Prostitution and my thoughts on how society should handle it.

This started out as a reply to Emily's post about prostitution statistics, including typical progression of sexual experiences and drug use for prostitutes. She also covered the typical customer profile.

I felt like my response was getting too long so I'm turning it into it's own post instead.

[For this arguments sake (and I realize this could potentially be debated to a degree) prostitution=bad because it is emotionally unhealthy for both parties who are involved.]

The statistics Emily posted are very interesting. However, I think that if society is going to look at trying to limit prostitution it is more important to focus on what emotional factors lead someone to prostitution.

My guess is that those would be:
a) desperation
and/or
b) a misguided interpretation of how important money is.

First off, this is America: everyone has a price. If we're going to look at curbing prostitution, we need to focus on what brings clients to prostitutes just as much as what brings prostitutes to prostitution.
[For further reading on why prostitution/strip clubs are just as pathetic/damaging for customers (typically male) as strippers/prostitutes (typically female) I recommend reading "Self Made Man" by Norah Vincent. Specifically there is a chapter called "Sex" which is where she (Norah) visits a strip club as a Man (Ned).]

My guess is that the emotional factors that lead customers to prostitutes are:
a) desperation
and/or
b) a misguided interpretation of how important money is.

Notably, these bullet points are the same for both sides. Which is good, really, since it means there are less problems in the world to focus on. In my opinion, B is a good place to start. (Desperation is a human experience, and one that I would argue is basically unavoidable. Although giving people a way back up is something we should focus on as well.)

Drug use does have correlation with prostitution- I would be a moron to argue against that. However, I do not think it should be seen as a cause. I would speculate that prostitution may cause more drug use than drug use causes prostitution. (If I [felt like I] had to have sex with someone I didn't like, I would definitely want to be high, wouldn't you?)

My concern is just that if you even imply that drug use is a cause of prostitution, prohibition seems like a good idea. However, when you talk about trying to help people who are in a desperate enough situation to turn to prostitution, medication will likely be discussed. I really don't think that a society that medicates mental health issues has any business prosecuting drug use.
Example: How come the same society that essentially demands I take meth {aka adderol} everyday in order to control my attention deficit "disorder" can also prosecute me for smoking a joint? This issue deserves a post of it's own (which will come), but also serves as an important example in this case.


[Not exactly related to this post, but a question that I'm sure might come up in discussion: No, I do not thing prostitution should be illegal. Prosecuting it is a waste of resources, and it's going to happen regardless. The focus should be on helping people avoid the situation entirely.]