Prostitution

The Courier-Post is South Jersey's answer to the Bergen Record. It serves the heavily populated suburban areas near Philadelphia, much as the Bergen Record does for Bergen County.

Anyway, it is my local paper and I often peruse it. In the classified section, I often notice the handful of ads underneath "personal services". There are usually more than a handful in the Bergen Record as well. They are usually things that say "massage", but they are listed in the same section with things like "adult chat lines". Therefore, I would infer that these massages would not be confined to one's back and shoulders. And, then, I wonder if prostitution is illegal, how could these ads be allowed to be published? These ads are such a thinly veiled advertisement for prostitution. It would be equivalent to an ad that said something like "Want to do what Bob Marley does? Call 555-5555 for directions and prices. Bring your own bong." This analogy is not funny, or clever, but you get the idea.

Anyway, there is an ad that shows up often in my paper which is not even listed as "massage". In a typical paper, the same phone number appears with big, boldfaced ads three or four times in a given paper, each time with something different like "Hi, I'm Daisy. I'm a cheerleader and I can't wait to bust out of my uniform and show you my 36-D pom-poms. Call xxx-xxx-xx00" -- or "I'm Kate. A long day in the office has got me tense. I can't wait to get out of this business suit..." with the same number. The number ends in two zeroes, which struck me as numbers ending in "hundred" are usually fairly big businesses. These ads / phone number have been in the paper for at least 2 and a half years, the time I've lived down here.

This is crazy, I thought. Can they just advertise escorts / prostitutes so blantantly? The Philadelphia free paper has similar ads with pictures - but that is a free, city paper and this is our suburban, family-safe paper! And, wouldn't law enforcement notice these repeated ads and decide to crack down? Could it be that this number just a police sting to arrest potential johns?

So, curiousity got the best of me and one evening I had to hear what would happen when a random person calls this number. I went to a pay-phone, put in 50 cents, and dialed the number. I reminded myself to not solicit any illegal activity, lest there be any misunderstanding and a bunch of cops drive up to the phone booth I was at to arrest me for soliciting or whatever.

Them: "Hello, can I help you?"
Me: "Yes, I saw your ad in the paper."
Them: "Ok, it's $190 cash for the hour."
Me: "Uhh..."
Them: "Are you calling from a hotel?"
Me: "No, I'm at a payphone."
Them: "Hold on..."

"..."

Them: "Ok, hon, you're going to have to call us back from either a cell phone or from a hotel. Get set up and call us back."
Me: "Ok. So what's with all the different names of women in the paper?"
Them: "Well, what kind of woman are you looking for?"

I hung up. I think I got the point, and drove home.

So, I concluded, either the people on the other end were police are searching for people to arrest (unlikely), or more likely it is an obvious thriving prostitution business.

I think it's crazy that prostitution is illegal. The reasons to keep it illegal, I suppose, are that most people think it's immoral and abusive to the women that do it. Well, what women would turn to prostitution unless they had any other choice? And if it was legal, would that be any different? Would women aspire to be prostitutes if it was a "valid" career choice? I can't imagine that they would. So, at least, it would be safe and women who do must do it would be protected both physically and financially. And plenty of guys pay for prostitution now, and they would continue to do so if it were legal.

I understand the idea that many laws are in place to protect people either from themselves or from immoral activities. And, society must weigh the financial benefits of having them be legal and what the government can make off of them, versus the suppposed moral effect these activities can have on everybody else (like casinos and cigarettes, for instance). And, sometimes government draws the line, for better or worse (like many illegal drugs).

My point is: I think we've reached the point where it's such a joke that prostitution is illegal, yet it happens so blatantly all the time. The fact that it's illegal means many women, usually immigrants, become virtual sex slaves. Make it legal. Let the government profit off of it. Give these poor exploited women some protection at least.