Blogcritics has a nice piece on legalizing the world’s oldest profession. Prostitutes and clients are likened to predators:

…prostitution is, in essence, a meeting of two predators. Prostitutes play on the insecurities and loneliness of their clients for monetary gain. Johns go to hookers to rid themselves of that loneliness, or perhaps to exercise a type of sexual deviance that is not permissible in their regular relationships.

Sexual deviances apart, people also do visit prostitutes to…how shall I put it…well, to “satisfy their sexual urges where they don’t have a partner who can provide it when needed.” It is accepted in most societies that prostitution is disreputable, that nobody becomes a prostitute on her/his own volition and all that.

Yet it is interesting to trace its evolution around the world. While I’m really not knowledgeable in this subject, I faintly remember reading a bit about the history of prostitution with respect to India. In the glorious days when kings ruled, prostitution was indeed, a prized profession. Whores commanded a lot of power over the king and/or high ranking public officials, who frequented them. Many a plot had been hatched in whores’ boudoirs. For example, the legendary poet, Kalidasa was stabbed by a whore.

Prostitutes were back then, (supposed to be) highly well-versed in the arts: poetry, music, dance, literature, love, interior decoration, incensing (as in, making the house smell well), arranging different kinds of baths, the works. And a king or men of similar stature didn’t merely visit them for sex.

I thought it fit to give this highly boring history above because the article in question talks about legalizing prostitution. In my previous weblog, I had written about banning online lotteries/gambling, which Ravikiran had frisked me lengthily. I’m not sure if prostitution falls in the ambit of vices; on second thoughts, it does for a lot of people, qualify as a vice. Whatever that be, like other vices, it does have harmful consequences.

The author presents persuasive arguments both for and against legalizing it:

….regulation would greatly reduce the number of minors involved in the trade and could also help cut down on the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Prostitutes would be more likely to report crimes committed against them if they didn’t have to fear arrest once reporting it. The trade could also be taxed, putting money back in the pockets of taxpayers. Law enforcement could also focus resources formerly reserved for vice operations on other areas.

So why haven’t we legalized it already? Well, for one thing its hard for most Americans to wrap their minds around legal prostitution. Most of us would simply shrug our shoulders if informed that a certain woman was a prostitute. As long as its not somebody close to us, we don’t really care. But those would change, for the majority of us, if that prostitute were our daughter, or our niece. Or our son.

I don’t think it is a big deal to legalize it, as in the case of kings of the yore. Prostitutes back then were gainfully employed as spies and even as ambassadors, which I think qualifies for some amount of respect. I don’t know (and don’t really care) when the stigma was attached to this profession; but as the author says, we take it for granted, let it live, as long as it is not somebody close to us.

I don’t want to pass any moral judgement here; the issue is pretty tricky and doesn’t lend itself to easy solutions. But then I do find that there’s something awfully wrong when I hear and read about the “fabulous barely teens” stuff that is available among other places, in Thailand.