Is prostitution an honorable occupation?

[Smoke]

Why? I'm not judging whether it's "honorable" or "dishonorable," "good" or "bad." But I do question the idea that it is "necessary."

I've known more than a few people, both male and female, who worked in prostitution, and I've had several friends who availed themselves of prostitutes' services.

I think for some of the clients, it is more or less a necessary service. Some people just can't find a sexual partner, or at least not a sexual partner they're interested in, any other way. One friend of mine spent the last year of his life in the company of a prostitute, and it was a very happy year for him, the first happy year he'd had in about fifteen years. Some people complained that the prostitute ran through all his money, which is more or less true, but after all it was his money, and I never regretted that he spent it on travel and gifts for someone whose company was such a pleasure to him. He was a very lonely and unhappy man for a very long time, but he went out, if you'll pardon the expression, with a bang.

As for the prostitutes themselves, it's not always a matter of necessity, and I guess you could say that it never is, but if your choice is between $6 an hour and $500 a night, I can't bring myself to blame the person who chooses $500 a night.

I do have one acquaintance who is well-paid at a 9-to-5 job, and doesn't need the money, but chooses to work in prostitution occasionally because it pleases him that he still can (he's older than I am) and because he thinks it's a fun way to make money. He's not a hustler, mind you, or available to anybody with a checkbook. He chooses. If he's happy, and the client's happy, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I also have a friend who is handsome, intelligent, and well-off, and certainly doesn't need to have recourse to prostitutes, but prefers them. He says they don't complicate his life and that the ones he employs are invariably charming and intelligent, and that he enjoys their company, not just the sex.

Overall, my problem isn't with prostitution as such, but with people being forced into it, or feeling trapped in it, or feeling degraded or being put at risk of harm because of the conditions they work under.

 

[Mathematician]

Whatever the girl enjoys.

 

[lilithu]

I've known more than a few people, both male and female, who worked in prostitution, and I've had several friends who availed themselves of prostitutes' services.

I think for some of the clients, it is more or less a necessary service. Some people just can't find a sexual partner, or at least not a sexual partner they're interested in, any other way. One friend of mine spent the last year of his life in the company of a prostitute, and it was a very happy year for him, the first happy year he'd had in about fifteen years. Some people complained that the prostitute ran through all his money, which is more or less true, but after all it was his money, and I never regretted that he spent it on travel and gifts for someone whose company was such a pleasure to him. He was a very lonely and unhappy man for a very long time, but he went out, if you'll pardon the expression, with a bang.

As for the prostitutes themselves, it's not always a matter of necessity, and I guess you could say that it never is, but if your choice is between $6 an hour and $500 a night, I can't bring myself to blame the person who chooses $500 a night.

I do have one acquaintance who is well-paid at a 9-to-5 job, and doesn't need the money, but chooses to work in prostitution occasionally because it pleases him that he still can (he's older than I am) and because he thinks it's a fun way to make money. He's not a hustler, mind you, or available to anybody with a checkbook. He chooses. If he's happy, and the client's happy, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I also have a friend who is handsome, intelligent, and well-off, and certainly doesn't need to have recourse to prostitutes, but prefers them. He says they don't complicate his life and that the ones he employs are invariably charming and intelligent, and that he enjoys their company, not just the sex.

Again, ignoring the question of whether is it "right" or "wrong" I don't see how any of these stories indicate that prostitution is necessary. All it says to me is that there is a market for it.

 

[s2a]

Nothing personal, but that would really be a whole lot of trouble for what I'd get out of it.

It wasn't offered as some "quid pro quo" negotiation.

I "get" (and expect) nothing in promoting free inquiry, reason, and scientific methodology.

Then again, I'm neither advocate nor detractor of sexual prostitution as a "profession".

If you're interested (which I doubt might be the case), I lent more effort to indulging the "moral" aspects of pornography starting here, which fairly outlines my perspective regarding human sexuality and any derivative "profession" that utilizes/exploits that primal urge/interest.

Since I do not subscribe to any religiously ordained/commanded estimations/conclusions of whatever human activities might or should be deemed as "sinful", the concept of "sinning" against a deity strikes me as some superfluous supplication of a non-existent "moral judge in the sky".

Is it more sinful (immoral) for a professional plumber to extract $150/hr for a weekend emergency call to mend a leaky pipe, than it is for a street corner hooker to demand $50 on a Sunday for a quickie handjob/BJ?

I can't conclusively comment upon that "dilemma", with any lent moral authority or righteously-endowed justifications...but I do know that my fiscal limitations, when applied to either scenario, would likely lead to my "handling" the situation myself...to whatever end.

 

[Smoke]

Again, ignoring the question of whether is it "right" or "wrong" I don't see how any of these stories indicate that prostitution is necessary. All it says to me is that there is a market for it.

When it comes to sex, the only thing that's really necessary is what seems necessary to the people involved, and they are the only proper judges of just what that is.

 

[meee223]

I've known more than a few people, both male and female, who worked in prostitution, and I've had several friends who availed themselves of prostitutes' services.

I think for some of the clients, it is more or less a necessary service. Some people just can't find a sexual partner, or at least not a sexual partner they're interested in, any other way. One friend of mine spent the last year of his life in the company of a prostitute, and it was a very happy year for him, the first happy year he'd had in about fifteen years. Some people complained that the prostitute ran through all his money, which is more or less true, but after all it was his money, and I never regretted that he spent it on travel and gifts for someone whose company was such a pleasure to him. He was a very lonely and unhappy man for a very long time, but he went out, if you'll pardon the expression, with a bang.

As for the prostitutes themselves, it's not always a matter of necessity, and I guess you could say that it never is, but if your choice is between $6 an hour and $500 a night, I can't bring myself to blame the person who chooses $500 a night.

I do have one acquaintance who is well-paid at a 9-to-5 job, and doesn't need the money, but chooses to work in prostitution occasionally because it pleases him that he still can (he's older than I am) and because he thinks it's a fun way to make money. He's not a hustler, mind you, or available to anybody with a checkbook. He chooses. If he's happy, and the client's happy, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I also have a friend who is handsome, intelligent, and well-off, and certainly doesn't need to have recourse to prostitutes, but prefers them. He says they don't complicate his life and that the ones he employs are invariably charming and intelligent, and that he enjoys their company, not just the sex.

Overall, my problem isn't with prostitution as such, but with people being forced into it, or feeling trapped in it, or feeling degraded or being put at risk of harm because of the conditions they work under.

I was going to post my feelings about prostitution, but MidnightBlue, you've done that for me. Thank you!