An excellent Globe article by Margaret Wente:
Why are feminists and other progressive types so enthusiastic about legalizing prostitution? It baffles me. Prostitution is the most exploitative, degrading work on Earth. Despite those stories about high-class call girls, its practitioners are overwhelmingly the most wretched girls and women in society. Prostitution turns women into lumps of meat that are bought and sold for the sexual gratification of men. If you legalize it, you will probably get more. Please explain how that can be a good thing. […]
I admire Ms. Bedford. She is a sharp entrepreneur and a brilliant publicist. But she is no more typical of the sex trade than your Great-Aunt Dorothy.[…]
In Canada, some women’s groups do not support the case for legalization. Among them are the front-line sexual assault centres and the Native Women’s Association of Canada – groups that work with the worst-off, most damaged, most exploited girls and women of them all. They have no photogenic poster girls like Terri-Jean Bedford. They have no illusions that legalization means empowerment. They know it only means more degradation. Is that what we want? I think not.
The red light district in Amsterdam…
photo credit: Stuck in Customs via photopin cc
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Andrea adds: It’s a great piece. I’d quibble with parts (I do not admire Ms. Bedford. She is greedy, self-absorbed and eager to capitalize on the suffering of others because it makes her rich) but in general, a great piece. If only common sense were more common.
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A couple of years ago, there was a billboard in one of the LRT stations in Edmonton that said “The average age of a prostitute in Edmonton is 15.9”. The ad was sponsored by the Edmonton Protitution Awareness Committee (sic?). My thought at the time was, if the majority of prostitutes are kids, why are we even having the discussion of whether it should be legalized?
Of course, minors will still not be legally able to become prostitutes if we legalize prostitution. But if the average age if a prostitute is a fair bit below the age of majority, and we know for a fact that there exist prostitutes who are well into their adulthood, then it stands to reason that there must be a whole lot of little girls who are caught up in prostitution here. Legalization won’t help them one whit.
Legalization will benefit only a very, very few prostitutes and leave the rest of them in even worse straits. I know feminists are all about personal autonomy and free choice, but, once a girl enters prostitution, she doesn’t have much personal autonomy left. Only a very, very few of the strongest women are able to maintain there own sense of self while engaging in prostitution.
Melissa, that’s a great point about minors, and I think one that is too often lost in the fray.
In New Zealand when they legalized prostitution, they realized now they couldn’t help minors at all because these kids aren’t carrying around ID cards to advertise their ages for the obvious reasons. So when prostitution was legalized they couldn’t basically help youth get out at all because the kids would lie and say they are of age. That’s something I remember reading when I looked into this some years ago.
Good article by Margaret Wente – especially appreciated the inclusion of the strategy in Sweden.
Every ‘social” issue is a slope as all decisions significantly affect society. Some choices are elevating and some degrading; the reality of ‘choice’. In thinking that ‘freedom’ and ‘choice’ inherently lead to a better society proponents of legalizing prostitution are not considering the damaging reality of prostitution.
One more thing… Terri Lynn Bedford claims that the law is discriminatory because she can’t hire drivers and bodyguards to protect her.
Why can’t she? Drug dealers have drivers and bodyguards. Bank robbers generally have somebody to drive the getaway car. What, is she worried that she won’t be able to properly fill out the CRA forms for her employees?
No. That’s not it. It is that she doesn’t want her career to be classified in the same category as the drug dealers and bank robbers. She doesn’t want there to be a stigma associated with her ‘vocation’.
Sorry, honey. You sell your body for money. That is worthy of stigma.
Can’t lie: This made me laugh!
“What, is she worried that she won’t be able to properly fill out the CRA forms for her employees?”
In Defence of Stigma… a book a friend of mine once wanted to write.
There is really no logical reason to legalize prostitution. The legalization of prostitution will increase the availability of prostitutes and lower the cost of their services. This would then increase demand, drawing even more under aged girls and boys into prostitution. As a society we have an obligation to try and limit the amount of people involved in a job that is basically sexual assault for money.
http://ethanvanderbuilt.com/2013/07/09/should-prostitution-be-legalized/
No sense to legalize it in my opinion. It is an ugly situation all way around. Who actually supports this with good faith and spirits?