Prostitution booming in Silicon Valley - Polidicks

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45370498]It's an argument against legalizing prostitution in our current social climate, yeah. I'm all for people being allowed to choose to sell sex for money, but once people are doing it because they see no other options then it's not a choice anymore.[/QUOTE] So you're saying to keep it illegal even though it endangers the lives of prostitutes? I think you're an example of agenda over safety.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45370498]It's an argument against legalizing prostitution in our current social climate, yeah. I'm all for people being allowed to choose to sell sex for money, but once people are doing it because they see no other options then it's not a choice anymore.[/QUOTE] Isn't pornography much the same way? Many of the stories I've heard coming from the industry haven't been good.

You know marriage works on 90% of women when you make enough money to afford a constant supply of prostitutes.

There's a hotel near me that is famous for being a hooker hotel. When I was 15 and I was shopping nearby that hotel, some prostitute asked me if I wanted to experience a good time. I said yes and began to follow her, but my mom pulled me away and later scolded me. EDIT: This is relevant because I live in the Silicon Valley.

[QUOTE=Hollosoulja;45370575]You know marriage works on 90% of women when you make enough money to afford a constant supply of prostitutes.[/QUOTE] Don't want to lose 50% of that money in a divorce though.

[QUOTE=Hollosoulja;45370575]You know marriage works on 90% of women when you make enough money to afford a constant supply of prostitutes.[/QUOTE] Prostitutes don't take everything you own in the inevitable divorce though.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;45370530]So you're saying to keep it illegal even though it endangers the lives of prostitutes? I think you're an example of agenda over safety.[/QUOTE] That's not what he's saying, though. He's saying that there are reasons to legalize it and reasons not to - you can decide yourself whether one outweighs the other. Personally I believe legalization is the best road plan. Sure, you'll end up with people selling their bodies because they have no other option, but at least they'll have more legal protection, and it'll probably be easier for organizations to help them out of it. Chances are, they'd be prostituting themselves whether it's legal or not.

People are already selling their bodies because they have no other option, it's not a hypothetical, that's a reality of the current situation. Knowing that we should realize we have to legalize it to protect them and give them the security they lack under the current system.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;45371433]People are already selling their bodies because they have no other option, it's not a hypothetical, that's a reality of the current situation. Knowing that we should realize we have to legalize it to protect them and give them the security they lack under the current system.[/QUOTE] Pretty much, there should be regulations and enforcement policies. It not only helps clients health but also the worker's health as well.

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;45371387]That's not what he's saying, though. He's saying that there are reasons to legalize it and reasons not to - you can decide yourself whether one outweighs the other. [/QUOTE] His reasons not to are invalid since legalizing won't make it worse. Keeping it illegal won't make it better since people who are forced to go into prostitution will do it even if it's illegal. Hence the word forced. Maybe there are reasons not to legalize it, but his argument is not one of them.

How is prostitution being the only option a valid argument? If the options are "Bang for cash" or "Starve to death", I'd much rather have the former option at least be present.

[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;45370538]Isn't pornography much the same way? Many of the stories I've heard coming from the industry haven't been good.[/QUOTE] Yes, and porn is legal, so clearly legalization isn't the magic problem-solver people think it is. [editline]12th July 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;45371802]How is prostitution being the only option a valid argument? If the options are "Bang for cash" or "Starve to death", I'd much rather have the former option at least be present.[/QUOTE] "Have sex with someone you wouldn't otherwise want to have sex with, or starve" is just really roundabout rape when you think about it. Don't get me wrong, I support the legalization and regulation of it because I think it would solve more problems than it would create, but these arguments against it are completely valid and need to be considered when you formulate an opinion on the issue. Make no mistake, the legalization and greater "mainstreaming" of prostitution will result in more desperate people turning to it to make ends meet, and that doesn't align with my beliefs of what sexual consent should be.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45371806]Yes, and porn is legal, so clearly legalization isn't the magic problem-solver people think it is. [editline]12th July 2014[/editline] "Have sex with someone you wouldn't otherwise want to have sex with, or starve" is just really roundabout rape when you think about it.[/QUOTE] Isn't it already rape by coercion now? At least if we legalized it we'd be able to open up brothels, keep the whores clean, and properly tax them.

[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;45371828]Isn't it already rape by coercion now?[/QUOTE] Yeah that's exactly what I've been saying. Legalization will just make it more accessible to more people and further legitimize what already amounts to rape in a lot of cases. (Not all, of course, there are plenty of people who do it because it's truly what they want to do)

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45371863]Yeah that's exactly what I've been saying. Legalization will just make it more accessible to more people and further legitimize what already amounts to rape in a lot of cases. (Not all, of course, there are plenty of people who do it because it's truly what they want to do)[/QUOTE] You say legitimize rape, I say opens up a new profession for thousands of people who would've otherwise starved or needlessly suffered. There are hundreds of jobs out there people take because the alternative is starvation/homelessness, prostitution is just another example.

[QUOTE=BananaFoam;45370198]Which is fucking stupid because prostitutes [I]choose[/I] to be prostitutes in most cases. And why not? Fucking people is easy for many (depending on who you are, sex comes easier to some and not others) . It is a good way to make money.[/QUOTE] agree, if you want to be an irl vending machine why should any phony god's law stop me

[QUOTE=Koala Crisp;45371891]agree, if you want to be an irl vending machine why should any phony god's law stop me[/QUOTE] Get a load of this guy.

[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;45371886]You say legitimize rape, I say opens up a new profession for thousands of people who would've otherwise starved or needlessly suffered. There are hundreds of jobs out there people take because the alternative is starvation/homelessness, prostitution is just another example.[/QUOTE] I don't think you can name another legal job that requires such a surrender of personal sovereignty as prostitution, except porography, which you already pointed out has its own issues. Perhaps military, but I could talk for pages about how the military exploits the most desperate and vulnerable too. (But won't, not in this thread) You could argue that people make a bigger deal out of safe sex than we necessarily have to, and I couldn't [i]really[/i] come up with any rebuttal to that, aside from pointing out that we simply do make a big deal out of sex.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45371863]Yeah that's exactly what I've been saying. Legalization will just make it more accessible to more people and further legitimize what already amounts to rape in a lot of cases. (Not all, of course, there are plenty of people who do it because it's truly what they want to do)[/QUOTE] but right now we're not in a situation to protect the people who are already doing that and we're just leaving them hanging as it were.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;45371936]but right now we're not in a situation to protect the people who are already doing that and we're just leaving them hanging as it were.[/QUOTE] Right, and that's why I still do think that the greater good would be achieved by legalizing and regulating it. But if we're going to push for that we need to be aware of and understand the counter-argument that people will be making, and even factor it in to our own opinions on the matter. I'm of the belief that to do it right, the legalization of prostitution is going to need to happen concurrently to some major social changes.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45371957]understand the counter-argument that people will be making[/QUOTE] Like what? Besides your completely irrelevant living wage minimum.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;45371961]Like what? Besides your completely irrelevant living wage minimum.[/QUOTE] I think he's referring to the counter-argument that prostitution is a form of rape.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45371806]Yes, and porn is legal, so clearly legalization isn't the magic problem-solver people think it is. [editline]12th July 2014[/editline] "Have sex with someone you wouldn't otherwise want to have sex with, or starve" is just really roundabout rape when you think about it. Don't get me wrong, I support the legalization and regulation of it because I think it would solve more problems than it would create, but these arguments against it are completely valid and need to be considered when you formulate an opinion on the issue. Make no mistake, the legalization and greater "mainstreaming" of prostitution will result in more desperate people turning to it to make ends meet, and that doesn't align with my beliefs of what sexual consent should be.[/QUOTE] That doesn't change the fact that if they don't have this option, they die. We're looking at two scenarios here. One is where a person starves to death, with no options, no control, they just die. The other is where they have the option to have sex for money, or they can choose not to, and instead meet the same fate as the former option. Nobody is being forced into having sex, because they still have the same option as the original scenario, they just have an alternative as well. There's no way that having the option to prostitute oneself gives the person less choices, it clearly gives them more. The people who would rather starve than prostitute themselves are unaffected. The people who would rather prostitute themselves than die are given a chance to survive.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;45371961]Like what? Besides your completely irrelevant living wage minimum.[/QUOTE] Like the posts I've been making throughout this thread. [editline]12th July 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;45371995]That doesn't change the fact that if they don't have this option, they die. We're looking at two scenarios here. One is where a person starves to death, with no options, no control, they just die. The other is where they have the option to have sex for money, or they can choose not to, and instead meet the same fate as the former option. Nobody is being forced into having sex, because they still have the same option as the original scenario, they just have an alternative as well. There's no way that having the option to prostitute oneself gives the person less choices, it clearly gives them more. The people who would rather starve than prostitute themselves are unaffected. The people who would rather prostitute themselves than die are given a chance to survive.[/QUOTE] I see people making this same argument in favour of sweatshops in third world countries and it doesn't make sweatshops okay either.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;45372065] I see people making this same argument in favour of sweatshops in third world countries and it doesn't make sweatshops okay either.[/QUOTE] Sweatshops aren't really comparable to legalized prostitution in a Western country.

[QUOTE=RichyZ;45370561]in america, they're just stories dunno how it would be everywhere else source: dvdasa, podcast featuring a pornstar that regularly talks about the ins and outs of the industry[/QUOTE] Glad to know there's another DVDASA fan on facepunch.

Why is it that this article immediately lead to a discussion on the legalization of prostitution, rather than the fact that even the most cutting edge 21st century center for industry is so heavily male dominated that prostitution has pretty much become necessity? Why is it so male dominated is it really because dey sexiss

[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;45372739] Why is it so male dominated is it really because dey sexiss[/QUOTE] That might be part of it, but you can't deny that a huge portion of this sort of thing is because of the popular stereotype of everybody in computers being male, which is more or less a feedback loop. You get the same sort of shit in film industry, game industry, and probably plenty of industries I don't know anything about.