Many people still consider anything to do with sex sinful. Even as we live in a culture obsessed with sex, many thing associated with the sexual act are taboo, restricted, or illegal. Most states in the U.S., with Nevada a famous exception, consider prostitution a criminal activity. Should there be a federal law against prostitution?
Prostitution, assuming the prostitute in question is not assaulted by one of his or her customers, is what is known as a “victimless crime.” No one is harmed by an act of prostitution, and the transaction is obviously acceptable to all parties involved. What sense would it then make, to put prostitutes in federal prison? Sex is not going away any time soon, and as long as there are people who are willing to pay for sex, there will be prostitutes.
There are many professions where it is considered to sell or rent one’s body, or one’s physical talents. Anyone who labours with physical strength is selling his or her body, bodybuilders win prizes based on their bodies, singers and actors and stunt people rely on physical talent, and of course, porn actors get paid to have sex.
Get paid to have sex? Oh right, there is a totally legal profession in the U.S. where you can get paid to have sex. Apparently there’s nothing wrong with it as long as you do it in front of a camera. Does that make any sense at all? Why are prostitutes relegated to lives on the street, at risk of abuse and disease, when they could be treated the way porn actors are, and the government could make money collecting tax dollars and licensing fees?
Our culture is truly obsessed with sex. When a fourteen-year-old girl is dressed like a prostitute, dancing lewdly on a stage, for some reason we call her a “pop star” instead of just admitting that she is doing exactly what prostitutes do-selling sex. In the case of the pop star, so many of them are underage I feel like it should be illegal for them to profit from the racy things they do onstage, and their managers should be considered pimps. Yet women who are of age, and should be allowed to decide exactly what they do with their bodies, are considered criminals.
When it comes to prostitution, and sex in general, there are so many contradictory attitudes and laws that it really makes no sense to make prostitution a federal crime. The best thing to do would be to turn it into a legitimate industry, making it safer for prostitutes and customers alike, and raking in tax dollars that would benefit all U.S. citizens.