today in the record

[Peter123]

some guy spouting off about changes to prostitution laws..normal blah, blah...but what really got me, one "statistic" he quotes--only 10% of ladies are doing it out of free will...I would REALLY love to know where he comes up with that...seems I have met lots of ladies that happen to be that 10% then

Course they include economic need in the exploitation column...well yeah I guess if making a shit load more money than say working at Timmies as exploitation...personally I would call that free will and free choice...

I guess it helps certain minded people to picture all sex for money as fat creepy perverts banging coke heads...if they had to accept the reality (at least in imo what the majority really is) that fairly regular guys, having sex for money with ladies doing it out of choice it would rock their world view too badly....

 

[Art Mann]

It's his opinion. I have a different one, but ...

The writer of that article notes that his opinion of prostitution was framed by working with a (presumably Mennonite) organization to address exploitation of women in Thailand. I don't think any of us can deny sex trade trafficking in third world countries is a deplorable situation. But we also know it's a huge, unjust leap to thereby tarnish the reputation of working ladies here who, we believe, are independent thinkers, making their own career choices through free will.

So here's the question, Peter.

What are you going to do to rectify that misconception? Are you going to write a letter to the editor and sign your name? Your real name? Are you going to call the newspaper and talk to a reporter so they can do a story to balance out the misconception?

Didn't think so. Me neither.

And I doubt if any of the lovely ladies here want to go public for the cause either. Could be wrong, just guessing, but I do know there'd be lots of personal sacrifice involved for any of us to out ourselves by taking a stand.

Don't know if the figure is 90% or just 10% of ladies doing it out of free will, but like you, I've only met those in the "10%" category, because I tend to be very careful in my choices.

The general public, on the other hand, tends to equate prostitution with street walkers, a perception reinforced by the media. On TV, any story about prostitution relies on visual images of hookers leaning into car windows to solicit. In newspapers, the image is reinforced more subtly.

Don't have a clue how many ladies are walking the streets looking for business, but I frequently see little news stories about prostitution stings in downtown Kitchener, Cambridge or Guelph. And whenever I read those brief news stories I shake my head in amazement that any guy in his right mind would be cruising the streets looking for sex.

I'm just glad I know how to meet classy ladies happy to share an hour or two of playtime. God bless 'em all for their free spirit and free will.

By the way, you can read the opinion piece here.

 

[Noelle Frost]

The issue here is that any statistic you could state regarding women's choice in prostitution is discredited by the greater philosophical question of "choice" and what choice actually means under the institution of capitalism and patriarchy. It is most certainly true that people are quick to assert that economic need "forces" women into prostitution yet they cannot see how capitalism IN GENERAL forces all kinds of people into working jobs that they would stay away from if they actually had a "choice".

Funny that I came across this thread because I'm writing an essay for one of my classes where I am attempting to deconstruct anti-prostitution theories like these.

I am not entirely sure whether or not I agree that the "majority" of prostitution is the kind of escorting work that we are familiar with through TERB, etc. Keep in mind that there are MANY women working on the streets and that our perception of what prostitution is as a whole might be skewed because our own experiences have been limited to this realm (this includes myself). I don't know about numbers and percentages, but it helps to have a bit of perspective.

x0 Noelle

EDIT: I also agree with Artmann that the media does a really good job of skewing people's perspective in the opposite direction by constantly portraying images of danger, drug addiction, abuse, and generally unsavory scenarios. One who does not have experience with prostitution in this demographic might just blindly subscribe to these ideas, which is a terribly ignorant way to go about things. However, in discovering TERB and the escorting scene, one might be too quick to say "Hey, it's not like what you see on TV afterall!" while forgetting that this particular arena is still only representative of specific niche of the greater prostitution scene. There is always going to be some amount of perspective missing unless you have invested equal amounts of time in exploring the street scene, brothels, massage parlors, and visited all of the low-income areas where things happen that you've never even realized.

 

[Peter123]

Good points by both..and yes it the street scene that seems to be equated to prostitution in general--and I think we all agree that is really the tip of the iceberg...with majority of the scene is happens behind closed doors. Are there some really bad things happening--for sure both here and abroad...but legalization with help with that (imo) you regulate the majority--and crack down on the minority...

as for writing a letter to editor...no...that is why I applaud the three ladies who are fighting the laws so much...

 

[BretTo]

I'm not sure I can add anything that hasn't been covered by the sheer intellect that this thread has drawn, except that...

Noelle, your brain turns me on. Although you probably hear that all the time.