Strange how everyone is in favour of people whoring themselves but no one wants their daughter or wife to be one.

runner, an interesting perspective on the debate. I've not read any posts which I would interpret as posters being in favour of people whoring themselves. Plenty who suggest that others should have the freedom to do so if they wish.

There are plenty of things I'd rather my son does not do, that does not imply that I think others should be banned from doing those things.

R0bert

In response to this article, some people have said that women should have the freedom to sell themselves in the sex industry. It's strange though that women rather than men overwhelmingly "choose" sex work (Sex Worker Outreach Project have said women make up around 90 percent of sex workers - a figure consistent with other research). This is very different to politics, for example, where the vast majority of politicians are men. Why aren't men entering the sex industry in droves if it is so fabulous?

Moreover, in other traditionally female occupations such as nursing, men can do the job as well as women. Now, imagine if a client at a brothel was told no women are available today but we have several men who can do the job just as well. He wouldn't be too happy. There are male prostitutes of course but they tend to have male clients.

There is something fundamentally wrong with an industry that relies on the fact that the workers must be women as a prerequisite. There is almost no other industry like it. It's an industry where workers are paid to get sexually molested. This makes it unique and problematic.

The men, women, transsexuals and transgendered people I know who are active in the sex trade would not appreciate any one referring to their chosen employ as molestation. Molestation means to annoy, disturb, or persecute, to force physical and usually sexual contact on. They are not being forced through payment. They offer a service for payment and do not see themselves as being persecuted. Some make rather lucrative incomes and do not consider themselves victims. Many describe it as being socially and sexually empowering and allows them to be fully in charge of their life. There is a whole subculture here, it is not a pool of female victims tied to lamp post to be assaulted by men in passing. Though there is the rare exception, the image of the male pimp bashing about the local harlot for her meager earnings is best left to the really bad B movies.
Today where there may be a pimp it is more like a madame and very female.

Whether it's a male pimp or a female brothel owner, I think you'll find that the people making the most money out of prostitution don't have to touch the customers. And while some sex workers will say they enjoy what they do, it is interesting that men don't seem to be flocking in droves to take up positions in this fun and lucrative industry. This makes it very different to IT or the mining industry where opportunities exist for much better pay than anything the sex industry offers - at least at customer service level.

Regardless of objections about the term "molestation", prostitution is different to virtually all other forms of work in that the distinction between sexual harassment and doing the job disappears. If a boss tried touching his/her PA in return for more money, the PA would have every right to call the police. Even strippers draw the line at sexual contact.

I realise sex work can be much better paid than cleaning or childcare. That tells you more about conditions in those industries than it does the joys of giving strangers blow-jobs.

If women had to pay for sex men would be prostituting themselves. However, men barter for sex, for relationships, for marriage. Women in general don't. It's enough they show up and they have a choice. Reverse that reality and your socio-sexual thesis of victimisation ends abruptly. As more and more women obtain wealth they are less likely to marry and "dating" and "gifting" are new terms in the female empowerment lexicon. Welcome to the 21st century. And strippers don't draw the line at anything. You have just got to offer the right incentive, money. And be discrete. It's the law and the club management that draw lines, and they're only enforced in the open.