Prostitution is wrong. We know this because we have been told so for a very long time. The word “prostitute” conjures up images and ideas that have been cultivated by humankind for millennia. From Mary Magdalene to Ashley Dupre, the whore-stigma is deeply ingrained in mass consciousness. Sex trafficking, crack whores, aids, pimps, “Craigslist killers,” and other grim connotations immediately come to mind when the dirty word is uttered.
Since prostitution is wrong, legalized prostitution in Nevada must certainly be an abomination. How can the great “Battle Born” state possibly allow such deviance to run rampant across its gorgeous desert lands?
To understand why legalized prostitution is favored in Nevada, and why it just may be a viable industry in other states, we must first understand what Nevada legalized prostitution is not.
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Legal prostitution is not human trafficking
Sex trafficking is the organized coercion of unwilling people into forced sex labor. This despicable practice exploits runaway children, unemployed persons, tourists, and other vulnerable individuals susceptible to false promises of a better life. Women working at legal bordellos in Nevada do so willingly. To learn why assumptions about sex trafficking may be harmful, please refer to this post about sex work.
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Legal prostitution does not employ underage girls
Licensed prostitutes working in most Nevada brothels must be at least 21 years old. In Storey County and Lyon County the minimum age is 18.
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Legal prostitution does not pose a health risk
All legal brothels practice safe sexual activity and courtesans are tested for STD’s weekly. There has never been a case of HIV or any sexually transmitted disease as a result of having an intimate encounter with a prostitute in a legal Nevada brothel.
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Legal prostitution does not ruin neighborhoods
All legal sex acts must take place in a licensed brothel located in a rural area. Courtesans cannot seek out or hustle potential customers in public places or in any location other than the brothel. Legalizing prostitution doesn’t unleash a hoard of hookers onto neighborhood streets.
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Legal prostitutes are not a burden on society
Legal Nevada prostitutes are required to have a business license and pay taxes. These working women are gainfully employed, contributing members of their community.
If legal prostitution isn’t human trafficking, doesn’t exploit children, is safe, and won’t ruin our neighborhoods, why is it abhorred by so many? As suggested above, the answer lies in our automatic, deep-seated belief that prostitution in general is wrong, and in our immediate acceptance that any manifestation of prostitution is thoroughly evil.
In the 1600’s it was widely believed that the Sun and planets revolved around the Earth. This geocentric belief fit in nicely with the moral and religious tenets of the time, so it was automatically accepted by the masses as truth. When Galileo Galilei questioned the belief and proposed the factual heliocentric model, his ideas were met with severe animosity. Galileo upset the mass consciousness and the mass consciousness does not take kindly to being upset.
When we look at a belief system and think about it for a while, instead of instantaneously accepting it, a new perspective often emerges.
So what is legal prostitution?
Legal prostitution in Nevada can be concisely defined in the following way:
Legal prostitution is a consensual sex act between adult buyer(s) and seller(s) that safely takes place in a licensed business establishment.
Is this really so horrible?
We all know that prostitution is an inevitability of human society and that it will NEVER be eradicated from the face of the planet, at least not until the human race is extinguished. By continuing to accept the mass consciousness and criminalizing prostitution we are cultivating a Spitzerian hypocrisy in which we are fighting against something that we actually crave as a species.
It’s time to go the way of Galileo, question how we think about legal prostitution, and open up the discussion so that we can all better understand how we can legitimately and shamelessly enjoy a transaction that leads to healthy sexual activity.
Leave a comment and share your thoughts on legal prostitution.
I have enjoyed the company of lovely ladies in Germany and Amsterdam. Some of my fondest memories are of nights spent with skilled and patient lovers. If in an environment that is safe for both partners, one can freely experience moments that will live forever in your heart. How is that a bad thing?
Nothing but a good thing Liam! BTW: There are many lovely ladies in Nevada who are skilled and patient lovers too 🙂
I’ve been on both sides of this fence. The sex industry isn’t going anywhere. It is here and it will always be here. No amount of stings or raids are going to stop it in places where it is illegal and what that means is that you have ladies out there working the streets or knocking on hotel doors without protection or regulation and that is not only dangerous it’s scary. Legal Prostitution answers all of that. The industry is regulated, less spread of diseases and women aren’t getting attacked and killed “on the job”. There is safety because it is controlled and because ladies are able to work legally they pay taxes and help boost the economy. Everything that is pointed out above is very true what isn’t really pointed out is what happens outside of Nevada where prostitution is illegal and the effects that this not being legal has on those communities. I’m here to tell you that those communities have higher crime rates, more diseases, more violence and it gets worse every day. The jails get filled with clients and prostitutes who are caught doing this illegally and that can really be a drain on the jails, the taxpayers and the judicial system. Legal prostitution solves all of those issues. I don’t understand why other counties aren’t following the way of Nye County and it’s example. Anyone who takes two minutes to look at the facts would see pretty quickly the advantages the legalized prostitution has to offer. I’m not just saying that because of job security here either. I love doing what I do and I really love the feeling of being safe and protected while I do what I love and there’s only one place that allows me to have that and it’s here in Nye County.
Of course, other people and even my consciousness tell me that legal prostitution is wrong. But, it is my choice if I want to visit Las Vegas to meet one or more women for intimacy/sexual intercourse.
I am glad that a safe, desirable place like Sheri’s Ranch exists. Without it, I would not have a chance… I would choose legalized prostitutes over the ones from the streets anytime.
I feel sorry for people who were or are sexually involved with illegal prostitutes.
Keeping it legal is truly the only way to go.