Saturday, December 08, 2007

strippers and libertarianism

I aspire to be a libertarian, but run up against various issues where I find I am not. But when it comes to the sex trade, I feel the government has no place telling me what I can see or do.



I am just so freaking sick of government imposing its so-called moral authority on me as to whether I can see strippers or fuck prostitutes. Ironically, it's actually easier to hire a prostitute in many places than to go to a strip club.

I'm not necessarily against zoning (see, not a libertarian) as long as the zoning is not intended to make it difficult for a business to succeed.

My favorite bad argument against the sex trade is that it attracts a criminal element. THAT'S BECAUSE YOU MADE IT A CRIME!!!!!!


Note: Tucker had her web address wrong. It's ladyliberty.wordpress.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Govt. involvement in my personal life is really never welcome - not when it comes to sex, not when it comes to what I put in my body or do to my own body.

"Really, your life would be so much better if you could just control it yourself."

I completely agree with the video.

Thanks for this -- I wouldn't normally have run across it otherwise.

Catalina

Sabrina Morgan said...

"That's because you made it a crime!"

Well said, Al. It's time the gov't got their hands out of my garter and stopped trying to regulate morality.

As the stigma of sex work slowly fades, more and more so-called "respectable folks" are hopping on in. Of course then my concern as a sex worker becomes this:

Sex work is highly paid because it's emotionally intense, physically demanding, and risky (from a social, and sometimes a physical, standpoint). As the social stigma fades more curious women and men join the industry. The barriers to entry are traditionally low (no college education required, no professional dues to pay, often low startup expenses). When the stigma is largely gone, the market will be flooded. I'm afraid that, as flexible, creative (read: artsy job) work in a female-dominated sector, average sex worker pay will sink to starving artist levels; somewhere between minimum wage and a teacher's salary, at best.

This isn't an irrational fear unfortunately. In the PSO and cam worlds, there's more gals coming in each year - more competition - with lower pay expectations. They're happier with less, they charge less, bringing down pay for everyone.

The stigma takes a heavy personal toll but at the same time I can't deny the economic perks. A very conflicted capitalist am I.

Al Sensu said...

Sabrina - Never occurred to me there might be such a glut of workers it would affect wages. As a consumer, I long for a $5 lap dance. But truly I think sex work is a sacred occupation and should be well-rewarded. That said, capitalism doesn't always work in a just way. All you need to see is a teacher's salary to know that.