Pimps deserve to burn in hell! -Hillary

I will say that I do not believe in imposing any restrictions on what a human being should or should not do with their bodies.That is their own choice as long as it is not detrimental to them in any way.

The only men I've ever known who used their services didn't care about the "power". Most of the men I've asked or have seen questioned in documentaries tend to say their reason for seeking a prostitute and not a one night stand or a date is that it doesn't require any work. Even picking up a "bar skank" requires that you buy her a few drinks and pretend to listen when she tells you her name. People who look to prostitutes to fill their needs simply want an interaction as brief as possible; they're not power hungry jerks who want to degrade women in any way they can.

"They like the power involved in buying a human being who can be made to do almost anything." That statement, to me, is extremely sexist and offensive. This implies that prostitutes are powerless damsels in distress. To me, they seem pretty empowered. They set their own hours, decide what services they will and will not perform, work on their own schedule, and aren't obligated to claim any of this for tax purposes because it's illegal anyway.

Here's another one: "Anyone working in prostitution who tells a john too much about who they really are, interferes with the fantasy. They risk losing a customer, and may get a beating as well." And sometimes, when a prostitute tells a John about who they are, they end up dating. Sometimes, they talk to each other about past life experiences and connect on a level deeper than they've been able to find anywhere else. Again, prostitution and sex trafficking are not the same thing. They're not all battered women in need of rescue who are expected to keep their mouths shut.

To call this "rape" is to water down what rape *actually* is, what happened to me and what happens to who-knows-how-many girls. This is a business. The product is simply controversial.

I think we hit a nerve here.That statement is sexist but actually buying another human being for sex isn't? Who in their right mind would want to date a man who paid them for sex? You want to know who? A victim of childhood abuse who falls victim over and over and over again until they get into recovery. It isn't a coincidence that they call prostitution and sex trafficking the occupation of rape.And I don't belive it waters down rape in any way.It's just another form of manipulation just like coercion.They both have the same negative psychological effects.

I have a friend who was a prostitute. She married one of her customers and he is the nicest guy she's ever met. The is a good guy. Not all customers are bad, some even want to make the women feel good about themselves, but it's rare. But there are bad ones. -Bailey

A woman is more than her body, Wheezie. You're paying for a service, not to OWN a person.

"buying another human being for sex"
Again, that is not prostitution. That's sex trafficking.

"Who in their right mind would want to date a man who paid them for sex?" Women do this all the time, every day, and it's perfectly socially acceptable because you don't call it "prostitution", you call it "marriage" or "dating". That doesn't mean they're childhood sexual abuse victims, it just means they've found an easy, convenient way to make money.

steph i have to agree with you, especially about how some married women trade sex for security - i watched it first hand with my mother. she didn't like sex, early abuse and other issues, but she married my father b/c he offered her a home. as long as she was with him she wouldn't have to find a job or struggle to make ends meet - not that we were well off, we weren't but we had enough and never wanted for the basics.

some men use prostitutes for needs other than sex. they may feel they re inadequate in bed, or want someone to talk to who will make them feel better about themselves. this is a tremendous difference between prostitution and human trafficking - prostitutes male and female may find it difficult to chose another livelihood but people who are captured by human traffickers are slaves. they are often lured into situations by lies and false promises, some are simply kidnapped. most prostitutes come to it because they have issues and it appears an easy way to make money.

Yes women are more then there bodies so....DONT SELL OR TRADE YOURSELF DONT MAKE A PORN OF YOURSELF BECOUSE THERE IS A BIGGER DEEPER YOU INSIDE THERE!

Not every woman has to have the same ideas about sex as you do. The thing that offends me the most about this post is that you're not leaving room for every type of woman. Who says that women can't be on the prowl for one night stands? Why does sex have to mean the same thing to all of us? We all have to be married or in a committed relationship before we're allowed to call it healthy. If sex doesn't mean that much to us, there's just gotta be something wrong with us-- we had to have been abused. This doesn't do anything but promote the stereotype that all abused women are damaged sexually and women who exist outside of what society tells them they can do don't know what they're doing, the poor things.

i'm an osteopath, and have been for 35 year. During that time i've had a number of patients who told me they were prostitutes. Far as i know only one was a junkie. And none of them used a pimp. I found them to be erudite, articulate people with interests as diverse as gardens, photography, silversmithing, poetry, antiques, printmaking, pottery, vintage film etc. I liked them, all of them. And enjoyed their company in the times i spent with them. In my experience they are just people is all. Same as all of us - hopes fears needs wants and regrets.

Funnily enough, it seems to me that they share something in common with some people who are multiple, people that self harm, gay & lesbians, people who have suffered childhood abuses. They remain isolated in a large and significant part of their lives - unable to be honest or open with some friends, family, workmates. Always on guard against exposure and unsure of what reception you might get. A sadness many of you share. A sadness i wish you didn't.

YOu know what.. We find nothing funny, jokingly or not about this topic! Starting it out with a question becoming this huge pot stirring for others.... is beyond us and its a lot like kicking a hornets nest to watch what happens.

For those that were prostituted out as kids with no voice and no choice such as us, it makes me vomit in my mouth. Anyone knows well enough that prostitution and pono go hand, and survivors bloody well know.

That my own parents knowingly prostituted me out to turn a profit and its something that haunts me every waking night of my life. People make choices for reasons we have no clue. We all should learn to take the plank out of our own eye lest we judge anyone else and live by that motto.

How some can laugh about it and make jokes is beyond me, but I guess if you never had to be a prisoner to it, you all can laugh it off and be insensitive to those that do and or have and flippen cringe at the thought of the Johns and can never wash the stench off.

K2 BRAVO on your response! We really appreciated your sensitivity and sensibility in your post in general. There are other people who posted great things as well.

Cheers,
DH

I said nothing about marriage or committment Steph. I have no religious or moral leanings to either.I'm an agnostic. I said you have to give yourself wholeheartedly otherwise it could be detrimental psychologically. To your self esteem, heart, mind and soul.That means you have to want to have sex with someone to share yourself with them willingly without money or any other coercive way. I also have no doubt there are brilliant,loving,caring people out there that have chosen to be prostitutes at one time or another.There are a few here that have all of those qualities and have been through that.

We really gotta stop getting all up in each other's shit like this. Man, this has to be a place for comfort and safety and not fighting.

Here's an excerpt that explains being sexually objectified is psychologically detrimental.

Prostitution, in itself, is a form of violence against women that is intrinsically traumatizing. There are many levels of harm implicated - as well as the physical harm and damage, there is the emotional and psychological harm of being sexually objectified. One study found that while there is more physical violence in street, as distinct from, brothel prostitution, there is no difference in the psychological trauma. The psychological damage is intrinsic to the act of prostitution.