Can we have a genuine, high-brow discussion regarding the ethics of prostitution? In particular, I'd like to discuss the following statistics which have mostly been taken from Melissa Farley's research. Farley’s research, which I will be getting into shortly, focuses specifically on prostitution, both indoors and outdoors. Her work is pivotal due its debunking of many myths associated with prostitution. Instead of considering prostitution in abstract terms, Farley has conducted research with several prostituted individuals in countries such as Canada, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the US, and Zambia.
en.wikipedia.org
Some argue that these statistics are the product of street prostitution/illegal markets and that with proper regulation and policing, these harms can be avoided. However:
One of the most popular legal brothels in the world, The Bunny Ranch, is located in Nevada and is owned by Dennis Hof, writer of the autobiography titled “The Art of the Pimp”. In the spirit of allowing prostituted individuals to speak for themselves, here are some quotes from prostituted women who have legally worked for Dennis Hof.
First, Jennifer O’Kane says that during her first week, “he asked me to undress and sit next to him,” O’Kane said. “At that point, he put his hands around my neck and explained to me that I was his.” In a police report filed in 2016, she also claimed that he raped and battered her daily.
Diana Grandmaison claims that in 2009 Hof summoned her to the brothel’s bar, reached under her skirt, and assaulted her in public. She also claims that he assaulted women regularly. She adds “he did this to girls at the brothel all the time. He would make young girls sit on his lap. I had no choice — you couldn’t say no. If you said no, you were going to pay a price and get kicked out of the brothel.”
Krissy Summers claims “I walked in and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Dennis Hof.’ And I remember thinking, ‘I know who you are.’ And then he said, ‘Take off your pants.’ That was it. ‘Take off your pants.’ I was absolutely terrified. Dennis was only the second man I’d ever been with.”
Another woman, Cami Parker, states “You want Daddy to like you. You won’t have a very good time if he doesn’t, so if he wants you to [have sex with him], you definitely should.” Parker also states that Hof pressured her to constantly lose weight, resulting in her developing a serious eating disorder that almost killed her.
A woman who refused to be named stated “Dennis pulls me close to him, opens my legs, and I pulled my legs together, said ‘no,’ and made excuses to try to leave or make him leave.” When Dennis didn’t allow her to leave, she eventually “Gave in”.
Unsurprisingly, a psychiatrist who did a psychological profile of Dennis Hof claimed that he was an unempathetic narcissist and stated that “Dennis uses the women he ‘loves’ for his own desires, loyal companionship, and sex. Like any pimp, he exploits them. This is sadistic behavior, and it is both unrecognized and denied.” From this, we begin to discover that pimps in legal prostitution (ie brothel owners) are no different from their black-market counterparts. Furthermore, the women who engage in legal prostitution are often in no better condition than those in illegal situations.
The Netherlands is often touted as an example of legal prostitution done right. However, actual research into Amsterdam and its infamous red-light district reveals something quite different. Farley claims, in an Intelligence Squared debate, that 80% of prostitutes in Amsterdam are foreigners mostly imported from poorer countries. This is corroborated by the newspaper ‘Le Monde diplomatique’ which also adds that 70% of the prostituted women in Amsterdam are there illegally and have no immigration papers.
Why would this be the case? Well, in a relatively egalitarian society such as the Netherlands, where women are given relatively equal opportunities to men and access to education, most women do not choose prostitution. There are, in fact, not enough women willing to do prostitution to keep brothels open so brothel owners have to exploit some of the most vulnerable members of society (ie. Poverty-stricken women from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa) in order to keep business running. The fact that these women have no papers is an advantage because it means they are less likely to contact the police should anything go wrong. This may be shocking, but it is not unexpected. A similar working model is found in other forms of legal or grey—area prostitution such as Asian massage parlors where many of the women working often have no immigration papers and are brought into the united states with the promise of employment only to find that they will be expected to do sex work. With no immigration papers, many are afraid that they will be arrested should they complain to authorities. Although the joke about ‘happy endings’ in Asian massage parlors is often spoken about in comical terms, the reality of it simply isn’t funny. For more information on this, I would recommend the documentary Hidden Sex Slaves of Massage Parlours which follows an investigator in San Francisco who inspects Asian Massage Parlours and finds many women desperate to leave.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4KipfL-A0Y
Melissa Farley - Wikipedia
- 71% percent of the respondents had been physically assaulted while in prostitution
- 68% percent of surveyed individuals met the criteria for PTSD
Some argue that these statistics are the product of street prostitution/illegal markets and that with proper regulation and policing, these harms can be avoided. However:
- A shocking 81% of legal brothel workers self-reported that they wanted to leave prostitution but were unable to do so
One of the most popular legal brothels in the world, The Bunny Ranch, is located in Nevada and is owned by Dennis Hof, writer of the autobiography titled “The Art of the Pimp”. In the spirit of allowing prostituted individuals to speak for themselves, here are some quotes from prostituted women who have legally worked for Dennis Hof.
First, Jennifer O’Kane says that during her first week, “he asked me to undress and sit next to him,” O’Kane said. “At that point, he put his hands around my neck and explained to me that I was his.” In a police report filed in 2016, she also claimed that he raped and battered her daily.
Diana Grandmaison claims that in 2009 Hof summoned her to the brothel’s bar, reached under her skirt, and assaulted her in public. She also claims that he assaulted women regularly. She adds “he did this to girls at the brothel all the time. He would make young girls sit on his lap. I had no choice — you couldn’t say no. If you said no, you were going to pay a price and get kicked out of the brothel.”
Krissy Summers claims “I walked in and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Dennis Hof.’ And I remember thinking, ‘I know who you are.’ And then he said, ‘Take off your pants.’ That was it. ‘Take off your pants.’ I was absolutely terrified. Dennis was only the second man I’d ever been with.”
Another woman, Cami Parker, states “You want Daddy to like you. You won’t have a very good time if he doesn’t, so if he wants you to [have sex with him], you definitely should.” Parker also states that Hof pressured her to constantly lose weight, resulting in her developing a serious eating disorder that almost killed her.
A woman who refused to be named stated “Dennis pulls me close to him, opens my legs, and I pulled my legs together, said ‘no,’ and made excuses to try to leave or make him leave.” When Dennis didn’t allow her to leave, she eventually “Gave in”.
Unsurprisingly, a psychiatrist who did a psychological profile of Dennis Hof claimed that he was an unempathetic narcissist and stated that “Dennis uses the women he ‘loves’ for his own desires, loyal companionship, and sex. Like any pimp, he exploits them. This is sadistic behavior, and it is both unrecognized and denied.” From this, we begin to discover that pimps in legal prostitution (ie brothel owners) are no different from their black-market counterparts. Furthermore, the women who engage in legal prostitution are often in no better condition than those in illegal situations.
The Netherlands is often touted as an example of legal prostitution done right. However, actual research into Amsterdam and its infamous red-light district reveals something quite different. Farley claims, in an Intelligence Squared debate, that 80% of prostitutes in Amsterdam are foreigners mostly imported from poorer countries. This is corroborated by the newspaper ‘Le Monde diplomatique’ which also adds that 70% of the prostituted women in Amsterdam are there illegally and have no immigration papers.
Why would this be the case? Well, in a relatively egalitarian society such as the Netherlands, where women are given relatively equal opportunities to men and access to education, most women do not choose prostitution. There are, in fact, not enough women willing to do prostitution to keep brothels open so brothel owners have to exploit some of the most vulnerable members of society (ie. Poverty-stricken women from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa) in order to keep business running. The fact that these women have no papers is an advantage because it means they are less likely to contact the police should anything go wrong. This may be shocking, but it is not unexpected. A similar working model is found in other forms of legal or grey—area prostitution such as Asian massage parlors where many of the women working often have no immigration papers and are brought into the united states with the promise of employment only to find that they will be expected to do sex work. With no immigration papers, many are afraid that they will be arrested should they complain to authorities. Although the joke about ‘happy endings’ in Asian massage parlors is often spoken about in comical terms, the reality of it simply isn’t funny. For more information on this, I would recommend the documentary Hidden Sex Slaves of Massage Parlours which follows an investigator in San Francisco who inspects Asian Massage Parlours and finds many women desperate to leave.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4KipfL-A0Y
