General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPorn and Prostitution
OK, now that I got your attention.... I have a real question, or perhaps it's just a discussion item.
I could never understand one thing:
If you pay a woman to have sex with you, it is considered prostitution which is illegal and both you and she could go to jail.
But, if you do the exact same thing - pay a woman to have sex with you - but you do it in front of a camera, with some kind of intention of publishing the photos or videos, then it's considered pornography and it's perfectly legal.
The act itself could be the exact same in both instances. In both cases you're paying her to have sex. the only difference is the camera.
does this make sense?
(note, I'm not necessarily an advocate of porn or prostitution. I just wondered about this).
onehandle
(51,122 posts)It's usually a company.
That's my guess.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)You can now produce movies with little more than a camera and "onscreen talent". Some of the actors have cut out the middle men to be their own producers either with distribution deals with larger studios (to handle those things they can't do on their own) or with direct internet sites. In some cases, the actor may be the one actually doing the paying.
EOTE
(13,409 posts)And I am necessarily an advocate of both porn and prostitution.
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)Tonight's late night dorm room discussion: porn v. prostitution - it doesn't make sense, yo!
garybeck
(9,942 posts)you sound like a person i'd really like to sit down and have a beer with. so friendly!
dairydog91
(951 posts)Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)and the resulting Meta thread(s)
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)Dude, didja ever notice that, like, Shaggy likes Scooby Snax, too? I mean (...inhale...), I mean...isn't that dog food, yo? (...exhale...) Doesn't make sense!
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)If I paid Julie Christie a million dollars to get naked and make out with me that would be prostituion, despite the lack of penetration.
(Try running ads offering the 'will get naked and make-out with you for $100" and see.)
But Warren Beatty has certainly done that, as an actor/director.
randome
(34,845 posts)And prostitution, even in the open, is unregulated so no one can see that the 'actors' get the medical care, regular exams, etc. that they need.
kenny blankenship
(15,689 posts)Uhm I mean Free Expression, y'know : Art. Free expression that you pay for. Which brings up the second point. Pron is a product. The product here is the mass produced representation (very Artfully done of course!) of human sexual relations, a common subject of poetry from Pindar to Shakespeare to Al Goldstein. And it's not like the laws of the United States to interfere with the right of a capital investor to move a product. Drugs of course being the outstanding example to the contrary.
Warpy
(111,467 posts)I'm all for legalizing and regulating prostitution, getting health checks for sex workers and getting the pimps out of the business.
Porn doesn't do a thing for me, but there again, sex workers need legal protection, especially for their health.
Both provide outlets for sexual fantasies and I see absolutely nothing wrong with either except the continued hypocrisy reflected by US laws.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)but who knows?
bluedigger
(17,091 posts)Kurska
(5,739 posts)Legal and regulated, that is how it should be.
socialindependocrat
(1,372 posts)It's like gambling: If you get 6 people and sit around a table playing cards for money
then the police can come in and arrest you and fine your ass - which is how they get
their money.
But you can go to a race track because the Gov. gets a portion for the proceeds.
It's like MJ: If you grow your own or buy from a friend down the street you can
get arrested and go to jail.
But, if the Gov. gets a portion of the proceeds, then it's perfectly O.K.
Isn't this why they threw all that tea in the harbor so many years ago?
jollyreaper2112
(1,941 posts)If I carry a camera and say I want to pay a prostitute to have sex with me on camera and she turns out to be a cop, am I still busted?
What I'd really like to know is if a porn star would be weirded out by someone paying to have sex with them not on camera.
I assume a big difference here is that porn guys generally look much better than the average john. Maybe that makes it seem different to the woman? I have never known any porn stars.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)See Miller v. California
But you're right, it makes no sense. As with everything in America, the real issue is power and money, publishers and distributors have lots and prostitutes have none. If the prostitutes got together and started making the right contributions, I have no doubt that they could have their profession legalized at the federal level under the 14th amendment.
dairydog91
(951 posts)Maybe if Lochner-era judges were more sex-positive, they'd have considered a right to work in prostitution. Both today's conservatives and liberals would probably vote against a "right" to work a particular profession; liberals because it goes against the general state/federal authority to regulate economic activity, and conservatives because even if they did support Lochner-style economic rights, they'd probably invent an exception to give states general authority to regulate sex.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)If it's work, it's OK.
sibelian
(7,804 posts)I don't know.
Recovered Repug
(1,518 posts)proof of identity and age for instance. I'm guessing that most prostitutes would be unwilling to provide that information to a customer. If the woman turns out to be a cop and you don't follow the regulations correctly, you might end up trading prostitution charges for federal charges.
Iggo
(47,597 posts)One's a service and the other one's a performance.
madokie
(51,076 posts)Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)and therefore can't be limited (within reason).
They needed to draw the line somewhere so this is where it ended up. It may not really make sense but neither would any other distinction.
Kablooie
(18,648 posts)Pleasure is illegal profit is not.