Depending on where you are. It is not illegal.
Getting approached with an offer as a (underage) teen on the Vegas strip was wild, and a touch flattering. I declined, obviously, but in that moment, in a sea of people, that person decided to ask me.
Its the little things in life.
Ironically, prostitution is illegal on the Vegas Strip.
Interesting! I was there for a family vacation, just taking in the sights, so I was walking along being a typical annoying tourist when I got approached. It’s been 19 years but I’m positive it was on the strip.
I guarantee it did. I am not doubting you at all.
Many people don’t realize it is actually illegal in the city.
“Selling is legal. Fucking is legal. Why isn’t selling fucking legal?
~George Carlin~because we decided to poison the government with christianity
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because religious zealots and/or conservative politicians love the pearl clutching and ride to power on a wave of moral hypocrisy
My 2c:
Religion, and likely a concept by those in power that sex should be free whenever they want it.
Essentially…because of religion.
It goes deeper than that, but the taboo attitude towards sex is largely brought back to religion.
So as long as sex is taboo to talk about…anybody running on elected office saying “hey we oughtta regulate sex work and get a slice of this pie” (pin unintended) will probably not get re-elected.
This is also why you’re seeing people lighten up about weed. It’s not taboo anymore.
There used to be a decent argument for the taboo on sex. Namely that it produces children. And children should not be born to a woman without someone to support her financially. Hence the sudden weddings when a girl got pregnant. This protected the woman, who would otherwise had to raise the children without a father.
Religion was used as a means to enforce this protection.
But in the modern world, this idea just doesn’t work anymore. Sex doesn’t need to produce children, children can be raised by one parent, and woman can take care of themselves without help of men. So all layers of the problem have been removed.
My point: religion used to have a point, but failed to get with the times.
A. Criminalizing it is effective for suppressing women and Lgbt in the workforce.
B. It helps relegate sex to a commodity that’s tied to people’s ability to build nuclear families instead of one that’s just accessible with money. Places like the US like sex to be a commodity, but it’s more valuable as something that makes men get married and seek exploitative work instead of something they can simply buy.
Puritanical prudes and those that agree with them and think they should have control of another’s body.
A more nuanced question would be where is it legal or illegal, and what are the restrictions or conditions where it is legal? How is sex in general seen in those places? The correlation, if any, may highlight some things.
In Denmark prostitution is legal, but it is not legal for a third party to make a profit of it, eg. pimping, but also renting out rooms specifically for sex work, guards, cash runners, drivers for callgirls etc.
I’m pretty sure pimps still exist, while many things that can help and protect sex workers are illegal.
But it isn’t illegal.
Depends on where in the world you are. I suspect OP is unaware this isn’t universally true; isn’t there a “US-defaultism” community somewhere here where this could be posted…
It isnt even completely illegal in the US
Since OP didn’t specify a location they clearly must be talking about where I live.
Can’t argue with that
Because it’s difficult to tax.
Almost every single way of making money that does not harm anyone that is illegal is only illegal because the government can’t reliably take shit from it.
It also is mysogyny in this case. The vast majority of sex workers are women.
The Dutch managed to tax it just fine. It has the same tax reliability issues any cash payment has.
Friend of mine was a prostitute. She loved that she could get a tax deduction for buying underwear.
You can definitely tax prostitution and many countries do so.
Buckle up, bucaroos.
The world’s oldest profession is a catch-all for desperate, impoverished, oppressed women who “join” (under duress) the workforce in this industry. Sex work is more broad than prostitution. Porn models, escorts, and many others exists under its umbrella.
The woman’s body is the highest prize in patriarchal society. Men who get the prize without “earning” it (i.e. through marriage) and instead pay for it, feel ashamed, which they then project upon the worker. The quick ROI of the market attracts the worst predators in society, who harm and abuse the workers. (Not ALL men do this, yadda yadda).
The workers need extra legal protection, but there’s a significant overlap of predatory men and rulers, politicians, et. al., who don’t want their prey to have protection.
Whenever it is legalized, some horrific murder or routine abuse gets publicized and causes patriarchal moral panic. The blame inevitably gets placed on the sex worker, and the solution by the men in power is to outlaw it (begrudgingly, because they know it will now be harder to access). It’s the exact same reaction you see when a monogamous man gets caught cheating on his wife with an escort. In that case, the wife acts as an arm of the patriarchy and demands her husband blame the sex worker, which helps her avoid feeling the tough emotions that might otherwise end the marriage.
If you look at our current system, Only Fans is known to be a safe harbor for some sex workers. But we’re starting to see vultures called OF Managers (née pimps) moving in to commodotize the market. They are always here. The industry shifts and adapts to new societal norms (aka the regulatory environment) and the pimps are always right behind. The workers need extra legal protection from this threat.
But you’ll also notice how the manosphere (The Young Predators) has thoroughly entrenched a specific dehumanizing narrative online about OF workers. There is no legal appetite to adapt to the new threat. It will continue this way, sex workers being preyed upon, until something horrific gets publicized. Then there is a little battle between activists crying for better legal protection and the patriarchy crying for bans. The winner of the battle dictates which direction the legal system responds. Rinse and repeat.
I used to agree with the idea that legalizing it would attract epxloitive and abusive managers, increasing harm to (primarily) women. Now I don’t. Why? Because the “morally acceptable” workforce is already subject to predatory and abusive managers. Meanwhile, we already have labor slaves, immigrants separated from their passports, smugglers routinely demanding additional pay. You know what the “morally-acceptable” victims can do? Report themselves to authorities and get legal action and protection. You know what people knowingly engaging in illegal activities can’t do? Go to the authorities.
Make it legal. Make it visible. Make it taxable and licensable, if so needed. Keeping it in the dark means the workers will heavily skew towards desparation, knowing they’re risking legal consequences.
Because it’s always accompanied by human trafficking and rape. Even in countries where it’s legal, the laws are shaped around an idea of allowing it, while preventing the worst aspects of it. The efficacy of various systems is still under review, as none of them are as effective as anyone would like.
It’s a similar issue with polygamy. No one really cares what a group of consenting adults gets up to, but it always ends up devolving into some ones twelve year old daughter being married off to an old geezer, or a cult leader, or both. So it ends up getting banned.
They’re both non problems that cause problems. And yes, a hundred ways to control the real problems have been tried. No one has really been happy with the results so far, there have just been various levels that local societies have decided to accept.
