June 9th 2003 – Prostitution

Sex is bad. It’s immoral, a sin. It’s filthy and base and dirty. At least, thats what we are told. From the time we’re little, barely out of the womb, we’re programmed to think that sex is the most horrible thing a person could do, unless of course your straight and married and only then to produce children.

I always found this confusing. There are basic human acts that are natural and normal because we know how to do them from birth and because we need them as a species to survive. These things include eating, sleeping, having sex and using the bathrrom. Everyone knows how to do these things and if we didn’t do them we would die. So how can something natural and normal be bad?

Along that line of thinking, it’s only natural to assume that if sex is neccesary and natural, that all people should have the right to have sex. Not just thr rich and powerful, not just the beautiful and certainly not just the -insert religious order here- . Who gets to decide who should have sex and when? You wouldn’t let someone tell you couldn’t eat or sleep or that to do so you would have to be of a particular religion or order. So why do others get to decide how and with whom we have sex? And of all people, the government?

So the real question is why is it wrong to sell your body? I don’t think it is neccesarily a good thing to sell ones body. It’s a fact that many people who become prostitutes do so because they were sexually abused as children or because they are very poor and feel they have no other option. I don’t think anyone should have to share thier body against thier will. However, if prostitution were regulated these problems would be solved. If prostitition were legalized and regulated, the men and women selling thier bodies would have to undergo physical and mental evaluations. Not only that, but the people who pay for thier services would have to have the same evaluations. There would be a much much smaller chance of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. If it were regulated, there wouldn’t be child prostitutes and if a client harmed a member of the staff, they would be penalized according to the law instead of getting away with it as they do now. Legalized prostitution would mean that prostitutes were paid a fair wage, that they receased medical attention, a clean and safe working environment and a way to support thier families that wasn;t considered shameful.

Selling your body in America is not illegal. Look at strip clubs and the porn industry. It’s perfectly legal to go and watch someone strip and dance naked in your lap. It’s perfectly legal to have sex with multiple partners on camera. It’s perfectly legal to cheat on your spouse or to have a sugar daddy who gives you things for sex. So why is prostitution any different? The difference is in the control. The sex industry is run by and mainly for men. When you think of porn and strippers and prostitution, you think naked women. If prostitution were legalized women would be in control of what happens to thier own bodies. No pimps, no crazy clients, no fear that a policeman will lock you up. You would say when you had sex, with who and what kind. This is a horrible notion to most people. In our society men are in control of sex. Whether it’s religous or political, men make the rules and get all the benefits. Because the Christian bible, as most religious doctrines do, preach that men should be able to have sex with whoever they want, have multiple wives, concubines and harems. But if a woman has sex out of wedlock she’s a whore and is put to death. This still goes on all over the world. Even in America sex out of wedlock is shameful for a woman, but not a man.

Some people ask, why in the world anyone would want to be a prostitute. I can see why this would seem strange, especially for someone who had been abused. But think of it like this. When you are a child and someone hurts you sexually, you have no control and no recourse. For the rest of your life you fear sex, feel ashamed and used. But a prostitutes takes the control back. She or he is effectively saying ‘ You want what I have but you can’t just take it. I have worth so you must pay me for what I provide and you must do things on my terms’. I’m not saying this is a good thing, I’m saying it’s a reality. If prostitution were regulated people like this wouldn’t be able to work in this field and could get the proper help or could safely work through thier issues in a controlled environment. Of course there are prostitutes who haven’t been abused so why do they want to do this sort of work. Some people really like having sex and are simply good at it. It’s everyone dream to work in a field they enjoy right? And we pay people to take care of our other primal needs (food,sleep,bathroom) so why not sex?

Our society practically worships sex. Young people, men especially, are expected to have sex with multiple partners. It’s a sign of masculinity. As things stand now, young people have sex with strangers thus transmitting diseases and causing unwanted pregnancies. But if prostitution were legalized the transmission of diseases would be reduced and using at least one type of birth control would be mandatory. Can you imagine the number of aid cases and abortions alone this could prevent? Can you imagine how many tax dollars it would raise for things that are really important?

I would ask what people would have you do if you aren’t able to have traditional sex. Not everyone is physically or mentally capable of maintaining a normal long term relationship. Say for instance, you’ve been horrible mutilated as a result of an accident or a genetic disease. These people would have a very hard time getting a mate. So should they live out thier lives celebate because we have a phobia of sex? What about people who are to shy and repressed to get a mate? Perhaps prostituiton could help them become comfortable with thier bodies so they could find a mate. What about the elderly and disabled?

Frankly, I know some people who could use some help in the sex department. We have our children watch movies and read magizines that practically scream HAVE SEX! But we are so ashamed of our own sexuality we never tell our kids how to have sex. I don’t mean the mechanics of sex. Ever kid has seen the diagrams of a penis and vagina. Every kid age 8 and up knows how to have sex. What I mean is how to make sure your partner is taken care of. For years only a mans pleasure was a concern and women went without. When you do eventually get married wouldn’t you like to go into your marriage bed knowing how to please your partner and knowing they know how to please you? Why do we make things so awquard and difficult for our children? Don’t we have a responsibility to teach them how to take care of thier spouse?

When it comes down to it, sex between two consenting people should not be a crime. Sex is a basic natural function of life. It hurts no one when doen properly and in a safe environment. Unlike drugs and alcohol, when people choose to have sex it only effects the people involved. No one ever died of second hand sex. Everyone has sex and it’s neccesary for the survival of the species. There is no reason for it to be illegal. The good that would come from legalized prostition is enormous. Not only could you see a proffesional who you know is clean, healthy and experienced, you could get much more than sex. Sex is a matter of pleasure, but it’s also a way to connect to another human being emotionally and spiritually. Sex is the closest we get to being one with the rest of the human race. Seeing a prostitute could be a wonderful experience and not just for the sex. Long ago prostitution was an normal everytday thing. People went to prostitutes not just for sex but for companionship, conversation, games and songs, massage and advice. These women were called courtesans and they were well taken care of. Imagine a modern day sex therapy fascility where you could go to have lunch with a friendly and empathetic man or woman, someone would help you relax, listen to your problems or tell you stories, take care of your physical, emotional and spiritual needs. What is so horrible about that?

I personally think that sex is a very sacred thing. I made a choice for myself long ago to share myself with only one person ever, my husband. This was my personal choice and was based on my own feelings and judgement not that of the government, my family or some religious authority. My feeling is that as long as you are consenting and you aren’t hurting anyone else you should be able to do whatever you see fit with your own body. If you don’t have control over your own being, what do you have control over? And if you don’t have control, then who does and what gives them the right?

Let me know what you think. Good luck and blessings, Prana
Talk about it in the forums : HERE

Sources:

http://www.realm-of-shade.com/meretrix/museum/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

(Updated – to see my conclusion please go here.)

June 1st 2003 – Marijuana

I live in Los Angeles, I recycle, eat things like seaweed and tofu, and call myself a pagan. I meditate and do yoga, I believe in things like karma, and I dress a bit like a hippy. That’s not so strange for someone living in Los Angeles, which is why most people would probably assume I am for the legalization of marijuana. But they would be wrong. Now, I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, as evidenced by my other site, The Pervert Club. I don’t have the severe phobia of things new and strange as it seems so many people do. I’m open to just about anything, and try very hard not to unfairly prejudge anything without some kind of first hand experience. Which is why I think marijuana on the whole is a good thing. I just don’t think some of it’s uses are.

Lets look at the facts.
Early American colonists grew marijuana crops for the production of paper, clothing and rope. It was so important, farmers were fined if they didn’t grow it. Marijuana can be used medicinally to treat lack of appetite, pain and depression, treatment of glaucoma, nausea. Non-harmful side effects of marijuana use include: being very hungry or thirsty, feelings of euphoria or peacefulness, increase of sexual appetite, fatigue, listlessness. Hemp can be used to make a lot of useful things. I used to have a very nice purse made of hemp. And there happens to be some mixed into my granola. Used medicinally, marijuana is great at treating cancer and aids patients. It’s biodegradable and easy to grow. Which is why I think it definitely has it’s positives.

On the flip side you have the negatives:
All forms of marijuana alters how the brain works. Harmful side effect of marijuana use include: changes in memory, perception, and judgement, dry mouth, rapid heart beat, loss of coordination, slower reflexes, caught and phlegm,chronic bronchitis, chest colds, abnormally functioning lungs and airways, paranoia, suppression of immune system, etc. Marijuana contains some of the same (and sometimes in higher quantities) cancer causing agents as tobacco. By smoking five joints a day you may be ingesting as many cancer causing chemicals as you would be if you smoked an entire pack of cigarettes. Marijuana contains over four hundred known carcinogens. Marijuana may contain toxic quantities of pesticides or the herbicide paraquat. THC, the chemical in marijuana most responsible for intoxication, suppresses the neurons in the information-processing system of the hippocampus, the area of the brain that governs learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivation.

I didn’t know much about marijuana having never used it. So I spent a good deal of time researching it. I wasn’t looking for the good or the bad just the facts. I’m a facts kind of girl. The fact is that while marijuana can be used industrially and medically for many positive purposes, it simply shouldn’t be legalized. There is entirely to much information regarding it’s negative effects that can’t be ignored.

Now before you decide I don’t know what I’m talking about let me say this. I am looking at this from two perspectives. I am in pain every day of my life due to Liver Disease and I had to watch my mother suffer and almost die of cancer. I am fully aware of the pain relief that is positively essential to some peoples survival gained from using marijuana. I believe with ever fiber of my being that people in severe chronic pain should be allowed to take the pills made from marijuana to ease their pain if nothing else works. But I don’t think that anyone under any circumstances should smoke marijuana, and I’ll tell you why. Aside form all the facts we have on how marijuana screws with your brains chemistry, it changes a persons personality. My father and my brother are addicted to marijuana. When they aren’t high, they are perfectly nice people. Not saints mind you, but normal, coherent, friendly. But when they’re high, they are completely different. They get defensive, mean, angry or silly, incoherent and lose their inhibitions. They aren’t the same people and that’s my objection. Anything that changes how you behave, think and feel so drastically can not be good for you.

It is my belief that we should live as cleanly as possible. By this I mean eat right, exercise, meditate, abstain from and type of drugs unless absolutely necessary. I won’t even take an aspirin unless I have too. There are so many natural alternatives to man made drugs that to put something artificial in yourself of your own free will seems ludicrous. All things in nature were created for a reason and have a purpose, even seemingly harmfull or useless things. But for what and to what degree they are used is the question.

I’ve had people tell me they need to smoke marijuana to calm down, to relieve stress and to loosen up. I hear the same excuses for drinking and smoking. But I say that if you have a problem you should deal with it, not run from it. Why fog your mind so you don’t remember when your problems will still be there when you lose your high? And as far as loosening up goes, we’re entirely to lose as it is. My friend says she needs her drugs so when she parties she will be uninhibited. Inhibitions are there for a reason, they keep us from doing stupid things we later regret, like sleeping with a stranger or driving to fast. Another couple tells me that they only smoke a little on the weekends to help them relax. In the same breath they tell me how very poor they are. I can’t understand this. Surely you can see that if you spend money you don’t have on drugs there is a problem.

When it comes right down to it, it really doesn’t matter what I think or don’t think, not now anyway. Possessing, selling and using marijuana is against the law. We may not like it but that’s to bad. You don’t break a law just because you don’t agree. If you truly feel a law is wrong you fight to have it changed, you work within the system. Can you imagine if we all went around breaking the law just because we didn’t agree. And do you think that excuse will hold up in court? Furthermore, using drugs can royally fubar your life. Many high schools and universities have rules against the use of marijuana which can result in being cut from extra curricular activities. This would go on your permanent record and could jeopardize future education opportunities such as the allocation of scholarships. Many jobs also require drug testing. So is it really worth it to damage the welfare of yourself and your family for a temporary high? There are so many other ways to feel good, release stress and feel good besides drugs. Exercise is one, meditation, natural herbal alternatives with no mind altering side effects.

So in the end I believe that hemp should be used to make products such as clothing and rope and medical marijuana should be legal for those truly in need. But marijuana should not be used by the general public, it should be against the law and is a danger to most people. We must way the benefits and drawbacks to any drug. According to studies, marijuana isn’t any better than other drugs on the market to alieve pain and nausea. But if it’s all that works for you exceptions must be made. For terminally ill patients or patients with chronic severe pain, it can be argued that the positive effects outwiegh the negative side effects. But in a perfectly healthy person, this is not true. We don’t allow other addictive drugs on the street, such as morphine, so why should marijuana be different. All Drugs should be regulated and if found unsafe for common use they should be available only to those who truly need it. Anyone selling or using an illegal drug should punished according to the law with a sentence that fits the crime.

Perhaps you can change my mind, perhaps not. Here’s your chance to speak out. Good luck and blessings, Prana

Sources:
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The statements and opinions expressed on other sites are not my statements and opinions nor do the represent my beliefs in any way. I am not responsible for any objectionable material on other people sites.

http://marijuana.bdtzone.com

http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/facts-about-marijuana.htm

http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/news-2.htmhttp://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/harmful-effects-of-marijuana.htm

http://www.pathguy.com/lxa/cannabis.txt

http://mindprod.com/marijuana.html