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Joseph Styers
Prof. Ashley Whitmore
COMP 105
2 December 2015

Sex Sells, Literally

In 1862, the Union army led by General Rosecrans captured the city of
Nashville, Tennessee. The war was taking a toll on all his soldiers, generals
and commanders. All of these men missed the care and intimacy they would
receive back home from their wives; while Rosecrans troops were
recuperating, they took a visit to the red light district known as Smoky Row.
There, the troops enjoyed themselves and the number of prostitutes
increased by 1300 in 2 years. All was good, until a significant amount of
soldiers starting falling ill to syphilis and gonorrhea. This is when the Marshall
of Nashville took all the prostitutes, herded them onto a boat and sent them
off to Louisville. Louisville would not let the boat dock, and neither would
Cincinnati, so the boat returned to Nashville. With the same problem still on
his hands, the Marshall of Nashville this time tried legalizing prostitution in
his city. After legalization, the sex workers were required to have
documentation for proof that they are a sex worker and would visit a doctor
regularly to stay healthy. The Marshall created a module that certain counties

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in Nevada would later follow. He decriminalized the service in order to keep it

safer for the clients and the workers. Other benefits can come from
legalizing prostitution such as an extra source of tax revenue, making it safer
for the workers and clients and keeping a better regulated business.
Prostitution has benefits that most people are not aware of and should be
decriminalized in the US.
As of 2015, prostitution in the US is only legal in certain counties in
Nevada. It is legalized in most countries in South America, Western Europe
and all of Australia, but Africa and Asia, only a few countries have legalized
it. Some other countries, like Germany, allow organized activities such as
brothels, while others like France and India do not allow them. In other
countries, like Iran and North Korea, prostitution is illegal and leads to capital
punishment. Some countries, like Japan allow prostitution but do not allow
specific services from prostitutes. In Japan, vaginal intercourse is not allowed
but all other services are available. Another unusual exception lies in
Norway, where a client will be arrested for paying for a prostitute but the
prostitute remains unscathed by the law. Currently, the US considers
prostitution a public disturbance crime. There were many laws and acts
created to limit certain parts of prostitution over the years. Some countries
are able to control this trade by regulations and the U.S. can follow suit. An
excellent model lies within Amsterdam, where prostitution is already
legalized. In Amsterdam, prostitution has been legal since 1830, but more

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recent laws have regulated it and made the profession legal. One may look
at this topic and find that they do not care for it, but prostitution is here to
stay. Sexual activity is one of the most fundamental ideas to any living
organism out there. For humans, It helps to sell products, it creates new
beings, and it is used for pleasure. With the help of technology, prostitution
will just become more accessible than it ever was. A mobile phone
application in Germany called Peppr is used to connect with prostitutes in
ones area. Legalizing prostitution in the United States may conflict with the
moral standings of some people, but the economical and social benefits
outweigh the costs.
Originally, prostitution was limited to protect clients from venereal
diseases such as AIDS, Syphilis or Gonorrhea. According to the History
Channel show The XY Factor, 75% of New York males had an STD in the mid1800s. The BOI, Bureau of Investigation, was created by the government to
research brothel employees on whether or not they were kidnapped and
used as white slaves. Out of about 1100 prostitutes the BOI interviewed, only
6 of them were white slaves, which led to the creation of the Mann Act. This
act that prohibits white slavery, also prohibits the transportation of females
for immoral purposes, which is the main intention of the Mann act according
to the government. This view came from several house chairmen who were
Christians and did not approve of prostitution for its immoral standing. While
controversial back then, it should not be a problem now as pornography is

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legal in magazines and throughout the Internet. According to the Oxford

dictionary, pornography is explicit description or exhibition of sexual activity
in literature, films, etc. It is a very strange case, where porn is protected by
the law. In a porn movie, the male and female are paid to act while
prostitutes are paid for the sex. Therefore, porn actors and actresses are
protected by the First Amendment, which gives freedom to express oneself
artistically, Performers may engage in sex as part of their roles, but that
does not count as sex for hire. Unfortunately, the this law does not protect
prostitutes.
If prostitution is decriminalized, keeping the prostitute and client safe
is a big concern. At the Wild Horse brothel, the workers are tested weekly for
STDs and monthly for the AIDS virus. According to Storey County
Commissioner Bum Hess, It is very safe. Weve never had one report of
AIDS (19:06). If the rest of the country or at least the rest of Nevada were to
follow this model, they could have a disease free workplace as well, going
against the notion to limit prostitution due to venereal disease. Legalizing
prostitution would only make it safer, as regular checkups and more
regulation could help keep these diseases and infections away. In all of
Nevadas brothels, wearing a condom is absolutely mandatory, as the law
states it is illegal to not wear a condom while one is with a prostitute. If
prostitution was legalized elsewhere, regulations would be able to keep
others who engage with prostitutes safer as well. They will be forced to use

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protection, but they will stay disease free. A study conducted at Nevadas
legal brothels recorded the different options men took regarding condom
use. Of the 50 workers that were interviewed, 26 of them encountered a
male who was unwilling to use a condom within a one month working period.
To get around this, the prostitutes attempted to persuade the individual,
saying it would increase the pleasure of the sex. If the client did not comply
with this, then the prostitute would then slip it on the customer without
knowing. Even if the client insists on not using protection, the brothel
security has the discretion of forcing the client to leave.
After prostitution is legalized, a new source of tax revenue can be
created. The government may start regulating this service and start taxing it
for their benefit. On one hand, police officers have another responsibility to
take care of, serving and protecting sex workers of America. On the other
hand, the increase in taxes should make up for this, as their wages could
increase. An article out of the Reading Eagle reports on the influence of
legalized prostitution on taxes. The article tells of the situation where some
brothels in Storey county were shut down due to apparent fraud and
racketeering. Although it was a victory for the Catholic Church, the county
lost about six percent of its budget. Storey County Commissioner Charles
Haynes reports on the loss saying, With a county budget as small as Storey
Countys, I dont think we can afford to lose a minimum of $230,000
(Reading Eagle, B10). Haynes states that shutting down the brothels will

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cause the county to lose money, so he claims that they are a reliable source
of income. More brothels in more counties or states means a greater increase
in tax revenue. With more tax money, the government can help with other
services for the public like roads and parks.
One of the main arguments for leaving prostitution as an illegal act is
that it is a dangerous profession. Prostitution is mainly a one-on-one job that
involves privacy within a closed room, making the opportunity to rape or
murder the prostitute more likely. According to Sid Ford, executive director of
You Are Never Alone, Y.A.N.A, Women will still die. Girls will still die. It wont
eliminate this urge, this devastation that happens to women and girls who
are exploited sexually (6:15). Y.A.N.A pledges make prostitutes and human
traffic survivors better people by supplying health care, condoms and
therapy. Although her point is valid, it simply is not the truth. Decriminalizing
prostitution would allow prostitutes to call the police when they are being
attacked or raped, whereas they cannot currently do so since what they are
doing is illegal. Prostitute and sex activist Scarlot Harlot tells her story,
Prostitution is very dangerous when its criminalized. I cant call the police If
Im raped and I was raped and I didnt call the police (17:29). If prostitution
was legal, she would have been able to safely call the police and report this
incident without any legal charges against her. The Wild Horse brothel in
Nevada has many safety features which keep the workers safe: A metal gate,

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cameras, intercoms and the aid of police to keep them all safe and
comfortable.
Legalization of prostitution in the United States allows for many
benefits to sex workers, their clients, the police, the government, and people
who do not care on the matter at all. Sex workers and their clients will
definitely benefit the most, as prostitutes would be able to sell their service
to their clients with no worries at all. The government would be able to
regulate and tax this new legal service, so they can get a new source for
revenue. With this extra tax money, the government can use this to benefit
the public in different ways. Originally, prostitution was criminalized to keep
clients away from STDs and because of the professions immoral standing.
Legalizing prostitution can lead to regulation like in Nevada, which can keep
clients extra safe from STDs. Legalizing prostitution will benefit all,
regardless of view.

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Works Citied:
Prostiution. Penn and Teller: Bullshit! Showtime. 10 Apr. 2006.
Television

Albert, A. E., D. L. Warner, and R. A. Hatcher. "Facilitating Condom Use with

Clients during Commercial Sex in Nevada's Legal Brothels." American
Journal of Public Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1998. Web. 25
Nov. 2015.

Brothels go; will taxes raise? The Reading Eagle Pittsburgh August 6th 1999
B10 Print

Sonntag, Tracey P. "Case for Legalizing Prostitution." Case for Legalizing

Prostitution. N.p., 2009. Web.

"Prostituiton: Sex in the City." XY Factor. History Channel. N.d. Television.

McKean, Erin. "Pornography." Compact Oxford Dictionary. New York: Spark,

2007. 429. Print.

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"Amsterdam Prostitution." Amsterdam Prostitution. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "There Is Now an App for Prostitution." Time. Time, 22 Apr.
2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.