Buying sex on Craig's List
I have some bad news for you all. Are you sitting down? It turns out, shockingly, that people are horrified to learn that you can buy sex on CL. (Thanks to one of my attentive readers for bringing this editorial to my inbox.)
I wonder if people will ever get over being shocked that huge portions of our population are willing to pay for sex, and that, given a market, we, being good capitalists, will provide the commensurate product. You want to stop prostitution? Make it just as easy for everyone to get all the sex they want for free. I'm sure that little initiative won't get the same funding that abstinence only education is getting, but it might actually do some good.
Not that our current administration seems to want initiatives that are actually effective. Er, sorry, that's enough with the politics. Moving on...
There's been a bit of confusion in the past as to my stance on prostitution and paying for sex. In general, if everyone's fully informed and consenting, I'm in favor of it. I've yet to be tempted to trade my sexual favors for money, but I'm sure if someone came to me with enough money, I'd be willing to give it a swing. (So to speak.) What continues to bother me is when people try to turn the casual encounters section into the erotic services section. You want to pay for it? Great, find someone who wants money! But I'm looking for fun, not business, so you can leave your money in your pocket when you're propositioning me, please.
I might let you buy me a drink, though.
But back to that editorial. Maybe we should write Mr. Jamieson and let him know that CL, unlike any number of right-wing ideologues, knows how to draw reasonable boundaries, and that Craig, and the good folks at CL, aren't, in fact, responsible for policing their users' behavior. Something tells me, though, that he won't think much of my opinion, slut that I am.
Comments
George Carlin, I think, said it best: "Selling is legal. F---ing is legal. Why isn't selling f---ing legal?" It's the perfect example of something that is made more dangerous (and enticing) by virtue (as it were) of being illegal.
(ObDisclaimer: Please don't lump me in with the "legalize drugs" crowd on account of the preceeding statement. Thank you. Drugs generally ARE dangerous. Sex is only dangerous when people aren't careful. You know, like they aren't careful when they're doing something illegal...)
Posted by: GreyDuck | May 30, 2006 6:24 PM
Maybe it's the fact that I'm a guy, but....
You didn't take money for sex when it was offered!?
*head explodes*
As a guy I'd do it if a woman offered. Just sayin'
Posted by: DJ | June 1, 2006 2:52 PM
GreyDuck: Oh, don't worry, I won't lump you in with the legalize drugs crowd, even if I happen to be one of them ;)
DJ: I didn't get far enough for him to offer. A number of men have offered me money in their inital emails, and I never get in touch with those. I figure if they think I'm all about the money, they're looking at me as a product, not a person, and that's not the dynamic I go in for. If a guy wants to give me a gift after we hook up, fine, but I'm not trading my time for money; I'm trading fucking for fucking.
Posted by: ClueChick | June 1, 2006 7:19 PM
CC: For what it's worth, I admit there's a valid argument for legalizing certain drugs. (The "more dangerous and enticing on account of being illegal" argument factors strongly, here.) There's just too much history of substance abuse in my family to commit to that particular cause. *shrug*
To make this follow-up topical: I probably wouldn't buy someone a gift for a one-off, but if I was pouncing someone on a semi-regular basis, I'd definitely buy something nice as a token of appreciation!
Posted by: GreyDuck | June 5, 2006 7:06 PM