Update & Sex Workers

[silk_noir]

Ok, so yesterday I stepped down in my capacity as Baroness of the local SCA baronage. I still have some duties to accomplish, but hopefully this will free me up to accomplish more things

Comments

[catlin]

In JD Robbs death series, they have sex workers who are both companions, therapists, and just there for a good romp. I imagine it would be much the same.

[diermuid]

Even in areas where sex is more positive, prostitution still happens. Charlie Sheen is a good example, sex is wonderfully positive and plentiful, however there are still advantages to be gained from those who sell favors. For one thing, since it is their profession, they may be more willing or able to do certain things, or share the bed. Another big reason for prostitutes is a lack of complication, you don't have to maintain a relationship... which I think is where a lot of people find prostitutes to be more worthwhile. You can pay $x for an evening of whatever you want, but you don't have to maintain relationships with different people in different cities

[noveldevice]

Charlie Sheen is not what I would call a shining example of sex positivity, myself. :)

[diermuid]

I don't know much about how positive his sex is, but he IS a good example of disassociating love or commitment from the mix. Some people are just too much. . . something, to waste a good long-term partner on them. ;-)

[noveldevice]

I think that in general people throw around the idea of "sex addiction" too lightly these days, but in his case, his behaviour tends to indicate to me that he is acting out in some way.

I think there are a lot of examples of love and/or commitment being disassociated from sex out there, without having to look too hard, and very few of them are going to look like Charlie Sheen's crazed antics.

I have to run off and read Horace, but I actually have a lot of thoughts on this, as someone who does sometimes prefer her sex without the trappings of a romantic relationship.

[ccjohn]

I see bets.

[wombatgirl]

I'd think so, if for no other reason that the type of people that Person A wants to have sex with might not want to have sex with them, no matter how sex positive the culture. Unless the concept of beauty totally changes, some people will always been more desirable than others. And if someone is willing to pay for something they can't get otherwise? There will be always be someone up for a quick buck.

[abbotofunreason]

All of this.

Another simple answer, though, might be that, even in a "sex-positive" society, sexual acts/behaviors could be commodified (and perhaps even more easily so, when certain stigmas-we-live-with were removed). At that point--in some, though certainly not all, cases--we might have to think about contractual relationships, maybe even along the lines that Carole Pateman started in the late 80s.

In fact, a host of financial/marketplace issues might have to be considered, of the kind that would play a role in any profession--job security, competition, wages/salaries, working solely/"freelance" or as part of a group/collective, and such, and so on.

[danima]

Huh. This reminded me--Hal Hartley had a not-particularly-good movie about a future society in which sex is a medium of exchange, to the point that having un-recorded sexytimes is roughly comparable to tax evasion. Somewhat promising premise, uneven execution.

[danima]

Ah, yes, "The Girl from Monday." (http://www.possiblefilms.com/2005/01/the-girl-from-monday/)

...and looking at that page, I'm reminded of several reasons why I wouldn't recommend it, chief of which being the decision to go with surrealist allegory over sf-nal speculation.

[noveldevice]

I read a profoundly stupid article on prostitution recently, in the journal Ethics from, I think the late 90s or early 2000s, which sounds like it may have been (annoyingly) informed by this movie. Or possibly vice-versa. :)