should prostitution brothels be legal?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Yes (feminist)

It's issues like this that radical feminists give feminism a bad name.

Radical feminists giving feminism a bad name by being anti-male, but you don't need to be anti-male to be concerned about women being exploited by brothels.  How would brothel legalization poll among the general public?  20% or so?

I'm somewhere near CrabCake on this one.

A) Being against brothels is anti-male (and anti-female).
B) Worried about exploitation? Then regulate them. Ever heard of workplace safety?
C) Who cares how it would poll. One shouldn't make public policy decisions based on opinion polls alone. For the record though, I suspect brothels would poll somewhere in the 30s. At least it would here; there's likely at least a 10 point gap between Canada and the US.
 

What?  No. Regardless of the merits, being opposed to it doesn't make someone Andrea Dworkin.  It's not what gives feminism a bad name. 

[Hatman 🍁]

Yes (feminist)

It's issues like this that radical feminists give feminism a bad name.

Radical feminists giving feminism a bad name by being anti-male, but you don't need to be anti-male to be concerned about women being exploited by brothels.  How would brothel legalization poll among the general public?  20% or so?

I'm somewhere near CrabCake on this one.

A) Being against brothels is anti-male (and anti-female).
B) Worried about exploitation? Then regulate them. Ever heard of workplace safety?
C) Who cares how it would poll. One shouldn't make public policy decisions based on opinion polls alone. For the record though, I suspect brothels would poll somewhere in the 30s. At least it would here; there's likely at least a 10 point gap between Canada and the US.
 

As I said, I'm undecided on the issue, but it's definitely not as black and white as you claim:

A - Legalisation would inflate demand. The lack of penalties, the legitimisation of the business and the loss of stigma would mean more people would want prostitutes.

So?

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That's not only anti-sex, but rather offensive.

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Well, under capitalism the vulnerable are pushed into a lot of undesirable jobs.  The real problem here is capitalism.

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...and strict immigration controls. That's also a problem.

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A problem that wouldn't be unique to brothels.

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Looks like the Dutch need some brothel reform.


It's a really murky area, with so many shades of grey. We shouldn't be hasty in considering either side ultimately right or wrong.
[/quote]

Yes (feminist)

It's issues like this that radical feminists give feminism a bad name.

Radical feminists giving feminism a bad name by being anti-male, but you don't need to be anti-male to be concerned about women being exploited by brothels.  How would brothel legalization poll among the general public?  20% or so?

I'm somewhere near CrabCake on this one.

A) Being against brothels is anti-male (and anti-female).
B) Worried about exploitation? Then regulate them. Ever heard of workplace safety?
C) Who cares how it would poll. One shouldn't make public policy decisions based on opinion polls alone. For the record though, I suspect brothels would poll somewhere in the 30s. At least it would here; there's likely at least a 10 point gap between Canada and the US.
 

Yeah I mean fracking is regulated and it totally solves all the issues associated with it.

Seriously? Terrible example. Fracking is regulated "in name only". Wholly inadequate. I'm not advocating for the same level of terrible regulation in brothels as exists for fracking.

Yes (feminist)

It's issues like this that radical feminists give feminism a bad name.

Radical feminists giving feminism a bad name by being anti-male, but you don't need to be anti-male to be concerned about women being exploited by brothels.  How would brothel legalization poll among the general public?  20% or so?

I'm somewhere near CrabCake on this one.

A) Being against brothels is anti-male (and anti-female).
B) Worried about exploitation? Then regulate them. Ever heard of workplace safety?
C) Who cares how it would poll. One shouldn't make public policy decisions based on opinion polls alone. For the record though, I suspect brothels would poll somewhere in the 30s. At least it would here; there's likely at least a 10 point gap between Canada and the US.
 

What?  No. Regardless of the merits, being opposed to it doesn't make someone Andrea Dworkin.  It's not what gives feminism a bad name. 

Not the main thing I admit, but a small part that is related to the bad name that extreme feminists give to the cause (most of which has to do with the anti-sex movement). I've heard that some radical feminists even think that all sex is rape.  It's issues like this one that have caused my partner to eschew the feminist label altogether, preferring to call herself an "equalist".  Since I have more of a background on the topic (OK, I took a few women's studies classes in university), I don't mind myself still being labelled as a feminist.

[RosettaStoned]

 Yes, legalize them and regulate them.

[Tieteobserver]

Yes, they should. Forbidding a woman from selling a service which doesn't harm anyone and whose engagement upon is entirely consensual is clearly an act of aggression.

[Never]

No, why legalize something that clearly degrades women, spreads disease, increases human trafficking, and often provides negligible monetary benefit to the prostitutes themselves? Shouldn't we be helping women leave prostitution instead of trying to create a morally objectionable source of tax revenue?

[Maxwell]

Of course, it brings all kinds of people out of the legal shadows (prostitutes get all kinds of abuse and yet they are forever in the dark about it because of their occupation), and we can properly regulate it and tax it.

Plus, people can already give away sex and it's not a crime, nor is filming paid sex. All we need to do is remove the camera.

[Beet]

No (feminist). While I don't see anything inherently wrong with buying or selling sex, I think it's structurally problematic. A better model would be that if you want sex, make yourself more attractive until the women you want want you back. That is harder but much more rewarding over the long run.

Besides, all the evidence from Germany suggests that legalization just grows the illicit industry. Keep this industry small as much as possible.

[Oakvale]

No, why legalize something that clearly degrades women

Agreed, we should ban mass media.

[Torie]

The arguments against it, seem patronizing to women it seems to me, treating them as children, who are unable to make wise decisions for themselves. In any event, there is probably far more exploitation in the dark shadows, then of the girls at the mustang ranch in Nevada. Brothels are outdated however. Now meretricious hookups tend to be arranged on-line. If I want a male hooker, I can have him in my sling in an hour. So it almost doesn't matter what the law is.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Torie has a good point actually this is yet another law that can't really be effectively enforced in the era of the internet. Sure police can and do online ad stings but they aren't even catching 1%, hell probably not even 0.1% of prostitution activity.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Let's look at this practically. What has historically happened with major crackdowns? The elimination of prostitution? The reasonable control of prostitution? Alas no. The only result is generally grotesque police corruption. Treating prostitution as a criminal problem does not work. Therefore, alternative solutions have to be considered...

[afleitch]

Let's look at this practically. What has historically happened with major crackdowns? The elimination of prostitution? The reasonable control of prostitution? Alas no. The only result is generally grotesque police corruption. Treating prostitution as a criminal problem does not work. Therefore, alternative solutions have to be considered...

I agree. I can't abide Rupert Everett but his documentary a few weeks ago on the matter was both frank and eye opening. If you're blasé about that sort of thing it's worth seeing.

[Person Man]

Seriously, I fail to see a reason to oppose prostitution legalization.

Paying $100 to $10000  to have sex with someone is no less unethical than having any other one night stand for any other reason. And when women are exploited through prostitution, prostitution is not the problem. The problem is rape and kidnapping.

[Beet]

Seriously, I fail to see a reason to oppose prostitution legalization.

Paying $100 to $10000  to have sex with someone is no less unethical than having any other one night stand for any other reason. And when women are exploited through prostitution, prostitution is not the problem. The problem is rape and kidnapping.

In theory, but when you have no way of knowing whether the person you are paying was kidnapped or needs money to support a chemical addiction, there is a difference. The absence of a monetary transaction provides much better reassurance that what is being done is really through 'free will'.

[Person Man]

Seriously, I fail to see a reason to oppose prostitution legalization.

Paying $100 to $10000  to have sex with someone is no less unethical than having any other one night stand for any other reason. And when women are exploited through prostitution, prostitution is not the problem. The problem is rape and kidnapping.

In theory, but when you have no way of knowing whether the person you are paying was kidnapped or needs money to support a chemical addiction, there is a difference. The absence of a monetary transaction provides much better reassurance that what is being done is really through 'free will'.

You almost make an argument that prostitution should be legal but brothels not be legal. Its almost if you just had a call girl over, and if what they were doing was legal or they at least had immunity, they can tell you that they need to be rescued if they are doing it against their will.


I think a good argument against prostitution in general is that people who have to pay for sex, shouldn't be having sex. Then again, that sounds almost eugenical or at least elitist/socially conservative.

[Repub242]

No, all prostitution should be stay illegal and be heavily punished.