The World's Oldest Profession...Prostitution

For years and maybe as long as a decade and a half, legislature, states and the federal government have tossed back and the forth the idea whether or not to legalize the oldest profession known to man, prostitution. But I think it is already legal in some forms and in some states. In terms of money, prostitution is an untapped source of taxable revenue and the legalization of the world's oldest profession would cut down on various sexual crimes linked to prostitution. Prostitution should be legalized, taxed and controlled.

The profession of prostitution began in ancient times, long before the religion of Christianity was developed, spread and practiced. In those ancient times it was not called prostitution, it was refered as a noble calling. In these times women were not allowed to own land or any other form of property nor were women allowed to learn a trade. Subsequently, men have always been at the mercy of their loins so women began to sell their bodies for the essentials needed in life; food, housing, clothing and travel. Prostitution was a form of survival for women who were not born of noble birth or was not the wife, sister or daughter of a man who held a high political office.

During pre-Christianity days, the practice of prostitution was accepted and did not result in the legal consequences we have today. It is said that the women who migrated on the Oregon Trail, Native American and African American, provided sexual favors to the men to receive food and other "special" treatments. The same was said for the Native American trail of tears. The prettiest of Native American women were selected and given the option to provide sex as a way to escape harsh working conditions, to ride the European horses and even escape death. In addition, while the American men and Chinese worked on constructing the railroad, prostitutes were brought in to provide sex and entertainment.

Just what is the definition of prostitution? Webster's dictionary defines prostitution as: Engaging in sexual activity with another person in exchange for compensation, such as money or other valuable goods. But another definition provided states that Prostitution is sexual activity in exchange for money. The legal status of prostitution varies greatly between different countries, from being punishable by death to being completely legal. If that is the true definition then why is it illegal or legal depending on where you live? Is that not what pornography is? Is that not the basis of some relationships or is that not the approach and objective of what we call gold diggers today? There are almost 186 million sexual or porn websites on the Internet today and there are endless web cam websites that a subscriber can sign up, Pay, and have full view of a woman's sexual encounters via the Internet. The provider that hosts the website, gets paid. Then there are the women who performs the sexual acts, they get paid as well. By Webster's dictionary that would consitute as prostitution, but that practice is perfectly legal, why? Why is this legal and other's who post ads for the same types of services are investigated and arrested. In an article written by Robert Gavin and published in the McClatchy-Tribune Business News, a man by the name of Joseph Speranza posted an ad on the now infamous Craigslist providing "in-call" services form "touted sexy women" in a "safe and discreet location". The price was $300 and in addition, Mr. Speranza was filming the acts and allowing Internet viewers to watch the sexual exploits as they happend. But unlike sites such as www.youporn.com, Mr. Speranza was investigated and baited into a police "crackdown" that got him arrested along with people five other of his locations. What made Joseph Speranza so different from Larry Flynt and thousands of others? Other sites business are incorporated, organized, sanctioned and the owners pay taxes and Joseph Speranza did none of those things.

Thanks to men like Larry Flynt, publisher of the infamous Hustler Magazine and Huge Heffner the adult magazine mogul of Playboy, men can view women in sexual acts via print and video (DVD) Now Webster's dictionary defines pornography: is the explicit depiction of sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer." Is it an omniscience that it says nothing about women or men being paid for it? Then how to adult filmmakers legally make films? Are the men and women who participate in these erotic displays of sexual activity not being paid for their "time" or "talents"? Does the director of these steamy erotica films not being paid off of the sexual activity? Lastly, is the company who distributes the movies and the stores and websites that sell this product not making money of the sexual activity with another person in exchange for compensation? Yes they are but these so-called business practices are perfectly legal in many parts of the United States of America.

The most publicized, known, not to mention legal example of how women are being monetary compensated for their sexual acts is displayed in the HBO original series called Cathouse. Better known as the Moonlight Bunny Ranch located in Las Vegas NV, the Moonlight Bunny Ranch is a legally operating whore house/brothel. The Moonlight Bunny Ranch is owned by Dennis Hof who has a stable of women and an extensive "menu" of sexual acts that the women he employees can offer "customers", for the right price of course. These sessions are paid for in full before anything sexual takes place and are also timed. Since HBO has signed Dennis Hof's Moonlight Bunny Ranch to a HBO contract back in 2005, some of these sexual negotiations and acts can be viewed on the permeir cable channel. If the meaning of prostitution is engaging in sexual activity with another person in exchange for compensation, such as money or other valuable goods then how is this legal?

Some of the women employed by the Moonlight Bunny Ranch have been filmed on camera saying that they have made at least $200,000 yearly, legally. So what is the difference between women who have sex in front of a camera and from the women who prowl the dark streets of our low-income communities or hang out along the Atlantic City strip? Why is one group of women free to make all the money their bodies can take but the women on the streets face imprisonment and sometimes even death? There are two answers for this. Number one, the women in adult films and at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch are in a controlled environment. In order to film adult movies, the companies have to go through strict precautions and obtain various operating documents to do so. Some of those restrictions are that the filming have to be that of documented adults aged 18 and older, not film within 100 feet of a church or a school and all actors and actresses much submit to monthly STD & AIDS testing, just to name a few.

These women are in no physical danger when working on the sets of adult films or in legal brothels, therefore crimes are very less likely to be committed. Those factors make it a non-safety or criminal issue for law enforcement and the general public. All parties involved in these compensated sexual acts are documented, known, screened and trusted. Not to mention security and safety are being provided and enforced on set as well as in the brothels.

On the flipside the women who roam the streets jumping in and out of cars performing the same services that adult film stars perform are not in a controlled environment. Streetwalkers follow no geographical restrictions; they are not sexually disease tested, which makes it very easy to spread STD's, and all the money they make is not taxed. But even more important is the danger these women face out on the nightly streets. It is the danger they bring upon themselves and the potential danger they suck the public into. The women lurking in dark sections of the city are not tested for STD's or HIV thus heightening the spread of sexual and deadly diseases. Safety is not provided thus making the women easy targets for crime to be committed against them and also drugs are normally in play with these women. But I am hard pressed to believe that the government is wasting time discussing a matter that does not affect the masses of our country. I seriously doubt the government cares about the well being of the participants but more interested in the untaxed money flowing around on the streets.

Which brings me to my second reason why one group of women can freely be compensated by sex and the other group of women can't. The reason is one group pays taxes on the money that is made and the other group of women does not. It is that simple. Adult film makers, actors, actresses and the women of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch area legally able to engage in the act of prostitution because all the money made by all parties is taxable by the state and federal governments of our country. These adult companies have taken the women off the streets, given them W-2 and rightfully gives uncle Sam is share of the billions of dollars generated by the sex industry.

Why not make all forms of prostitution legal? Easy access to sex is a void that can be a cash cow it becomes legal and controlled. Legalized and controlled prostitution can get many women off the streets and into safe and clean environments, which will decline the number of sexual injustices committed against prostitutes such as beatings, robberies and death. The longer the states and government choose not to legalize prostitution the more genocide will commence. Deadly diseases get passed from trick to John, more men and women will descend on the cells of jails but worse, die in the streets while engaging in the worlds oldest and lucrative profession.

States and federal governments should take a page out of the book of the history or alcohol bootlegging. In the roaring 20's where gangsters killed and stole during the mafia wars to gain control of the alcohol business, in attempts to keep peace on the streets and stop the rapidly climbing murder rate, the government taxed and gain control of the sell of alcohol. Stores went into business thus creating legal jobs, companies emerged thus employed more people; collected more tax money and kept a contestant flow of revenue into the economy. Briefly crimes went down and the state and federal government were seeing the economic benefit of legalizing a product that alters moods, impairs judgment, slows down reaction time and ultimately leads to death anyway. Does it sound like the powers that be are concerned with the well being of the citizens they are elected to protect? Not at all, it only seemed that way. The bottom line is that money was being paid to the country and that is all they cared about. Not to mention the same practices were used to legalize the sell of nicotine.

I really can't disagree with the decision of the government but why the big debate over sex? In a 2000 stand up comedy routine by comedian Chirs Rock, he posed the question of why would our government legalize products that slowly pushes us to the brink of death i.e. alcohol and nicotine but will not legalize products that offer pleasure and that are non fatal i.e. sex and marijuana?

If all the government is worried about is money then the legalization of prostitution will prove 100 times more economically beneficial than alcohol and nicotine has ever been or will ever be. In my eyes the legalization of prostitution will only benefit all parties. It will benefit the women who perform the services by keeping them safe and bring down drug use and crimes related to prostitution. It will benefit customers because it will help prevent the spread of STD's and keep average Americans who indulge in the pleasures of prostitution safe. Then it will also benefit the federal government because if the legalization is handled properly and business is set up like the Moonlight Bunny Ranch, the revenue will be plentiful.