Should Prostitution be Legalized?

In a word - yes.

You might be thinking I'm either some perv or loon to think that. And, you may be right.. about the perv part. But, prostitutes aren't my bag and I would never utilize one's services... even if it were legal.

I was driving to work on Friday listening to my ultra-liberal radio station, KPFK, when I heard the subject line uttered.

"Oh, yeah!" I thought. "Let's hear all the whiney women talk about how it needs to stay illegal. They're still being exploited, ya know." There's sarcasm in there somewhere.

The guest on this particular show (of which I have no clue.. I still need to get a calendar of shows from KPFK. I'm sure I'll eventually get it in the mail) was a woman named Samara O'Shea. She is a published writer who also blogs on the Huffington Post (she is part of Ariana's "blogosphere". Woopty!). Link to her blog entry.

Anyway.. She is a proponent for the legalization of prostitution. I was nearly beside myself when I heard this. And, in a car, that's bad.. unless I wanted to use the carpool lane.. as a means to stopping my car... against the divider. I was actually surprised to hear callers agreeing. Then I realizaed.. this is a progressive idea. It's not something some small-minded conservative ditto-head would support. Family values be damned!

First, let me tell you why I think it should be legal. Oh, let me say that one cannot be exploited when they put themselves in that position. For whatever reason, they chose to do it, and that's not exploitation. And to some degree, we're all exploited. We work. For money. We do things. For more money. What's the difference? That it's sex? And who's exploiting who? Are the Johns exploiting the women for sex or are the women exploiting the Johns for money? It's a fine line. And if you think it'll ruin marriages and families, those men will see prostitutes whether it's legal or not or find a mistress or do whatever.. Prostitution wasn't the problem, the relationship was. But this isn't about those concerns. I'm a big fan of tangents.

Women are going to put themselves in this position whether it's legal to do so or not. And because it's illegal, their legal protections are few. So, if a man (and we're assuming that all prostitutes are women, though there are men out there prostituting themselves. It's just that women make up the majority of sex workers) visits a prostitute, steals from her, beats her, rapes her (yes, a prostitute can be raped) and on top of that, gives her HIV, what recourse does she have? She was breaking the law in the first place. Though she could go to the cops, she probably won't out of fear and ignorance.

Legalizing prostitution would give this woman a safe place to operate. She could be tested each week for diseases. She could get counselling if she was just starting out and could be pursuaded to find another line of work. Condoms would be used all the time. Bottom line, she would be protected and safe. And, since prostitution would be legal, it would be taxed. That there is a large source of income for the State. Ahnold could balance our budget. For once.

So Samara comes on and says prostitution should be legal. Her reasoning was one I hadn't thought about. Why make something a crime when it's already morally and ethically unacceptable? Adultery isn't illegal. As is pornography. But prostitution is? I'm not saying any of these things are right or okay. But, if two are legal, why isn't the third?

And O'Shea makes another good point - if it's legalized, will flocks of women come out of the wood work to partake in becoming a commodity? I think not. No one wants to be labeled a whore. Women do it now mainly because there's no other choice. It's a neccessity to survive. Sure, there are those that put themselves through college or do it because they're nymphos.. But those are what.. 1 out of 10,000? Please.

People judge. And when that happens, one's world can go to shit rather quickly. We can lose our jobs, our homes, our lives all because we're judged by our peers. I know. I've been through it (I've blogged about my being in a relationship with a married woman. It's no secret) and I've learned my lesson. It can be worse than jail time and a fine, I'm sure.

Whether it's legal or not, people are going to judge prostitutes and those who use their services. Why waste taxpayer money trying to control it? Legalize it, tax it and morally judge it. We do that now with great efficiency on other things. And it works like a charm.

What's worse? Running the risk of being exploited? Or running the risk of being a victim of violent crime and theft? Yes, this is a choice between two evils. If I had to make that choice, I'd much rather protect the woman from becoming a statistic.