My thoughts on this were brought up by the Escorts vs Street Walkers thread, but they're actually a separate topic, so here they are.
Drugs, of the recreational sort, are illegal in the US and Canada. If they were totally legalized, who would be most hurt by this decision? Well, you could point to extra people becoming addicted to drugs, but the group I'd say would be most hurt, and which doesn't even occur to most people, would be the drug dealers.
There are large networks of people who are involved in the manufacturing and distribution of drugs, all of whom are taking lots of risk and making lots of money. Legalize drugs, and everyone starts buying from respectable legal outlets, and the drug dealers are all out of a job. Or they go get a job at BongHits 'R Us making $9.50 an hour.
Recreational drugs and prostitution have in common the fact that they're both black market activities. And as is common to all black market products, their prices are many times higher than they would be if they were legal.
I think it's safe to say that if you asked SP's of any sort about the biggest problems they have with their jobs, near or on the top of their lists would be the illegality of what they do, and the social unacceptability of it. Getting arrested, having to risk arrest, having to play all sorts of games to avoid risking arrest, having to hide what you do from family and friends, etc. Then there's the fact that a "whore" is our society's worst insult for a woman, and now that's what you are, so you have to deal with that stigma, both from others and from yourself.
So SP's wish that they didn't have to hide from the law, hide what they do from others, etc etc, they wish that what they did was legal, and they wish it was socially acceptable.
But guess what? As an SP, your whole lifestyle is dependent upon both the illegality and social unacceptability of what you do. If prostitution were totally legal in every way, if it were totally socially acceptable in every way, as acceptable as giving massages is today, say, then your average SP would be making the same amount of money that the average person makes.
In the US, the median hourly wage is about $17, though that generally includes benefits. But your average escort in the US is making $200 an hour or so, which means she can work 10 hours a week and make $100,000 a year.
She makes this enormously high wage because she is breaking the law, taking certain risks, and dealing with the stigma of being a prostitute. You might assume she also makes this enormous wage due to her great beauty or sexual skills, but you'd be wrong. I've seen websites for escorts who are unbelievably unattractive, who look like Roseanne Barr, if you injected 100 pounds more of fat into her and then beat in her face with a board. And they're getting work. They merely have to lower their price to a bit less than the typical escort's.
If prostitution were totally legal, totally socially acceptable in every way, as acceptable as giving massages for a living, then your average SP would be making $20 an hour in the US, and whatever the equivalent average wage is in canada.
So no more making thousands of dollars a week, working part time.
So which would you prefer, as an escort? Making $200 an hour, but having to deal with a bunch of risks and negativity in a variety of ways? Or making $20 an hour, working 40 hours a week just like any other job?
If you want to truly protect your income, as an escort, I recommend the following:
1. Attempt to persuade everyone in society, through advertising and any other means posssible, that sex is generally dirty, bad, and should only be done by married couples attempting to procreate, and even then they should feel guilty about it. (catholic church's position!)
2. Do everything possible to keep prostitution illegal. Stress to your local politicians the need to keep your community clean and wholesome.
3. Encourage and strengthen the stigma of being a "whore". Teach women that anytime they have or enjoy sex, they are a dirty terrible person, and teach men to look down on women who perform sex in any other way except as a marital duty.
4. Take a strong anti-feminist position, and actively fight feminism wherever it appears. Feminists will attempt to preach that women's sexuality is a good and natural thing, which will totally interfere with what you're trying to do in steps 1-3. In addition, if women in the general population are having and enjoying sex, your client base might shrink.
5. Encourage lots of fundamentalist christians to move into your community. They'll do steps 1-4 for you, with great enthusiasm.
As long as you are successful at these steps, you'll keep the supply of prostitutes far lower than the male demand for them, and you'll keep your prices wonderfully high.
Alright, now in case the irony of the above few paragraphs didn't come through, I'll let you know I wasn't serious about them. But I do have a perhaps serious point about all this. If I were an escort, and one who had the same depth, views on politics, spirituality, feminism, etc, that I have now, the overall position I'd find myself in would do some weird things to my mind
Drugs, of the recreational sort, are illegal in the US and Canada. If they were totally legalized, who would be most hurt by this decision? Well, you could point to extra people becoming addicted to drugs, but the group I'd say would be most hurt, and which doesn't even occur to most people, would be the drug dealers.
There are large networks of people who are involved in the manufacturing and distribution of drugs, all of whom are taking lots of risk and making lots of money. Legalize drugs, and everyone starts buying from respectable legal outlets, and the drug dealers are all out of a job. Or they go get a job at BongHits 'R Us making $9.50 an hour.
Recreational drugs and prostitution have in common the fact that they're both black market activities. And as is common to all black market products, their prices are many times higher than they would be if they were legal.
I think it's safe to say that if you asked SP's of any sort about the biggest problems they have with their jobs, near or on the top of their lists would be the illegality of what they do, and the social unacceptability of it. Getting arrested, having to risk arrest, having to play all sorts of games to avoid risking arrest, having to hide what you do from family and friends, etc. Then there's the fact that a "whore" is our society's worst insult for a woman, and now that's what you are, so you have to deal with that stigma, both from others and from yourself.
So SP's wish that they didn't have to hide from the law, hide what they do from others, etc etc, they wish that what they did was legal, and they wish it was socially acceptable.
But guess what? As an SP, your whole lifestyle is dependent upon both the illegality and social unacceptability of what you do. If prostitution were totally legal in every way, if it were totally socially acceptable in every way, as acceptable as giving massages is today, say, then your average SP would be making the same amount of money that the average person makes.
In the US, the median hourly wage is about $17, though that generally includes benefits. But your average escort in the US is making $200 an hour or so, which means she can work 10 hours a week and make $100,000 a year.
She makes this enormously high wage because she is breaking the law, taking certain risks, and dealing with the stigma of being a prostitute. You might assume she also makes this enormous wage due to her great beauty or sexual skills, but you'd be wrong. I've seen websites for escorts who are unbelievably unattractive, who look like Roseanne Barr, if you injected 100 pounds more of fat into her and then beat in her face with a board. And they're getting work. They merely have to lower their price to a bit less than the typical escort's.
If prostitution were totally legal, totally socially acceptable in every way, as acceptable as giving massages for a living, then your average SP would be making $20 an hour in the US, and whatever the equivalent average wage is in canada.
So no more making thousands of dollars a week, working part time.
So which would you prefer, as an escort? Making $200 an hour, but having to deal with a bunch of risks and negativity in a variety of ways? Or making $20 an hour, working 40 hours a week just like any other job?
If you want to truly protect your income, as an escort, I recommend the following:
1. Attempt to persuade everyone in society, through advertising and any other means posssible, that sex is generally dirty, bad, and should only be done by married couples attempting to procreate, and even then they should feel guilty about it. (catholic church's position!)
2. Do everything possible to keep prostitution illegal. Stress to your local politicians the need to keep your community clean and wholesome.
3. Encourage and strengthen the stigma of being a "whore". Teach women that anytime they have or enjoy sex, they are a dirty terrible person, and teach men to look down on women who perform sex in any other way except as a marital duty.
4. Take a strong anti-feminist position, and actively fight feminism wherever it appears. Feminists will attempt to preach that women's sexuality is a good and natural thing, which will totally interfere with what you're trying to do in steps 1-3. In addition, if women in the general population are having and enjoying sex, your client base might shrink.
5. Encourage lots of fundamentalist christians to move into your community. They'll do steps 1-4 for you, with great enthusiasm.
As long as you are successful at these steps, you'll keep the supply of prostitutes far lower than the male demand for them, and you'll keep your prices wonderfully high.
Alright, now in case the irony of the above few paragraphs didn't come through, I'll let you know I wasn't serious about them. But I do have a perhaps serious point about all this. If I were an escort, and one who had the same depth, views on politics, spirituality, feminism, etc, that I have now, the overall position I'd find myself in would do some weird things to my mind
