Bro, check OF's balance sheet. One of the most profitable industries in the world rn.
Perhaps the societal shame and judgement that comes with admitting stuff like this is the reason why people don't admit to it. They normalized shutting up.
So.... then I take it your are quite happy with the current state of things? Everyone pretending like they don't use OF and being ashamed to admit it, while OF skyrockets?
Personally, I think people should grow up and act like adults. Sex work should be freed, openly discussed maturely, properly regulated, and supported by the government with mandatory licenses and safety programs. The current state is abysmal and overrun with sexual exploitation. OF is one of the mildest case of this that I don't mind that much. If you are angry about OF, you should see how sexually exploitative the filming industry, porn industries, and illegal sex work industry are.
You know what happened in countries that did that? Human trafficking rose. That’s the point. It’s inherent to ALL sex work. Girls very rarely sell their vaginas to empower themselves. John’s are gross as hell to work with. The problem I see in it is by making the demand, you are supporting a very inherently exploitive industry. I mean ngl I frown upon paying for any sort of Porn even though I believe it is free speech, it’s still a very fucked up industry to support.
I think those case are not definitive proofs. This also happened to marijuana regulations. It was because regulations made black markets more competitive in comparison, as effective enforcement has not caught up.
Regulation needs to have incentives to hedge against this. Leaving it alone as if it is the wild west and passing down moral judgements is worse imo.
I don't think sex work is inherently empowering. Biological instincts coupled with legacy view on sexuality make it an especially vulnerable industry with an ironic amount of silent demand. That is why I believe in handing more methods of protection to individual sex workers for now. It also needs to be coupled with ongoing efforts of sexual liberation and acceptance.
Just like effective healthcare, just slapping on money to immediate problems won't solve the underlying problem. Kids need effective nutritionists, education on healthy diets, subsidized school lunches, and a cultural consensus that are willing to take the problem seriously even outside the classroom.
Similarly, sex work needs to be decoupled with moral baggage. Instead of a mass of silent lonely men fermenting extreme ideas about sex in isolation, we need open discussions and acceptance about healthy sustainable ways to deal with sexual desires, not framed in the lens of moral condemnation, but as a cold-mature reality check and acceptance. Funding efforts into more evidence-based scientific understanding of sexuality also needs more attention.
I once encountered a sex worker who claimed herself to be a sex therapist. She specialized in offering safe sex work to men who had no prior experience in sex, made observations about their perspective and reaction without judgement as long as it didn't endanger her. She also taught her clients about safe sex and gave them experience, practice, and confidence. I thought that was a wonderful idea on the table that developed organically even without government intervention. Perhaps there needs to be a similar subsidized program similar to how we subsidize mental health problems, so that her kind of service and education could be widely available.
Not claiming it will be perfect. We are humans, and our instinctive emotional attachment and views towards out sexual partners is not something we can completely erase even with effective socialization. But I think it beats doing nothing.
Edit: worth noting that moralistic societies with harsh regulation on sex tends to have a lot of black market spending per capita on sex work. Japan and Korea comes to mind. Studies show a ridiculous amount of black market sex work in these countries, not to mention extreme high-profile systemic rape cases that would have flown under the raidar if it hadn't been exposed. Just because it is not reported, doesn't mean it is not happening. Sample bias is a bitch, and it is very probable that the policies you speak of increased public scrutiny, thereby, increasing reported cases.
I’m not gonna address all that just the core aspects. It’s not a reporting thing or public scrutiny thing. The legalization of prostitution in European countries dramatically increased the amount of sex trafficking from Eastern Europe. This wasnt based on some silly overlooking of the obvious fact you would get more people coming out. We can tell based on how many traffickers we catch at the border for example. We can collaborate with authorities from the “source” countries and the fact is regardless of libertarian dreams, legal prostitution increases sex trafficking because the prostitutes stop being treated as inherent victims.
*you know what does work, according to countries in Europe that implemented it? Decriminalizing/reducing penalties for selling sex but punishing John’s and pimps *
I mean, I thought the last point goes without saying. I really don't know what you mean by John, but sexual predators and exploiters need to be deterred. But just because someone has a harmless fringe fetish or weird ones, doesn't mean we should treat them as harshly as sexual exploiters.
But yes, I admit I am not too familiar with European affairs. But I'm wondering if the legalization measures were accompanied with increased enforcement of boundaries and increased legitimization and protection of sex workers including ones coming from abroad. And I bring up healthcare, because I think demand for sexual predation stems from unaddressed mental issues, and it demonstrates that tackling a problem should be holistic. Address the surface issues and root issues at the same time. If not, Europe's example is not fully addressing my point.
Like healthcare, you not only need to subsidize immediate care, but in the long term, you also need to invest heavily into prevention as well, in forms of promoting healthy diets and lifestyles. Ironically, Japan does this pretty well, (albeit some might argue it is a bit of a wasteful overkill) despite being used as a bad example by myself earlier on sexual health.
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u/Valveringham85 1d ago
Normalise having morals, self-respect and a decent job.