start with, yes,

To start with, yes, prostitution is a very emotionally and physically damaging aspect of the human culture, male views on women are very problematic and fall far short of the more egalitarian relationship we would like to have between the sexes. Granted. My issue is with the view that somehow, somewhere, in the conveniently misty past, there was once a matriarchy-based model of human existence that we fell from. This is massive problem as the evidence that some Archaeologists marshall for this argument is debatable at best and throughly misleading at worst. Arguing, for instance, that Babylon, Sumer, or any of the other Mesopotamian city-state cultures possessed strong Matriarchal roots quashed finally by the Monotheistic culture of the Levant does not jibe with ample evidence provided by their own cultural record showing that patterns of objectification were set from an extremely early time. Furthermore, what evidence is there that we as a species were once so frolickily egalitarian that we did not engage in violence amongst ourselves or that we were ever so "peaceful, child-positive, sex-positive" as these scholars are claiming? Is that something which stands in the Archaeological record? How about our biological relatives, the Chimpanzee? They tend to be more egalitarian as most small band social creatures will. But the males and females inhabit different, gender related spheres in which "peaceful, child-positive, sex-positive" activities are not the rule. The females have a strong social and inward concern, the males a less social, more outward concern. And violence occurs, including sexual violence of males against females. If your view of humanity, as mine is, is that we are creatures of culture informing biology, not pure cultural tabula rasa, then we can take it to mean that what we see in our closest relatives is also a dim reflection on ourselves and perhaps a clearer reflection than what we wish to see from the bones, stones, and scribbles of the deep past.

Sorry for the rantiness, but my point in surmise is simple: there is a consistency to humankind. What we do now is related to what we did then. Insisting on some poorly evidenced ideal of another time when the grass was green and everything was sunshine is no different than saying we lived in the garden and we fell, and probably comes from the same cultural and psychological origin. We've never been perfect, which is no excuse for not trying to live up to the kind of world that we can imagine living in. We can imagine sexual relations built on the principles of respect for humanity and fairness and harmony, so then look clearly at our pluses and minuses (the social bonding and love, the violence and will to dominance), devise a way to bound or encourage these urges, and work to the goal. Believing in a perfect past that is not consistent with our biological underpinnings or historical record is not a way to deal with the future.

takaratiki December 4, 2008 - 10:35am

I once read:

I once read that nature gives out unequal endowments so it's probably impossible to fix a problem that happened in the garden.

Obama said he wants be give more money to faith based organizations and I assume that he's doing this since some folks like religious narratives over secular narratives; and, since people can't be changed-- and made to think alike, it's probably a good thing to let folks live out their fantasies. moreover, secular and religious leaders can ultimately steer energies in positive directions.

Thus, I think that legalized prostitution is a compromise that gives society an opportunity to influence ethics.

mrmx December 4, 2008 - 10:59am

"warped" springs to mind

Thus, I think that legalized prostitution is a compromise that gives society an opportunity to influence ethics.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 1:59pm

not really

your worldview is just different from mine. prohibition changed nothing and perhaps made things worse.

mrmx December 4, 2008 - 9:57pm

The opposite is true ...

... as outlined in my response to Synoia. (first post)

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 11:17pm

ummmm

I truly agree that prostitution-- according to your post, becomes more popular after it's legalized and it supports my observation that society would benefit from legalized prostitution.

i.e. because legalization creates a safer, more humane environment, more men and women would surely decide that prostitution is an acceptable option. that's why legalization of alcohol was a good thing since folks were able to buy safer beverages and, hence, they did it.

the reason why I think you're off track is because environmental laws didn't change anything since consumption continued to increase; hence, our environmental laws were ultimately circumvented by exporting pollution out of the US (popular with the democrats) or having folks like Bush simply scrap environmental law.

my thesis is that, with legalization, society gets a much safer prostitution industry, the option to arrest those who live outside those norms and the ability to promote humane prostitution practices.

over time, folks like yourself can figure out ways to influence others to say no; DUI laws have done that with alcohol and "being green" campaigns are now influencing consumption patterns and product development.

finally, routine STD and drug tests should be required within legalized prostitution environments since drug testing, for example, would surely unmotivate many men and women to abuse themselves.

mrmx December 5, 2008 - 8:55am

Your thesis

runs counter to all factual evidence. Humane prostitution? Prostitution is about power. Power of one over the other.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 5, 2008 - 6:00pm

ummmmm

The girls at the brothel love to brag about making big money; thousands a week in some cases. But the women are willing to accept less, Austin said. [SOURCE]

so the question is: who's in control? who has the power?

My perception is that female attraction overpowers a man's ability to resist it; and some women are very satisfied getting $200 for a few moments of work. Compare that pay to working at wal-mart for a week.

The worse places for women to work, IMO, would be picking food crops, because of the pesticides, or meat processing plants, because of the injuries.

mrmx December 5, 2008 - 8:35pm

Please, rest assured that

my next essay will include a response to your comment.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 6, 2008 - 12:09am

I dispute the premise that prostitution, at its heart is about

power. I completely disagree. Why would women seek out male prostitutes? And homosexual men do the same? This is the key argument of prostitution for you but I think that premise is false.

Sean Paul Kelley December 6, 2008 - 12:51am

Judging by your first statement

I believe my next essay will be very educational.

Re: homosexual prostitutes and male prostitutes for women - since this is about the fourth time you bring this up I will clarify my position further.

Since I am not homosexual, I do not possess the knowledge required to analyze the dynamics of homosexual prostitutes in the gay environment. A homosexual person who has direct experience and intimate knowledge of this group is eminently more qualified than I am to undertake this task.

Regarding male prostitutes for women, this is a recent phenomenon that is minuscule compared to the approximately 4000 year old tradition of female prostitutes for men. Also, as far as I know, millions of men are not traded world wide for the sexual benefit of women. That said, this specific topic will be discussed in the conclusion of my final essay.

Since, according to the UN, 98% of prostitutes world wide are women, I believe I am well justified to concentrate on this group alone.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 6, 2008 - 10:43pm

Fair enough, I'll concede your stipulation that

prostitution is more about men than women. However, you didn't answer my main criticism: that prostitution is at heart about power.

Sean Paul Kelley December 7, 2008 - 12:07am

but economic power is shifting

so the numbers you've posted might drastically change as women become more powerful economically. specifically, as women put more energy into economic production, sex for money might be a better investment than a marriage.

indeed, as they say: "money changes people."

and, surely, because men historically had options, the army of male sex slaves didn't form whereas armies of male soldiers did.

while I have no idea if the statements are true, Condelezza Rice is apparently a lesbian and perhaps Hillary is bisexual.

so perhaps more women will start getting their gratification from other women.

mrmx December 7, 2008 - 7:04am

The archaeological record?

As more women enter this field of study, I'm sure that a few long held assumptions will go by the wayside.

I never referred to a matriarchy-based model. I mentioned "egalitarian marriage". What we wish to see from the bones, stones, and scribbles of the deep past. All the more reason that women participate in all aspects of scientific inquiry.

I'm currently reading a book on the Celtic Civilization (H/T Hannes Hartens) - it shatters a few of your "male violent sex biology" assumptions. You'd be amazed at the capacity of Celtic men to view their women as complete equals.

The reason I added "human" to the title of my essay was to avoid comparisons to animals. However, judging from your comment, my attempt has failed.

The Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden? We know who got blamed for that imaginary debacle.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 1:52pm

RE: "As more women enter this field"

my bet is that more crap will be added to the pile of crap since those women, like the men before them, will simply spout off their opinions.

RE: "You'd be amazed at the capacity of Celtic men to view their women as complete equals."

regardless of how we treat each other, nature made men and women from stupid beasts yet, at times, allows them to show their brilliance like a peacock shows their pretty plume.

mrmx December 4, 2008 - 10:09pm

The difference

in our world view is stratospheric. I believe nature made men and women for each other. We've drifted apart but eventually we'll find each other again.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 11:26pm

True, women were blamed for

True, women were blamed for the Judeo-Christian fall, but the kernel of the idea is the issue that I took umbrage with: that somewhere in our past our nature was somehow fundamentally different than it is now and that something bad has made us lesser. In our core, throughout time, we operate on similar principles, though perhaps the Celts were as different as, say, the Mayan were once thought to be in the peaceable kingdom that we imagined for them before the evidence proved otherwise. Evidence seems to indicate that Celts were on the more egalitarian end of the spectrum. Kudos to them and to the other cases of small scale societies where people learned to live with one another with a measure of respect and curtail their violent instincts. That they adapted a different strategy does not mean that they changed their underlying biology. We are animals, we are biological, and the preponderance of evidence suggests that human males have an increased tendency towards violence and that this violence can express itself in all aspects of social interaction. Take this as a starting point and we can progress to determining cultural strategies for dealing with it. Assume that we are really just entities of pure, relativistic culture and that we can be as easily altered as clay and we will end up no further down the path to where we hope to be than a wayward infant playing in a mud puddle.

takaratiki December 5, 2008 - 12:06am

I wish I had a better cellphone

so I could show you the pictures I took today of a 3 year old little boy playing lovingly with a doll. He covered her with a blanket and gave her a soother. And he is not the only one. I've seen three other little boys exhibiting the same behavior. One boy however was different - he tried to remove one of the doll's fingers with a screwdriver, roughly placed her in a high chair and then slapped the top of her head. Slowly but surely, the doll behavior of the other boys will be edited out. Current society demands it. (One of the little boys is my patient, he has a tracheotomy and a stomach tube. So wherever he goes I go since he requires suctioning once in a while and may need his tube changed if it blocks. The best part is that I get to see how little boys and little girls interact)

Generally though, I do agree with you. But I would use the word aggressive rather than violent. I believe that an egalitarian society would have greater success in 'containing' male aggression so that it does not escalate into violent behavior. When one polarizes the two sexes to the extreme, the result is what we have today - rampant domestic violence, rape culture etc.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 5, 2008 - 6:37pm

We live in a society full of

rampant domestic violence and a rape culture? Wow, I didn't know that. I'd like to see some facts to back that up, based on per capita percentages worldwide. I am sure there are many more cultures which are much more domestically violent and which do indeed have rape cultures. Stealing brides in Kyrgyzstan is one such example I have personal experience with. The USA pales in comparison. So does most of the developed West. Not that it can't get better, but to say with live in a culture that is rampant with domestic violence and a rape culture is flat out wrong without giving concrete evidence across the whole world.

Sean Paul Kelley December 6, 2008 - 12:54am

The discussion is about the U.S.

Therefore, comparisons across the whole world is meaningless, especially since in some countries the status of women is lower than that of ants.

The incidents of domestic violence and rape need to be measured against the purported values of the U.S - a country that claims to be about equality, justice and freedom for all.

Statistics on Rape

17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. This figure is even higher if you add the following.

The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.

One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Source

National Cost of Domestic Violence

The health-related costs of rape, physical assault, stalking, and homicide by intimate partners exceed $5.8 billion each year.

Of this total, nearly $4.1 billion is for victims requiring direct medical and mental health care services.

Lost productivity and earnings due to intimate partner violence accounts for almost $1.8 billion each year.

Intimate partner violence victims lose nearly 8.0 million days of paid work each year - the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity. Source

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 6, 2008 - 9:47pm

women and men are psychologically becoming one

IMO, girls are now being socialized to "be masculine" so we're going to see more Condelezza "fear monger" Rices and more Mandeline "500,000 dead Iraqi children are worth the price" Albrights.

and, as i've written before: I believe that powerful men and women are good at being cruel (the stereotypical male power) and good at being bitchy (the stereotypical female power) and perhaps that's why artists see composite personalities within so called great leaders.

Hillary Clinton, for example, seems obviously cruel: she's a neoconservative; and like a bitch: she hisses at people like a cat.

In the mythical past, women were bred to maintain peace whereas men were bred to fight wars.

In the modern world, however, women are becoming more like men and, because of contraception, more women, I think, would find it more convenient to buy sex than get married if prostitution was made legal, safe and humane.

mrmx December 6, 2008 - 4:30am

No comment. eom

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 6, 2008 - 9:07pm

RE: "I get to see how little boys and little girls interact"

you are also watching the behavior of their parents; their friends; and what they see on TV.

i.e. that's why Howard Dean suggests that we need to help children between the ages of 0 to 3 since habits are acquired during early childhood.

hence, if the kids you're with are older than 3, you're seeing what the kids picked up (or didn't pick up) from watching others since if their parents speak english, they do to!

BTW: I highly recommend the book Nurtured By Love.

The author of this book, IMO, understands operant psychology well and describes how environments can be used to influence the way children behave; in particular, he believes that it's essential for the mother (father) to play the violin at home because, if that's the case, then her (his) children will think it's only natural to play violin.

mrmx December 6, 2008 - 5:38am

Very interesting. eom

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 6, 2008 - 9:06pm

takaratiki, very well said. eom

Sean Paul Kelley December 4, 2008 - 11:44pm

More facts please

This is interesting but I see some problems with your reasoning and/or the way you're structuring your argument.

Firstly, creating a parable where you create the characters, manipulate the scenes, and project your thoughts, is perhaps not as persuasive as notes from an interview with a John Doe. Though such a scenario as you have created is plausible, and creative license can reveal much more than an interview, it reflects how and what you might imagine, exclusively. A better strategy might be to hit the books; I think Kinsey draws inferences from specific interviews and includes excerpts. Psychology and sociological journals also sometimes mention specific patients/subjects/surveys, there must be something on this topic in the stacks. Alternatively, you could conduct interviews with Johns and/or people in the sex trade, as I believe Nicholas Kristoff did for the NY Times.

Secondly, I think you have to address all of the Why? questions before drawing conclusions. Why does the brothel exist? Why is the prostitute there? Why is the John engaging in this lifestyle?

Thirdly, though you appear to wish to address the entire phenomenon of prostitution, your exclusive focus appears to be on its unwilling participants in third-world countries. What about willing participants in first world countries? What about the call girls? Isn't that prostitution too? In these cases, calling prostitution torture seems a false equivalency. What is it about the sex act(s) that is torture? How is that so?

I'm not following you with the agriculture/patriarchy/prostitution argument. We can only guess about prehistory--it would stand to reason that women created agriculture, but we don't know. There may have been the "good old days" where men and women in prehistoric societies were equal, but about the only thing we have to draw inferences from is the study of isolated matriarchal societies in Papua New Guinea and South America, where polyandry is practiced. Nor do the selections from Jacqueline Hammack seem useful; to pull an idealized prehistorical Amazonian society out of thin air seems fanciful, and the desertification of this idealized agrarian society contradicts your argument that agriculture is the cause of prostitution and/or the degradation of women.

On legalization of prostitution: you assert that lots of things "will" happen, but the one thing that seems plausible is the change in mens' attitudes toward women. But is the rest of it so? I'd much rather have a strictly controlled environment where women are safe than the criminal, unregulated marketplace madness that we appear to have in this country. And if a municipality legalized prostitution in the middle of a puritanical society, would it not stand to reason that prostitution would boom in that place, since it would not be available anywhere else?

Also, are you arguing for the criminalization of infidelity? Are there no wicked women under the sun? If building strong relationships, lasting egalitarian marriages, and nurturing environments for children is a feminine biological prerogative, what is the male biological prerogative? To go from flower to flower like a bumblebee? Is this a valid prerogative? Why not? Are men wrong to pursue their natural inclinations? Would that not be unnatural?

Jonathryn December 4, 2008 - 11:37am

Hit the books?

The web provided my references. SP reminded me that this is just a blog and that there was no need to provide a peer-reviewed article.

Why? Why? Why? Apparently, Paternity! Paternity! Paternity! (Lock up your woman in an institution such as marriage, deny her sexuality and then hit the road for the prostitutes - I know, that's putting it crudely) I just found this mind boggling article. Although we can't seem to get away from the animals.

Culture, law and technology are the legacies we leave for future generations. We must inspect our cultural assumptions in the light of new technology. Today, humans can celebrate their liberation from the biological imperatives of female choice and paternity determination, a feat no other species has accomplished.

I discuss, 'willing participants', call girls etc. in my next article.

this idealized agrarian society contradicts your argument that agriculture is the cause of prostitution and/or the degradation of women. I spoke about hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming as a precursor to well developed, patriarchal, agricultural societies.

A prostitute isn't safe anywhere. They're considered an inferior class. Violence against them has traditionally not been as vigorously prosecuted as violence against non-prostitutes. Men know this. That's why legalized brothels have panic buttons in the rooms. In Australia, in legal brothels, the prostitutes have been taught hostage negotiation skills. It is clear from the many comments that men have an 'idealized' view of Western legal prostitution.

If building strong relationships, lasting egalitarian marriages, and nurturing environments for children is a feminine biological prerogative, what is the male biological prerogative? To me, an egalitarian marriage means that men and women care equally about the welfare of children. Children need fathers as much as mothers.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 4, 2008 - 4:34pm

Ah, so marriage is all about 'children.' This is probably

the weakest link yet. Marriage shouldn't be about children. It should be about two people who love each other and have decided to spent their lives together. To say that marriage is all about the equal care of children is not too far a step away from the whole Christianist ideal of marriage, only in this instance you'd chain men to the marriage as much as you would women. Marraige shouldn't be about procreation, exclusively. It certain can be a component, but what about couples who choose to have no children? Is their marriage any less valid?

Sean Paul Kelley December 4, 2008 - 11:53pm

Not far off

I don't think it's far off to say marriage is about children. The more parents a child has the better off they are generally. Creation of an extra incentive to stay together has to be a large part of the reason for the institution.

Which means that as other aspects of a relationship fail, including sex and/or love and/or even friendship, there is still the formal ties that remain to help hold a family unit together for the raising of the children. Ideally what should happen if a couple fall out of love is that then they should "open" up the marriage until a replacement is found. Then the divorce can proceed. Of course, there is the chance that the opening up in itself will obviate the need for a divorce.

Jeff Wegerson December 5, 2008 - 10:09am

Good point, SP

Although marriage is mainly about providing a nurturing environment for children, that is not its only function. The bonding of a man and a woman (or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman) comes first and can be with or without children. One of my brothers and his wife chose not to have children. Their marriage has been and still is a great success story.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 5, 2008 - 6:51pm

There are indeed, 'wicked women' under the sun and I think

this is one of the flaws of Adrena's argument. Women have sex drives that are almost identical to those of men, although they manifest themselves later in life, 30s for women and early 20s for men. There are also women who seek out male prostitutes, are those men objectified? Tortured, etc? Again, it's just not a solid argument when it comes to human sexuality unless you include the whole gamut.

Sean Paul Kelley December 4, 2008 - 11:50pm

Didn't we have this discussion before?

I guess I'll have to repeat myself. No, I do not have to and do not intend to include the whole gamut for the same reasons I stated previously.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

adrena December 5, 2008 - 6:56pm

You're playing a game of solitaire

And every inconvenient card in the deck is a wild card.

Jonathryn December 6, 2008 - 9:10am

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A Lesser Species - Part 1

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