Dear Lucy,

Why is prostitution illegal?

Well, my first thought is that it is morally frowned upon, and it scares people. Thus, those same types of folks who are scared of marijuana and gay marriage and jaywalking created laws that criminalize the sex trade. However, there are many disturbing things that can go along with the sex trade, like drug abuse, human trafficking, violence. Some countries keep prostitution illegal, hoping to curtail these possible side effects. Other places legalize the sex trade, and thus are able to regulate it to a certain degree including things like sex workers’ unions and health care options. Awesome!

Recently I’ve come upon a couple interesting stories of legal prostitution. The first story is about a 19-year-old girl living in New Zealand who put her own virginity up for auction.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1958680,00.html

I find this a little disturbing, even more because this is not the first time this has happened. Well, this is the first time this girl has done it, but other girls have. She claims that she needs money for college; one virginity later, she is $32,000 richer. Only 32 grand! It seems a small price to pay for something so personal, why didn’t she go for a million or so? The first girl who did this online and publicly (an American named Natalie Dylan) plastered pictures of herself all over the internet, thus becoming a media sensation. Last I checked, the bidding for Natalie was still going, and is now up to $3.7 mil.

New Zealand girl seems a little more discreet, and her identity is still anonymous. And I was impressed by this statement in her ad: “This is my decision made with full awareness of the circumstances and possible consequences.” It’s true: her body, her decision. Which is how I feel about prostitution in general. I think it’s unfortunate that some women are so hard up that they can’t afford college, or homes or food or other important things, and feel like the only option they have is to turn to selling their own bodies. But some women see it as expressing a true talent, or a chosen career path. If you can get over the risks and emotional impacts involved in selling yourself, more power to you!

Nonetheless, who buys someone’s virginity? Clearly someone fucked up and gross. And rich. And most likely ugly. I don’t understand why a girl who is a virgin would be so coveted by men. She couldn’t be a very good lover if she hadn’t ever had sex before! Perhaps it’s a weird religious brainwashing effect- every man wants to sleep with the Holy Virgin Mary, who they have been taught to worship over every other woman their whole lives. Or perhaps it’s just another way for a man to feel powerful and superior.

Forgive me, today’s column is not about manhating. It’s about prostitution. But I can still discuss men, because in another revelatory news article, I have learned of the first legal male prostitute in America!

http://www.details.com/sex-relationships/sex-and-other-releases/201001/americas-first-legal-male-prostitute?currentPage=1

This guy, Markus, works at a brothel in (where else) Nevada. Seeing himself as something of a revolutionary, he compares himself to another American who changed history: Rosa Parks, of course. Says Markus, “She was proclaiming her rights as a disadvantaged, African-American older woman. And I’m doing the same.” Except as a gigolo, dude.

I don’t know how well Markus will do out there at the Shady Lady Ranch. There isn’t much of a market for man-whores, probably cause women are hot and can get sex from a man for free pretty much whenever. But Markus seems like a nice guy (albeit a bit odd), and hopefully he won’t just be an anomaly with quickly fading appeal. I, for one, would definitely purchase him for a night (if I had disposable income and a ticket to Vegas) just to see what it’s like. I’d probably purchase a female hooker too, in order to be able to make a fair comparison. But only if it were legal.

7 February 2