DavidJS, the start line of the authors assertions and 'politics' of prostitution per feminism is highlighted by her articles leader. “Governments must be prepared to challenge the presumption that men have a right to purchase and use women sexually for their own needs.” The presumption is the authors as she puts prostitution squarely at the foot of men and as an “assumed” right of men. And is unwilling as are some female posters, to acknowledge that prostitution is a service for pay. It's like saying people have a right to shop at Cole's. They don't. It's not a right it's a business relationship and purchase value is constantly being defined by supply and demand. I'm honest enough to talk about all aspects of prostitution and have never intimated that all is rosy. However for every sad case one can highlight as example there is also the woman choosing the work and not being a victim of male “need” but, rather profiting quite handsomely because of it.
Prostitution is gender biased because quite frankly men have money and some women want it and provide a service in exchange for getting that money. AND as I pointed out earlier women today as they acquire wealth by their own efforts are not marrying and are taking up the use of male prostitution, escorts, arrangements, gifting and any other number of sexual relationships outside of the conventional marriage bed. As more wealth comes into the hands of women more men will become prostitutes because the demand will be there. There is violence associated with the sex trade, however there is also an implied less than humanness applied to prostitutes by society which makes allowances for such violence as an expectation. Prostitution is ageless and will undoubtedly be with us forever. We can always change how we view sex and mature as a society and mitigate that violence and that conception of prostitute as being less than human. It's all a matter of social attitudes and will.

Somehow I can't see the number of men increasing in prostitution to remove the gender imbalance. There are more lucrative opportunities for them in other trades and professions, including the management of brothel chains - as opposed to customer service. It's probably hard to measure but I think most women would also prefer most other jobs than sex work. From what I hear about sex work, women are going into the industry because their previous job (if they had one) was way more awful or less paid. However, if they contract HIV I dare say their previous job may not have seemed so bad after all.

I can think of women who have moved from professions such as teaching to librarianship or from the law into policy. The move from one job into prostitution is likely to do with the urgent need to eat and pay rent rather than a more leisurely consideration of career paths. Btw, I'm talking worldwide here - not just about select brothels in St Kilda or Darlinghurst.

Also thinking about the issue of "choice" I know of some people who seem to be homeless by choice. It doesn't really make homelessness any better. And I don't know of anyone who has chosen to be a barrister to fuel their drug habit. That comes later :-)

The “sex-trade” can be divided into two categories: first, those freely responding to economic circumstance and opportunity and then secondly, those who are trapped by pimps or slavers and intimidation to provide such services under duress.

The first category are no different to anyone else making a living in life. However, I trust they are fully prepared to live with the consequences of their choices and pay the price those choices may impose upon them.

The second category are victims. They are entitled to be protected from such exploitation and laws which legalised prostitution in this state were not intended to excuse or legitimise such exploitation.

Personally, I have always thought that prostitution demeans both the prostitute and those who seek their services. The prostitute for accepting money from something which should be more highly valued and the punter for accepting that the only way to relieve his desires is to pay hard cold cash for it (although I would also accept that having been twice married, I might well have found greater “comfort and satisfaction” in the arms of an experienced and willing professional than those of the anxious and self-conscious novice constrained by acute inhibitions).

However, I will always err to view supporting the freedom of individuals and their right to decide for themselves what moral standards they will choose provided they are prepared to accept that I will decide on what moral standards I will be guided by.

Aqvarivus - ouch! That "self-righteous" label bit rather deep.

I went back over previous posts to see how what I wrote could possibly give that impression but knowing exactly what one meant when one wrote blinds one to other interpretations. So I can only say: I'm not.

And "assault" mate? I suggested you were suffering from burn-out. I did not state/insist/accuse or in any other way use the didactic form to frame this opinion.

Your generalisations regarding others and obsessive insistence in neatly labeling them into categories do not characteristise one whose work is still approached with an open mind.

Eg: "get out and talk to some real people for a change"? Apart from providing amusement, adequately illustrates what box you've erroneously put me into!

Street-corner chats with 8, 14, or even 20 people as an outsider does not give one a balanced overview of the sex industry.

Nor reason to state "There is no conspiracy to trap anyone"; to dismiss the fact that there are people living in misery because "the people I know" are happy; or to underplay the plight of the majority who are exploited because there are a minority (which - I stress again - no-one has argued against)of another gender concerned.

You and the author represent polarised points of a huge and complex question. The truth lies somewhere in between.

Being well aware of the meaning of libel I stick to my assertion that your statement re strippers is indeed the publication of a false statement damaging to persons' reputations.

It is beliefs of that kind that make life difficult for those men and women who do not mix stripping with hooking.

Nor is it a true statement that it is the clubs etc. who draw draw the line. Some do, some don't. It is demeaning and insulting to assume that the only thing keeping strippers "moral" is a management ruling.

I am so tired of reading Mary Lucille Sullivan's rhetoric disguised as research.

It is just totally inaccurate to say that sex workers are trained into prostitution through sexual abuse - recent research done by Charrlotte Seib (PhD thesis - QUT) and Jake Najman et al (Selling Sex in Queensland 2003) in Queensland show that Sullivan's ridiculous figures (80-90%) are wrong. In the Najman et al study the rate of "unwanted childhood sexual activity" was 23%. It is disgusting of Sullivan to perpetuate these lies, figures taken from a study by an American psychologist, whose prostitute patients were already seeking therapy.

Furthermore, the high drug use hysteria is rubbish as well. Also well researched and found to be no higher than the general population.

Sullivan would call me a pro-prostitution lobbyist but I'm really a lobbyist for women (and men's) rights to have sex with whoever they want under whatever arrangements they decide. Why is selling sexual services such an affront? Really?

Sullivan has got to admit that her real reasons for despising sex for sale has more to do with some sort of morality she has around sex as the sacred temple of monogamy. Well that's fine for her (and I kind of like having sex with only one person that I don't charge a fixed fee to also - these days), but no right to sell sex? How dare she?

Candi F

Hey Billy C,
You say "The fact is that poverty and the associated need for money is why most women and men work in prostitution"
We all have a need for money - not just people living in poverty. It is the reason most people work at all.

I'm over the sex workers do sex work because they have no alternative income options line. "...- if they were able to earn an equivalent income, (often not that much), out side of this field they would." I have often had a straight job earning good money at the same time as doing sex work and am not unlike my co-workers.
What doesn't ring true about your post is your lack of acknowledgement of the diversity of the women, men and trans sex workers. Same criticism goes for the other poster on this stream who thinks we simply fit into two neat cateogories. Take any 'girls room' in any brothel (or any street working strip) and you will have an array of opinions, beliefs, reasons for choosing sex work, reason for staying or stopping etc. We are just not as easily pigeon holed as the mainstream media would have you believe.

You are way off the mark with "I think in regard to prostitution what they seek and pay for is sexual control and power." I makes it clear to me that you have never been in the room as a sex worker with a client that knows you are way more experienced sexually than he is and completely out of his league in skill level and is completely intimidated/shy/nervous/experiencing performance anxiety etc. There is rarely bravado or control or power.

Why is it difficult to believe that two parties consenting to a mutual agreeable exchange could both get what they want.

As for 'exit programmes', I haven't needed help typing a resume since I left school. If I want a change of pace or scenery I know where the door is and do not require assistance to find it. thanks anyway......

Debby-doesn't-do-it-for-free