Oh, to be alive when Deep Throat's Linda Lovelace, not car-bomb suspects, brought the FBI to Times Square. The porn star was likely less menacing. Given reports Lindsay Lohan is slated to appear in a biopic about the celebrity with a clitoris inside her neck, it's a interesting time to discuss why one of the original flick's actors was arrested and revisit whether it's time to legalize sex work.
Although I'm a sex and relationships writer, I've likely watched less smut than the SEC. I've not yet seen the 1972 classic in question in its entirety because it isn't available on Hulu or Netflix. Yet, I recently streamed Inside Deep Throat -- the 2005 documentary about, among other things, legal difficulties the film's director, distributors, producers and actors encountered. In it, co-star Harry Reems asks, "Do I belong in jail for five years for acting in Deep Throat?"
Reems was indicted on federal obscenity charges, though the conviction was eventually overturned.
Films that aren't coy about coitus reveal much about society. I don't believe the actions of sex workers -- such as prostitutes, escorts, many hardcore pornographic films actors or others who exchange sex for pay -- should be prosecuted like those who, for example, premeditatedly park vans with wired propane tanks in the heart of Midtown.
Speaking of violence, criminalizing sex work also renders those employed in the industry nearly defenseless in the workplace. Although laws exist to protect bartenders from secondhand smoke, coal miners from unsafe working conditions and construction workers from asbestos, we offer little protection for sex workers.
"More people have been victimized who never come forward, because the fear of arrest prevents them from reporting crimes, including violent crimes, against them," says Melissa Ditmore, editor of the Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work. "The fact that sex workers have been ignored, and even arrested, when they try to report violence encourages predators."
So, here's a question: Is it time to legalize sex work? Please feel free to use the comments section below to share your thoughts.
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The failure of Shahzad's plot serves as a reminder that the capabilities available to terrorists seeking to harm us are drastically limited. This lesson seems to have been lost on the plethora of terrorism "experts" that took to the airwaves this week.
Having said that ... We may not agree on all fronts, but I appreciate your comment. There was quite a bit pro-porn feedback here, and it's not always easy to voice an opinion that goes against the majority. So, thanks for speaking up.
As for today's sex workers and the public at large. One thing most libertarians and liberals, and even a lot of others, agree upon is that the current exercises in enforcing public morality are dumb, cruel and even counterproductive. Cheers.
Mind you, I am not a customer, but sex work should be legalized and appropriately regulated to ensure the health and safety of those who do this kind of work. Taxes should be paid, pimps eliminated, open and honest accounting and licensure required, and safety and health regulations enforced.
It would reduce STDs. It would help protect those who work this way from victimization. It would reduce the number of people jailed for being in a desperate situation economically. It would allow the police to focus on real crimes. While the religious right would object strenuously, legalization would reduce the size of the present prostitution "industry", bringing visibility, legal protections and the ability to change "jobs" instead of being trapped. Society would benefit from such a maneuver.
I hope my daughter would never become one of those workers. But if she ever did, I would want her to have the best protections possible under the circumstances, and I would want her to be able to have a way out. Harsh condemnation is not the answer. Recognizing the need is.
Have sex workers fall under the same protections and responsibilities that all other workers benefit from, and provide reasonable safety regulations that don't hamstring their right of free will.
Other than that, I say decriminalize them and let them do their business in safety and peace.
Anthony