Rarely do the majority of prostitutes do business entirely on their own terms. There is almost always more nuanced social conditions involved (patriarchy, poverty, racism, gender-based oppression, etc.) that come into play. Sex workers don't exist because one day someone said "Oh, you know what would be an easier way to pay my bills?" Some people make the best out of it and that's great; I don't shame people or think anyone should be shamed for surviving how the best see fit especially under less than ideal situations.
I and others here have qualified numerous times that we're not talking about people who are being coerced (i.e. made to work in this area by force) or exploited (i.e. made to work in this area by circumstance). We all want to help people in those circumstances, but that's a separate issue. It doesn't reflect on those that
chose to be there in any way. How about we continue to advocate both smarter policing AND targeted social mobility-related transition programs (i.e. education, work training/apprenticeship programs, social housing, counselling, etc.) for those who aren't where they want to be. In fact if such programs were fully available to all citizens facing financial (and related) troubles, I'd expect the rate and severity of mental illnesses, crime, and domestic violence would go down as well. (Not as much as with a basic income, but it's a start at least toward earning one as a worker/entrepreneur in a chosen profession.)
And no, the exchange of money does not invalidate consent. I was saying turning a normal human interaction into a business transaction removes the "humanity" so to speak of the action. Paying for sex is (in my opinion...obviously) paying for the body of someone temporarily and that is similar to a form of ownership. My beef is with the actions of those who look at another person as something to be paid for. Yes, humans aren't just body parts, but your body is a massive part of who you are, intimately connected to your feelings and perception of yourself and the world around you.
Sex isn't only about friction between body parts. If it was, why not just use a relatively inexpensive sex toy? Whether they realize it or not, these customers aren't just paying for body parts. Underlying the physical sensations, I think there's a certain thrill these people are seeking that's right along the same lines as anybody else. It has to do with negotiating, power dynamics, building human-to-human intimacy, and exploration of vulnerability (on all sides). And what happens in one customer's mind at the time is not necessarily the same thing happening in the next customer's or from one worker's mind to the next, for that matter.
I sound like I'm on some moral crusade but I'm not. My answer to the thread question is "good." But I take some mild offensive to the idea that nobody is harmed in prostitution even if it is something the individual "chose" (and "choice" is an interesting word people use which normally ignores many of the constant pressures I mentioned in brief before similar to the idea that people choose to do drugs or choose to do shit jobs).
We're not ignoring pressures. You're bringing irrelevant cases into the equation. On the "moral crusade thing," I see it's not what you intend. I'm only guessing here but I think rather the case is that society's ideas of sex being a "dirty" thing are influencing you here. But that's not inherently the case. It's only as "dirty" as people make it.
