Atheism and prostitution.
Offline In the absence of religious doctrine, do atheists have any moral qualms regarding prostitution? By and large atheists have no issues with sex between consenting adults. Why should a financial exchange suddenly change the moral compass?
I agree with eliminating coercive acts such as child prostitution, violence against women or any circumstance wherein a woman is forced into the profession. And I agree that the majority of prostitution world wide fits these descriptions. Yet similar acts of coercion also exist in marriage and in "committed relationships." And I don't buy the argument of the spread of STDs given that this also occurs in marriage.
I don't see how eliminating the financial exchange and replacing it with marriage or any other form of cohabitation makes consenting sex between individuals more moral.
A common argument put forth is that love is absent in prostitution. And who says sex between consenting adults has to include love? What about consenting fuck buddies who are casual aquaintances but are not in love. Even in marriage, a man is not suddenly thinking of "love" and "committment" when he's getting a blow job. And I would say the same for a woman on the verge of cumming as her pussy is being eaten.
Can anyone give a rational atheistic argument as to why a financial exchange between 2 consenting adults engaged in sex is wrong.
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We don't allow minors to be bartenders until they're drinking age, even though they're working age. The government (people... whatever you prefer) have agreed that some things require more maturity than others, or pose more of a liability risk, or whatever.
Notice that we've never had any 16 year old presidents? That's because we have an age requirement.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
Fat lot of good it's done.
Good point about bartenders, though it still leaves the "Is sex different?" question open.
Boards don't hit back. (Bruce Lee)
I was pointing out that sex is somewhat different, based on the potential legal consequences. We don't make rules about 16 year olds working at McDonalds because... well... why would we? For alcohol, we would essentially be entrapping them into breaking the law by giving them unfettered access to alcohol, which is illegal for them to consume. Similarly, it is illegal for majors to have sex with minors, so we don't put minors to work in brothels, even when the brothels are legal.
The question of majority has been a cultural question, not a biological one. Women are ready to have sex when they start menstruating. Society varies on when they're ready to "be adults" and so the age of consent varies accordingly. This is a political question.
So, I can find no objective measure by which to reason that sex as a commodity is any different than alcohol or McDonalds. As Kelly has pointed out, working at McDonalds is demeaning, as is cleaning a house for a rich fuckwad who summons you with a bell and talks to you like a child. Subjective enjoyment or feelings of devaluation are not a good enough reason to separate sex as a commodity.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
Right... but now we're into circular arguments. Why is there legal jeopardy? Well, because certain things are involved. Why do we keep minors away from those things? Well, because of the legal jeopardy.
So whence the legal jeopardy? Because alcohol is not just another beverage like soda or iced tea; it's a mind-altering drug. It's different in a substantial way.
Similarly, I would argue that equating manual or clerical labor with 'sex work' is like equating a bartender with someone selling bottled water.
I'm all for informed, consenting adults doing what they like sexually - including 'sex work' - but the restriction to adults as opposed to everyone is based in part on the objective distinctions between sex and other forms of human interaction.
I don't think that commerce occupies any special ethical category, here or elsewhere. I don't care if money is changing hands or not.
Boards don't hit back. (Bruce Lee)
I explained this. Both alcohol and sex are things that are culturally determined. There is no biological absolute that says people can't drink until 18, or 21. Neither is there one involving sex. There are consequences, but it is society that determines age limits and penalties.
Sex is different than McDonalds in that it involves potential reproduction, and that is not insignificant, but there's no biological or overarching moral absolute that transcends all cultures.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
-RR
Choose Reality - http://www.churchofreality.org
Desiree Alliance - http://www.desireealliance.org
$pread magazine - http://www.spreadmagazine.org
Obviously, the young immature need to be protected from themselves and the older predators. Age of adult hood is a cultural varying concept. Proper and fair enforcement of laws is always a problem and important issue. "Punishment" should heavily accompany helpful education. BEWARE, "It's a wild world"
According to the "History Channel" blah blah (?) , the ancient Greeks were way more liberal than most of todays world about many sexual traditions, such as age, prostitutes, orgies, gays. Hey, maybe I'm Greek ! .....
Just comes to mind, "Cat Stevens - Wild World"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8pvXLVu8Yk
Two super guys live, Cat Stevens & Peter Gabriel - Wild World ( in S. Africa I guess, the music is not so good, but the "love spirit" is there ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3a7qkqonEQ
Luv, Luv .....
Atheism Books.
I think you're confusing the activity itself with the social management of it.
Saying "it's a cultural thing" or "it's politics" begs the question of why every known human society has seen fit to have totems and taboos regarding sexual activity and to enforce them in various ways.
One reason is pregnancy, sure. But to count that as the sole distinction of sex strikes me as absurd reductionism. Sexuality is far more than that - indeed, for some people (homosexuals, for example) reproduction never enters into it.
Boards don't hit back. (Bruce Lee)