[rcoreyus]

In Hamburg Germany, prostitution is legal. The street walkers line up right next to the police station in the reeperbahn (which is also an area with lots of non-sex related clubs, restaurants etc). Its difficult to tell at a glance, but it gives the appearance of being much less desperate than the street prostitution you see in the US. (No, I was not planning to investigate personally.....)

To me the big benefit of legalization is that there can be rules, and the sex workers can go to the police if someone violates those rules. The same applies to customers who are also at significant risk when they deal with illegal prostitutes.

Yes, but if prostitution was legal, wouldn't that include the street walkers also ?

[Motorguy]

Well I don't know, in some states it is legal, take Nevada for example, how do they get around all those things ?

Well to work at a brothel in Nevada you have to be register with the State of Nevada. Go through STD'S testing and to keep your licence you get check every 30 days or you can not work the brothel till you do. Not every county in Nevada can you go to a brothel like Clark County of Las Vegas it's illegal to have a brothel there with in the county lines. Now many of the major brothels advertise porn stars who will do 30 day engagements at these places while they not doing porn. So guys flock to these place to get a chance to be with a porn star.

[Patti-here]

Well to work at a brothel in Nevada you have to be register with the State of Nevada. Go through STD'S testing and to keep your licence you get check every 30 days or you can not work the brothel till you do. Not every county in Nevada can you go to a brothel like Clark County of Las Vegas it's illegal to have a brothel there with in the county lines. Now many of the major brothels advertise porn stars who will do 30 day engagements at these places while they not doing porn. So guys flock to these place to get a chance to be with a porn star.

Yea I've since found out It's not the whole state.. I can see why female porn stars would want to get in on the action, they don't really make as much as most people think they do,, so I guess it's just extra money for them...

[Motorguy]

Yes, but if prostitution was legal, wouldn't that include the street walkers also ?

Yes sure why not they can go after the real criminal the pimps leave the street walkers alone is a victim less crime who's getting hurt. All the county jails are revolving doors of this life style check in and check out a waste of time and money clogs up the courts system.

[Motorguy]

Yea I've since found out It's not the whole state.. I can see why female porn stars would want to get in on the action, they don't really make as much as most people think they do,, so I guess it's just extra money for them...

Well yes that's true some porn stars can make well over 30K in a 30 days engagement at a brothel that's great money. Most females doing porn are making like 250.00 to 500.00 a scene that's not a lot unless you are a really big porn star then 1,500.00 a scene then maybe a little more. To make any serous money you have to do many scene a week to make it worth while for them.

[rcoreyus]

While I'm in favor of legalizing sex work, there is one issue that concerns me a lot - if sex work becomes "normalize", will it start to be expected? Most female college students (and some male ones) can make far more money doing sex work than they can at the usual casual jobs. If this starts to become common, college costs, financial aid, etc may start to adjust to this new norm.

Sex work is very different from anything else I can think of because many people who could do it successfully, would not want to do so even if they were paid well. Most of the posters here would probably be willing to take almost any normal job at 10X their current pay, but many would not be willing to do sex work. Yet, a lot of college women can make $1000/day at sex work, but 1/10 that at generic student type jobs.

[Little]

You don't think that supply would outstrip demand in that case, RC?

[effy2014]

I see no reason for prostitution to be illegal. In my view, it was made illegal as a way to enforce societal morals. Like most attempts at legislating morality, it has been a complete failure. Prostitution thrives, women in the trade are powerless and criminals make a fortune. We waste precious police resources catching and prosecuting johns and prostitutes. For what end?

Prostitution is legal in Canada, just across the river from where I live. The crime rate in Canada is a fraction of what it is in the US. Windsor licenses prostitutes as would/should happen in any decriminalization scheme. Most advertise the services they provide and always reserve the right to say no or refuse service.

As for "encouraging" the sex trade, I don't think illegality keeps anyone's out of the trade. It is a very difficult life. Competition is very tough (just look at the backpage ads for your city) and $1000 a night is reserved for the top very very few. It's a woman's body to do as she pleases. I am all for Anything which would decrease her exploitation.

[rcoreyus]

I really don't know. I'm so naive that I don't have any sense of the distribution of payments that prostitutes receive. Starting adult film stars get ~$1000 for a day's shoot. (there was a lot of publicity of this after the Duke woman went public). High end call girls get thousands (based on news reports of various public officials caught with same), but I know that isn't typical.

I've never understood the low end of the prostitution market. Why would anyone pay anything to have sex with a drug addicted, likely diseased, unattractive prostitute? Wouldn't your own hand be a lot preferable?

I can see the appeal of high end prostitutes - spending money to spend an evening with a beautiful woman who is good company and will do whatever you want in bed at least has some value. (since I go home in the evening to a beautiful woman, this isn't appealing to me personally...)

Since I don't understand the market I don't know how it would be affected by legalization. I also don't know what percentage of beautiful young women would be willing to prostitute themselves at what price point.

If the final price point wasn't out of line with other jobs, then that would be fine. I'm only concerned if the final price is so much higher than for other work that it becomes a destructive temptation.

Just curious, for people here, what is your price point - how much (in $ or relative to your current pay) would you want to have sex with a random stranger (assuming you get to reject the really repulsive ones - so just a random person).

You don't think that supply would outstrip demand in that case, RC?

[jns]

Yes, but if prostitution was legal, wouldn't that include the street walkers also ?

In many cases, some ways of meeting for prostitution are permitted while other are not. Wikipedia describes what is legal and illegal for some countries. In Nevada, where prostitution is legal, it has to be in a brothel.