I don’t find any of that to be terribly nuanced. And I find none of that to be sex positive.

I don’t understand why you make the point about capitalism. Most wage slaves I know are not in an “I-thou” relationship with their employer. Most wage slaves I know would prefer to be doing almost anything else with the majority of their lives. As Renegage Evolution suggests (and I hope I have her point correctly), it’s basically a service provided by one human to another human.

If you folks want to argue that prostitution should be outlawed for the reasons you give here, if you believe as Amanda suggests that every sexual relationship with a man needs a payment or quid pro quo or that there is something inherently anti-feminist to be dating a man as Jill (or was it Jessica) claimed, then I think that you can certainly make those intellectual arguments.

I just don’t think you should be claiming to be a sex positive blogger.

It was not meant as a slur, it’s just general to drop handles to one word, mainly to the first or last word, and “aren’t” seemed like a bad handle.

Anyway, most of those examples you gave are in fact critisism of capitalism, not prostitution.

Again, and I need to make this obvious, I do not wish to make prostitution illegal. But to act like having sex is just like typing on a laptop is to overlook biology and social norms.

Yes and yes, but you are forgetting a third category: women who have alternatives, but find prostitution more attractive than those alternatives - whether because they can earn more, work less time, or find the work easier than the usual 9-5 office grind. I can’t speak for the States, but I suspect that this is the largest category of sex worker in NZ - which has a minimum wage, low unemployment, and a reasonable welfare system.

Many “Johns” visit prostitutes because they enjoy the power they hold over women in a less fortunate position (ie sexism and classism, and depending, racism). There may be some “Johns” who do it because they cannot get sex for a variety of reasons, and have no classism or sexism in them, however unlikely that is in a patriarchal society.

I have to object to the words “many” and “some” above. the article I have referenced earlier suggests that most of the clients the prostitutes encounter fall into the second group, and indeed many of them don’t even want sex.

“Clients ranged from 18 to 80 and came from a mix of backgrounds. Many were married, or in long-term relationships.

“It’s men looking for a bit of variety. In some cases we help spark up relationships which have gone a little stale. It’s not our place to judge whether the guys are married or not,” Lacey said.”

Some men’s lack of ability to get sex is not a compelling reason for the legalization of prostitution.

The fact that the women in question are adult and capable of making their own choices is a compelling reason for the legalisation of prostitution.

Meg T.: What has been purchased isn’t the option to have sex with the prostitute, but rather the option to demand sexual behaviour from them whether or not they is willing.

See here:

“It was always left up to each girl to decide which of the clients they had sex with, she said. “It is always the prerogative of the girl. Some girls won’t have sex with certain types of men. That is their choice and there’s no pressure from the club owner at all.”"

I think you have my handle incorrect, it’s not “anti-feminist” but “Aren’t YOU being an anti-feminist” which is what I often find myself thinking when I am at blogs that don’t ascribe rationality, and agency to women, or that place women on a pedestal assuming they are not interested in sex, or capable of deception or exploiting another human, or that feel a need to implement speech codes or have differential laws in order to somehow protect a fragile woman.

By the way, congratulations on your new (?) job with Broadsheet (if I have that correct) I am hopeful you will bring a much needed intellectual honesty to Broadsheet and a Ph.D’s sense of how research is performed and how it should be reported.

Women who make thousands of dollars per sex act as prostitutes are the very rare exception, and women who enjoy sex work are exceptional as well. We hear “many” stories about college strippers because such stories are titillating, not because they are typical of sex workers. And in answering questions from children, especially questions that are very loaded, I think it’s important to start with facts. The basic fact of prostitution is that most prostitutes are very, very poor, and very exploited.

I notice that, again, the women are the only ones mentioned while those poor johns remain conspicuously absent.

My child is a boy; it’s tricky to talk to boys about the problems of men exploiting women, because you don’t want to send the message that you expect or believe that they will grow up to be such men. And also, while I’m familiar with the basic facts of why most women who work in prostitution do so, I’m really a lot less hazy about why men purchase prostitutes–I don’t believe a great deal of research has been done on that. And as I said to anti-feminist, I think it’s important to start with facts, which in this case means things I know about, rather than things I’d be guessing on.

That said, I wrote a much longer explanation of what I said to him over on my own blog, including answers to questions like “but what about the men?” in the comment thread, if you’re interested.