PATREON EXCLUSIVE: Prostitution Narratives Book Review

Very interesting point on the idea of true consent when it’s being purchased and the more gross reframe “paid rape” that it inevitably implies. I’ve never thought of it that way and it’s disturbing to think that “progressive” society is pushing to legalise sex work when the question of what this really entails is being left aside (besides the psychological effects on the women themselves). I have read and heard many stories from sex workers from the other more positive side of things. Many have said that they enjoy the work (obviously coming from a first world, regulated, fairly safe escort perspective rather than glorified sex trafficking victim under ruse of a brothel employment). Part of me of course questions whether they truly mean that they are happy or if they are measuring that happiness relative to whatever hell they’ve been through to get where they are. Perhaps they are so normalised to the dysfunction that paved the road to being a sex worker that of course they’ll say “all good”. The positives that these women mention are along the lines of “sometimes I’m more a therapist than a sex worker” where their clients are lonely, depressed and are only really using prostitution as a synthetic means of intimacy rather than just wanting to get laid.

Craig

I don't think we will nor could ever completely eliminate prostitution. Whether someone feels it's good or bad, I'm quite certain there's no true simple position to have on this subject. I haven't read the book. I don't know that I could. I don't need to, though, to know that as long as we criminalize it, we limit our ability to protect sex workers. I feel that same way about decriminalizing recreational drug use. Get it out into the light were we can provide regulations, protections for the workers and consumers.

JD Bruce

haha I know! mind-bending!

Blair

I'd also like to add that I found it interesting that Alex read about the concept of "paid rape". I think had he not explained the definition of "paid rape" according to the book, I would've thought that it was paying a prostitute to act like she is being raped, but in reality it's consensual. In the context of the definition of "paid rape" that is used, that is to say, the service is paid for but the worker is overwhelmed anyway and forced to do what she doesn't want to do, the concept is really quite horrifying and further displays the dark nature of male sexuality and sex work.

i could write a book about how she was was treated. but in a comment it don't seem right to spill her story without permission!

drunkenmaster888

my best friend got married to a hooker!

drunkenmaster888

i got i bit of an insight in that topic.

drunkenmaster888

Norwegen, well my mate. my friend got married to a : whore! she was working as a domina and they are still together. right now 15 years.

drunkenmaster888

On the other hand, prostitution is easy money, an attractive prostitute can earn more than any of us no problem, even like a high executive. Sex work is a form of prostitution, but there are others, like women that gets married to someone for his money, totally or partially, on that regard sex work is more honest. Add to that the huge asymmetry in sex drive, and the fact that most men for most women, are unattractive. I believe that as long as there are men and women, prostitution is going to exist.

Prostitution is such a difficult topic. On one hand, some can rationalize as a perfectly valid exchange where both parties benefit: one party gets the money, the other gets "the product". However, male sexuality can take a truly dark turn, and many women come from such disadvantaged backgrounds, that it's increasingly difficult to truly justify prostitution as an equitable arrangement. I'm sure there are situations where the woman did not come from a disadvantaged background, the man was respectful, and all was well, but too often, there is so much nuance, and there is emotional trauma, and even human trafficking as a result of all this. A similar parallel can be drawn with the increasing normalization of adult content, such as porn and OnlyFans. Some men can try to take the moral high ground and openly hold one opinion, while their actions prove quite to the contrary, as evidenced when Alex spoke about the men that still had sex with the hesitant girls when "push came to shove". That right there is the worst of both worlds, because a person claims moral superiority, but still cannot control their primitive behavior as if they are no different from the rest of those men, and that's what makes the men being respectful in this situation arguably worse. Sex work is clearly not like any other work, as much as sex workers don't necessarily deserve the scorn of the general public as people. The curious thing about prostitution is that it can't quite be legalized, as much sense as it would to not criminalize it, because then that would increase the demand for it and women would be more likely to be trafficked. It's counterproductive to ruthlessly criminalize it, even those it's not ideal to legalize it, because it's not addressing the root problem: the woman's need for work and the male's natural proclivity towards human contact with women. In the end, this all gets me thinking: what is the solution to all this? We obviously know for as long as men exist, men will want to have sex. This makes me think, would the introduction of perfect virtual reality or a realistic sex robot solve the need for release, or would that just exacerbate current problems in society? I'm genuinely curious. A realistic sex robot, safe for a birth control pill for men, would quite possibly one of the most important inventions ever made if such a thing ever came to pass.

I don’t think I can read the book. I saw a documentary on sex trafficking in college and literally had nightmares for several months afterwards... the images.... filled me with a ton of fear, disgust, and hate. That said, it did draw a hard mental line for me between “sex trafficking” and “prostitution.” While I’d back any legislation and retaliation AGAINST trafficking, I’m not against prostitution... for the most part. The sad truth is that whenever there is opportunity to slake lust - whether it’s lust for money, lust for pleasure, lust for power, etc. there are going to be degenerates and criminals with no morals who abuse the system and people involved to assuage that lust. This is true in politics, religion, and business. When it comes to something like prostitution- where it is more secret, more hidden, and on the fringes of society- it can be worse. Some people are more likely to let their degeneracy run rampant when they think most of society will blind themselves to it from the start - kind of like the shit that goes down in prisons. When people don’t care about the people in that situation to begin with- the really sick fucks feel like they can do whatever the hell they want. Still, I do think there is enough “normal” prostitution where it is safe and consensual. I think legalizing and regulating is necessary.

your comment is interesting and makes me want to read this book. I think most men feel the same way as you but women date and sleep up not down. Guys date down all the time. This makes things in this book review seem true

I would argue that most users of sex services are regular guys, kind, law abiding (where legal), I know because I'm one of them, and I've talked to so many pros, and their experience with their clients are good, I mean, no abuse, no entitlement. But I get it, I'm talking of a consensual transaction between two free adults, when we're talking about human trafficking is quite another story, I personally abhor that.

Most prostitutes in my country are single mothers that recourse to it to provide to their children. There's no welfare state here, here, it's every man and every woman for themselves.

Me too bro

Alexander Grace

I like this post because it shows empathy towards women. That’s one thing I don’t like about communities like this, all the hate towards them

A laterally inverted view of an image is viewing the image flipped left to right compared to the original. It's something like viewing an image upside-down but this time, upside-down horizontally, not vertically. AG has been filming this way since time immemorial and it's only now that I noticed it because of the book title being laterally reversed. I suppose this speaks well for AG's symmetry.

Ashwin Srinivas

Damn, we've been watching a laterally inverted view of AG this whole time!!!

Ashwin Srinivas