PROstitution

I think it's about time we put the pro back into prostitution. Known to many as “the oldest profession in the world,” prostitution is a line of work that has been both in demand and in supply for as long as history has been preserved. In America today, where the majority of sex work is criminalized, if not flat out illegal, prostitution is still as prevalent and rampant as ever before.With the outlawed sex industry/prostitution, come many predicaments: meager (sexual) health for both the johns and sex providers, unfair earnings for the sex workers, physical and emotional abuse (force, fraud, and coercion), the unwarranted stigma, and the discriminatory, unjust regulations imposed on women in regards to their bodily liberties. Legalizing prostitution would facilitate a much safer and equitable environment for the women, and sometimes men, in this profession. On the most basic grounds, the legalization of prostitution would remove self-proclaimed “pimps” from the overwhelming power that they, more than often than not, hold, and subsequently, removing the abusers from the abusive situation. By removing the independent pimps, we would create room for the government to step in and implement necessary regulations, as well as ensuring the reasonable allocation of earnings to the workers. With the government monitoring and regulating a legitimized prostitution enterprise, we would be paving the way for all sorts of positive advancements. The government needs to establish some means of general regulation. Such regulations should ensure that no person be discriminated against due to their health (ex: HIV/AIDS), but would allow for the johns to make informed decisions about who to engage in sexual acts with, while facilitating a safe, low-risk environment. Everyone involved would be awarded his or her civil liberties with a safeguard against deception. The legalization of prostitution would not only allow the prostitutes to be able to participate in a legally recognized profession, but also the johns would no longer have to seek out secret, underground brothels. Brothels where, while there are definitely are exceptions, the mass amount of the sex workers suffer mental, emotional, and physical abuse by their pimps, and are, more often than not, victims of the human trafficking epidemic. On an economic note, prostitution, if legalized, would be a recognized profession, thus subjecting the workers to income taxes. Prostitution could, and would, then be a means of financial revenue for our country, the great U.S. of A. Now, all of this sounds great on paper, but what about implementation? Unionize it! Lets devise a plan to institute a Union for the oversight of the legalization of prostitution. With such a union in place, the industry of legal prostitution could be closely regulated and managed – ensuring all taxes are paid and all rules and requirements are abided by, as well that all participating professionals are doing so willingly, with out any force, fraud, or coercion. With various legal options, there is no logical reason for the continued employment of the illegal organizations and providers. Lastly, what I find to be the most obvious argument of all, is that of the arbitrary laws currently in place. Why is it illegal for a person to charge for an act that is otherwise freely, and overly, dispensed? The laws currently enacted restrict peoples’ employment, profession, and occupation opportunities based on personal, and arguably religious, beliefs. I, personally, would never go into the profession of prostitution, solely based on my own ethics and morals. However, I would not, and do not, reduce anyone who chooses to participate in such acts to a lower or lesser level of morale. I do not always agree with rest of the world, but I do always try to remain as unbiased and accepting as I possibly can. With this open-minded mentality and the comprehension that every person is indeed human and has a soul, I find myself longing for security for all within the profession. While I have no plans of entering this workforce, I want to ensure that incase I changed my mind, all avenues are covered. If a doctor has all such legal and civil protections while cutting people open and distributing controversial pharmaceuticals, it is only fair that the same protections and liberties be awarded to people who are engaging in consensual, arguably harmless, sexual acts. Please, try to keep an open mind. Imagine if you perceived sex to be a casual, impersonal act and found yourself struggling to find a job that finically supports you, while at the same time intrigues you. If a legal system is set up to ensure your overall safety, security, and well being, (and assuming your beliefs and ethics do not go against it) then why not participate in this industry? The social stigma that accompanies prostitution? Well, overtime, the stigma associated with the prostitution line of work would dwindle and eventually completely subside. This would happen due to society’s inherent willingness, by its legalization, to accept prostitution into our culture, assuming we implement the appropriate measures. Things of this magnitude take time, but the clock cannot begin to countdown until we hit start – something that we are yet to do.