Prostitution: The Hypocrisy of Pleasure.

I’ve discussed Sex Working in general, specifically its digital side—where sex and sexuality are practiced behind the screen of a phone, tablet, computer, or television (though red-light cinemas have largely vanished). Now, I want to talk about the carnal part of Sex Working, the tangible and analog side, perhaps the most well-known and the most dangerous, where the screen no longer exists and the contact between bodies is real and authentic: prostitution. Specifically, CONSENSUAL prostitution (human trafficking that coerces women is not a profession or a choice, but an aberrant crime to be wiped out).

Why do I want to talk about it? Because I find it truly ridiculous that in 2023 we continue to demonize a service that everyone uses and appreciates at every level. Let's not hide behind a blade of grass: if there are so many people in the world who engage in prostitution VOLUNTARILY, there must be a reason, don’t you think?

The question I ask myself is: if the demand is universal, why must the response be clandestine?

But let’s take things in order, otherwise, we’ll get lost.

A Brief Historical Background.

The history of prostitution is intertwined with the evolution of humanity's social, religious, and political structures. It seems almost incredible to think about, but human society and prostitution have effectively walked hand-in-hand for millennia, right up to the present day. Wherever there was the beginning of a civil society (a village or a city), there were very likely women working as prostitutes. Often defined as the "world's oldest profession," its perception has worsened over time. It has passed through phases of sacredness, pragmatic tolerance, firm condemnation, and eventually abolition from human perception. Essentially, the more society "developed," the less we tolerated prostitution. We’ve been so clever that we made the most beautiful thing in the world—sex—illegal and immoral. I wonder now if the development we’ve had has actually been a positive thing...

Antiquity: Between the Sacred and the Civil.

In ancient civilizations, before those damn twelve apostles caused irreparable damage to planet Earth (I hope they’re all burning in hell), sex was often seen as something useful and even sacred.

Mesopotamia.

In Mesopotamia, sex was in some cases considered "sacred." Sacred prostitution existed in temples dedicated to deities like Ishtar, the goddess of erotic love, fertility, and paradoxically, war. A goddess who protected both making love and making war. If I were a hippy, my brain would explode. Sexual intercourse in those temples was seen as a rite to propitiate fertility and the success of military campaigns. The priestesses, who conveyed the will of the deity, enjoyed high social status. Mesopotamia was so far ahead that sex was a form of prayer. Can you imagine today, in a church, a believer "praying" for their fertility in the arms of a priestess? Actually, let me correct that: porn has already shown me exactly what that would look like.

Ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece, unlike Mesopotamia, had a rather strange view of sex. Here, the first step toward moral decay and the "sanctimonious" view of prostitution was taken. Let's start with a very simple principle: the Greeks were a highly erotic people. Sexuality and eroticism flowed intensely through the men. But they were also great hypocrites. This is where the first "tilt" occurs—a tilt that would accompany humanity forever. A Greek man would spend his day philosophizing about the concept of "spiritual love," morally and publicly condemning the idea of using one's body to satisfy the carnal desires present in society, while at night, he would use a woman during a sexual act to satisfy his own "carnal thirst."

In a philosophical and patriarchal society like Greece, prostitution—using one's beauty and body to satisfy those same "thinking" (and horny) men—was used by everyone but viewed with disgust. With this mentality, the prostitutes—the pornai (slaves working in state-run brothels established by Solon)—helped men satisfy their sexual instincts but were not part of society; they were considered merely objects for a purpose. Only the hetairae, cultured, free, and influential women (the high-end escorts of today), were allowed to participate in symposia with men (like the famous Aspasia, partner of Pericles). However, these women were not eligible for marriage and were also considered "not respectable," because a "proper" woman was one who joined with a man and looked after the home and family. In effect, the hetairae were too intelligent to be wives and too free to be citizens: they were the "necessary vice" of the elite, cultured enough to discuss politics, beautiful enough to satisfy the eye (and the body), but never "pure" enough to be part of society.

Ancient Rome.

Then came the Ancient Romans. The Romans were always a very pragmatic people in many aspects, often using logic instead of morality and philosophy. If they stayed in power for almost a millennium, it means they weren't exactly stupid.

With them, morality took a complete backseat. Prostitution "benefited" from this. This was the high point of prostitution in ancient history, perhaps in all of human history. The Romans had understood one fundamental thing: there was always a demand for such a service. At that point, the Roman legislator got smart and thought: "these women are going to open their legs anyway, and men are going to enter. We might as well profit from it!"

Sex in Ancient Rome was paid, legal, and regulated. Prostitution was a lawful activity (licentia stupri). Prostitutes had to register with the aediles (magistrates in charge of markets and public order). They received a certificate (licentia) and paid a specific tax: the vectigal ex capturis. If you think about it, Rome was effectively one of the first civilizations to systematically tax sex work.

Furthermore, prostitution was a necessary good to keep society together. Beyond satisfying sexual thirst, the Romans saw prostitution as a solution to adultery. The underlying idea was this: having sex with a prostitute was accepted, even within marriage, because prostitutes were considered infames—lacking civil rights. A Roman man could visit prostitutes without losing his honor, because honor resided in being "active." A woman, being an object, was not technically active. How can an object move on its own?

Even in Ancient Rome, there was contempt for the prostitute. They didn't condemn the act itself, but the fact that she (or he) made their body available to others for money, becoming a "tool" and losing the dignity of a free citizen. It was a case of "we use the service, but we want to feel superior to the one offering it."

However, there was an enormous contradiction—perhaps the most fascinating part that elevated prostitution to a very high level. A prostitute was an object (lacking rights), yet that same woman could earn money and become wealthy and influential. Paradoxically, in Ancient Rome, a prostitute—a "thing," like an amphora or a table—could not marry and was not part of Roman society, but she could influence an entire city if she accumulated the necessary wealth. High-end meretrices, in particular, could amass immense fortunes. Since they couldn't spend money on political offices, they invested in property and luxury, becoming very influential figures in circles that mattered, while technically remaining "excluded" from official society. I swear, I'm not joking. Sometimes Roman pragmatism makes no sense at all.

The Middle Ages: The "Necessary Evil"

The Roman Empire fell, the barbarians took control of Europe, and the shadow of the Catholic Church darkened the continent with its words and holy scriptures. During that period, the sacredness and indissolubility of the family were preached within the holy bond of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. In the Middle Ages, divorce was impossible. No one dared challenge the Catholic Church. It took centuries before Henry VIII was crazy enough to openly defy this dogma and win, but even he had to found his own church (the Anglican Church) just to get a divorce. That tells you everything about the moral dominance and influence of the Clergy.

The real big problem of that period was the men—violent and lustful beings. In that society, carnal pleasure was very intense.

That lust didn't stop at marriage; it continued. A married man couldn't keep his penis in his pants and stay faithful to the woman he had married. Truth be told, it was even difficult to be faithful because that meant loving and respecting a woman. If you had been forced to marry that woman for financial or political interests, love and passion were often lacking.

To prevent men from cheating on their wives—causing a scandal in society and dishonor to the family—the Catholic Church, following the thought of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas ("Remove prostitutes from the world and you will fill it with sodomy"), accepted prostitution. Let's say, rather, that they tolerated it. In the view of that period, prostitutes were considered an inevitable evil: like a sewer in a palace, they were necessary to prevent men's lust from destroying marriage and the family. The idea was that since "sin" was considered inevitable, it was better to control it and confine it to specific streets, away from "respectable" people. The Church considered the prostitute almost as an "evil that saves," because she protected virgins and honest wives from the aggression of men who couldn't control themselves.

There was only one problem: no man wanted to be seen visiting prostitutes. For society (not the Church), using a prostitute—a woman without rights or morals—was seen as incredibly immoral. Therefore, cities created the first municipal brothels, "secluded" places where the act was consumed away from prying eyes. Many European cities managed these types of public buildings to control order and hygiene, also profiting from taxes. The city always confined these brothels to dead-end alleys or working-class neighborhoods, far from noble palaces, providing the discretion necessary for the "virtuous" to sin without being seen.

The urban segregation didn't end there. Besides the brothels, prostitutes—not being considered equal to other "proper" women—had to distinguish themselves by wearing distinctive signs (such as a yellow ribbon, specific gloves, or a red hood) to be recognized from "honest women" (a concept that would be loved in Germany during the Nazi years). Furthermore, although they could walk in city centers, they were confined to living at the city's limits, near the walls, or even outside, in the case of very harsh laws.

The masterstroke, however, came from the clergy. In many cities (like London or Paris), brothels were under the jurisdiction of bishops or located on ecclesiastical land. Since those locations were often in the city center, the brothels were in the city center too. That is, the State tried to hide prostitution, while the Church almost "protected and indirectly promoted it." The most famous example is the Southwark district in London, where the brothels (called stews) were located on land owned by the Bishop of Winchester. Local prostitutes were ironically called "Winchester Geese." The bishops made enormous profits from the rents of these buildings, all while condemning sin from the pulpit. I used to think the Church in the Middle Ages was "absolutely against prostitution." In truth, it was a damn pragmatic state that knew the brutality of men and tried to keep it under control. If you think about it, the segregation was perpetuated by "sanctimonious" society, not by the Church.

Syphilis and Repression.

After the dark period of the Middle Ages, the air of the Renaissance began to blow. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the climate changed drastically, both for women and for prostitutes. If before everything was tolerated, from here on prostitution became evil incarnate. It was as if the devil had arrived on Earth to corrupt every woman on the planet, turning them into prostitutes. It almost seemed like there were prostitutes who had the cursed power to transform "proper women" into something "sinful." Unfortunately, it was the classic (more Greek than Roman) view of prostitution.

The modern age was truly the darkest period of human history, even if we talk about it as a "rebirth." It was a disaster created by the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther and Calvin. Luther and Calvin didn't just want to reform the Church; they wanted to "cleanse" society. The Reformation was a way to go against the "evil" Catholic Church, seen as corrupted by power and distant from original values. Luther called the Roman Church "the great whore," and in response, the reformers tried to create "pure" cities (like Calvin's Geneva), where social control was suffocating.

Which isn't strictly true. If you think about it, the witch hunts happened AFTER Martin Luther's reformation. Before, a woman was a resource for the city; she could work and could be very wealthy and powerful. Meanwhile, a prostitute could practice her profession—obviously with those looks of disapproval—but she could work.

The Reformation wiped everything away. It touched all aspects of life, transforming existence into something very extreme. Prostitution was hit too, as the Reformation brought a new wave of puritanism that condemned vice and closed brothels. For Protestants, marriage was the only place where sex was lawful, but only for procreation. Everything else was to be "rooted out."

The logical consequence was the closure of brothels, and thus the loss of any attempt at medical and sanitary control. Prostitution—and the entire idea of "sex for pleasure"—was driven underground, meaning it happened with unregulated partners in hygienically unsuitable places. This filth created fertile ground for the spread of venereal diseases, since men continued to put their penises everywhere and with everyone, only now they did it without "control" from the State or the Church. In fact, following the Reformation, we had a European-level health crisis (a pandemic). The result? An outbreak of Syphilis. The devastating spread of the "French Disease" for Italians, "Neapolitan Disease" for the French, "German Disease" for the Poles, and "Polish Disease" for the Russians, made thousands of innocent people sick and killed them, simply because their only "crime" was having sex. All because Luther decided to wipe out all the "progress" made in this part of daily life. That pandemic might not have spread if investment in brothels had continued. By closing them, the only rudimentary form of health tracking that existed was destroyed. Syphilis exploded because sex became invisible once it was decided that prostitution was evil incarnate.

With the puritanical mentality of the period, the blame for the pandemic was immediately pinned on those prostitutes and brothels untouched by the Reformation. At that moment, a prostitute was no longer just "immoral" but "infected," treated like "plague-spreaders" during the Black Death. The reaction was the closure of municipal brothels even in areas where the Lutheran Reformation hadn't hit, dramatically accelerating prostitution's descent into clandestinity... the very clandestinity that was the true accomplice of the disease.

The 19th Century: The Regulatory System.

With the birth of modern states, following the Enlightenment and the return to reason—where science was making strides in conquering society—we moved from a strictly extremist religious system to a modern one, where pragmatism, reason, and logic took control over ideology written in a book. This return to a mentality more Ancient Roman than Lutheran pushed prostitution forward in a positive sense. After the failure of Protestant prohibitionism (which had only caused epidemics and crime), the 19th-century State realized it had to "govern" the phenomenon.

France was a pioneer in this sense. Napoleon, though he caused massive epochal disasters (our terrifying 20th century is partly his fault), was the precursor of the modern state model. In France, prostitutes were registered, subjected to mandatory medical examinations, and confined to "maisons closes" (closed houses—so-called because the shutters had to remain closed for discretion). Napoleon revived the reasoning of the Ancient Romans and the Middle Ages, took the best of both worlds, and enacted a very progressive reform.

This model was exported by Napoleon via his military campaigns. While Napoleon's armies marched through Europe, they didn't just bring cannons, but also the Civil Code and police officials. Every time Napoleon created a new satellite state (like the Kingdom of Italy or the Confederation of the Rhine), he imposed French laws, including those on prostitution. When Napoleon fell and the Restoration occurred, the one thing that wasn't "restored" was the old conception of the prostitute. The Napoleonic reform stayed. Many European sovereigns and governments, even after Napoleon's fall in 1815, decided to keep his system. Why was it kept? For three pragmatic reasons.

First, the registry of prostitutes allowed the State to monitor not just the women, but also the marginalized environments and potential criminals who frequented brothels, reducing crime and allowing for quick, effective intervention. Second, in a pre-antibiotic era, mandatory medical checks (even if rudimentary) seemed the only barrier against epidemics. Finally, the system allowed the State to collect regular revenue through licenses and taxes on "houses of tolerance."

It sounds like a great way to regulate prostitution, but there was one big problem. The problem was that women were inspected from head to toe, but the clients were not. In a period of social turmoil, where women were beginning to demand equal treatment and rights, it was a real slap in the face. It was as if to say: prostitutes are the only ones who can harm public health, because men are perfect. Women like Josephine Butler in England began to fight against this gender discrimination. Her protest didn't stem from a desire to ban paid sex, but from anger at seeing the State treat women as merchandise to be inspected, totally ignoring the responsibility of the clients who—being human—could transmit diseases and sexual infections to a woman. This was a raw nerve, because until then, the mentality was that a prostitute goes with everyone because it’s her job, while a man goes with a prostitute and his wife... a wife who was always considered faithful. So, in the society of the time, it was the woman who ran the most risks.

Toward Abolitionism.

Do you want to know where this struggle led? To equality? Yes, but in the sense that prostitution was completely abolished. Do you want to know whose idea it was to abolish it? Men, who hate free women? No, prostitutes have always been very useful to men. Abolition came from "virtuous" women, who saw legal prostitution as something offensive, thinking they were liberating those women from social slavery, convinced they were restoring the social and moral dignity lost for centuries. The 20th century effectively marked the end of state management of sex in many Western countries. Paradoxically, this was the darkest century in human history regarding paid sex, despite our boasting of being progressive.

Thanks to those "forward-thinking" women (like Merlin in Italy), prostitution is now largely illegal across the world. Even today, in the "first world," there are laws prohibiting everyone from engaging in prostitution, creating places for it, or helping someone do it. Paid sex was wiped out by women who caused even more damage than the worst bigoted men.

Aside from the fact that the idea of not allowing an individual the possibility of choice is horrific, the illegality—which was sold as the "liberation of women from the sexual chains imposed by males"—has led to women actually being in chains, being exploited to make money through clandestine prostitution. Even if paid sex is illegal, it doesn't mean the demand has been wiped out. In a free market governed by the law of supply and demand, if there is someone demanding, someone will offer—even if it is a dark offer, hidden in the dim corners and the shadows of the night.

Furthermore—and this is pure comedy—there are women who love this profession, who want to be treated as an integral part of society, but they cannot practice the profession in total safety because those very same women, with their laws, have ensured a lack of rules and structures. While we persist in seeing every prostitute as a victim to be saved, we ignore those who claim sex as work, condemning them to the same clandestinity where true criminality hides.

Not only do we have abolitionism, but we’ve even invented different models.

The "Turn a Blind Eye" Abolitionist Model (The Italian Model): Prostitution itself is not a crime, but all collateral activities like aiding and abetting, exploitation, and managing brothels are illegal. It’s basically like cancer: to fight the diseased part, you export the entire organ. The model is based on the principle that the State shouldn't regulate paid sex, but shouldn't punish those who practice it either. In this sense, a woman can have sex and take money, but there are no laws protecting prostitutes or clients, and the State effectively looks the other way. Furthermore, a prostitute cannot pay taxes because there is no law regulating their taxation, and they can't even get a mortgage because prostitution officially doesn't exist as a job. So you are technically unemployed, perhaps earning a thousand euros a day. The State is hypocritical enough to complain about "illicit earnings" (working under the table) but won't recognize your dignity as a worker to give you a mortgage or a pension, even if you demand it loudly.

The Nordic Model (Neo-Prohibitionism): The great "wise" populations of the North like Sweden and Norway (whom we consider ahead in everything) decided to be terrible here. In this model, you don't punish the person selling sex (seen as the vulnerable party), but you penalize the client. The goal is to discourage demand to gradually eliminate the market. This model is hilarious because a prostitute is a being to be protected because they are weak (mentally too), yet they can still decide to prostitute themselves; however, whoever uses that person for sex is punished because they are "exploiting" a weak person who has VOLUNTARILY decided to engage in paid sex. It’s like saying a restaurant can open and serve tables, but we punish whoever eats in that restaurant. Needless to say, such a model doesn't work because a VOLUNTARY prostitute can still decide to work and, since private property is sacred, they can carry out their activity in their own home or visit the client. Problem bypassed.

Total Prohibitionism (USA/China Model): In the two economic superpowers, both the sale and purchase of sexual services are illegal and criminally prosecuted. Setting aside China, which is a world unto itself, the United States is wonderful. The USA is the world capital of pornography, an American founded OnlyFans, and yet prostitution is illegal. Basically, if you masturbate behind a screen after paying a fee, it's all fine, but doing it in a hotel room with a paid woman is illegal. Even better, in Nevada, prostitution is legal and regulated in some counties (the famous Ranches). Even in the most puritanical country, if prostitution is properly regulated, it brings more benefits than problems.

The only intelligent States in this sense are the Germans and the Dutch. Prostitution is legal and treated as a profession. Those who practice it pay taxes, have access to social security, and work in authorized structures. Is it really that hard to use common sense like the Germans and the Dutch?

The Advantages.

History has clearly stated that having sex for money is something undesirable. It is tolerated, but not accepted as a job. We accept a thousand genders (non-binary & Co.), we help people change their sex, we accept digital sex work, we’ve even given gay people the possibility to marry, but a woman cannot earn money by having good sex. Now I was wondering: if we suddenly took a hit to the head and adopted the Ancient Roman model (incredible as it sounds) and adapted it to the modern world (with all the freedoms, rights, and duties a woman has gained), what would prostitution look like?

Taxes.

Prostitutes in Ancient Rome were required to pay a tax to practice their profession. If considered in a modern context, prostitutes should also pay taxes. This would imply the State creating specific tax laws for prostitutes, allowing them to contribute to the upkeep of the State like any other profession. Through taxes, the State would stop being judgmental and finally say: "We recognize your activity as a real economic service and a social service to the citizen. We recognize that you contribute to the community, and in exchange, you will receive protection." This might seem like an insignificant detail, but in the modern world, paying taxes is the 'passport' to legality: it’s what transforms a person from a ghost on the street to a taxpayer with rights.

Profession.

Paying taxes implies the need to declare annual earnings. If income is declared, it means a prostitute would be considered a self-employed professional under the law. This means they would work with a VAT number and issue invoices. If that happened, prostitution would be equated with any other manual trade, like a painter, a shopkeeper, or any other freelancer. Furthermore, with prostitution becoming a free activity, a prostitute or a group of prostitutes could even think about creating companies in this sector, reopening those "closed houses" that were shuttered decades ago or creating a entirely new business idea (given the advent of the internet) linked to this trade. We would finally stop living in a world where the escort agencies that exist now are disguised as modeling agencies.

Professional recognition brings not only personal dignity but a logistical necessity: the need for safe, compliant, and regulated places to welcome clients. Currently, without a law on prostitution, the workplace is a bush, a car, or who knows where else. With a State certification that the job exists, places must be found, furnished, and staff hired to keep the business running. But how do you get the funds for your own cozy, protected space?

Property.

If a prostitute pays taxes, it means the State recognizes that activity. This is perhaps the fundamental piece of the entire modern problem. If you think about it, the only thing that guarantees the legality of something is taxes. If you pay taxes on your work or your property, it means that work and property are legitimate and socially accepted.

A prostitute doesn't have this luxury. They don't pay taxes because their work isn't accepted by the law. Without a document certifying income, you are invisible to modern society, even if you exist on the civil registry. With fiscal recognition from the State—and thus recognition of the source of the income itself—you become legal and legitimate. These two conditions are fundamental not just for your dignity, but in any credit institution. With a document certifying that what you do is recognized by the State, you could calmly sit in a bank and fill out the paperwork for a mortgage or a loan needed for your business, without any problem at all. Even better: if a credit institution refuses to grant credit just because you are a prostitute, you can easily sue them for discrimination. You wouldn't have to find loopholes or go through a thousand bureaucratic hoops just to get a ten-thousand-euro loan for a new car. The job is regulated. With this legality, you can go to the bank, show your bank statements from recent months without fear, and get what you need.

It’s not just your profession that benefits. Legality allows for taking out mortgages for your personal life. Work is great, but we all need a roof over our heads, that place we can call home where we can live and collect our lives, and a car to move around autonomously. By eliminating the drama of having to justify income that, for the State, currently doesn't exist, hundreds, if not thousands of people would be given the opportunity to live a healthy life in the light of day.

Security.

A regulated job implies the existence of standards established by a chamber of commerce for that profession. There is a chamber for judges, for lawyers, for architects, and for all professions. If prostitution were regulated, there would be established standards that are equal for everyone (professionals and clients) to ensure compliant environments, rigorous hygiene protocols, and contractual protections. Currently, one might go with a prostitute, but they have no idea what hygienic conditions she brings with her. The same goes for the client: a professional is not required to ask the client for a medical certificate because this standard simply does not exist.

With a chamber of commerce for prostitution, we would have protected and safe sex. Both a prostitute and the client must ensure they are "clean," helping to prevent those venereal diseases still in circulation. Furthermore, since it is her place of work, the prostitute must guarantee contraceptives (such as condoms).

Security does not just concern health, but also violence. Currently, on the street, you never know who you might encounter. Everything could go well, or it could end badly, landing you in the hospital or the morgue. Under current rules, there are laws against violence toward women, but because prostitution is involved, there is a risk that justice will not take its course as it should. Today, clandestinity is the best ally of violent offenders; legalization, on the other hand, would guarantee the victim the full right to report a crime without the fear of being treated like a criminal. A prostitute is not a criminal, yet even today, she is not seen as an "equal citizen."

Furthermore, with well-defined locations, it would be possible to hire personnel responsible for the physical safety of professionals. If a client fails to respect behavioral rules, security intervenes and removes them, followed by a report for assault.

Ending Criminality.

Currently, girls are controlled by unscrupulous people who exploit them. These girls often come from degraded and poor backgrounds, thinking that a "pimp" (male or female) can help them find their way in the world. Needless to say, that doesn’t happen. These poor girls are captured, exploited, and often killed.

If everything were regulated, a girl could open a VAT number, work from home, or collaborate with an established company and earn her own money. Everything would be out in the open and criminality would disappear. A girl, no matter how "poor and in difficulty" she might be, would no longer need a pimp, as she could work legally and gain a chance at a different life—or she could do it all on her own. In the case of independent work, it would be enough to pay the registration fees to the tax authorities and hire a bodyguard, and everything would go smoothly. This isn't a difficult feat, given that the potential to earn a thousand euros a day is there.

The Market.

Imagine a closed environment with ten professionals. Do you know how much money the State could earn? A brothel would be a literal waterfall of cash.

Consider the salaries. Every woman working in that place receives a salary that she will spend. Every cent spent by that professional represents VAT collected by the State. Furthermore, every purchase made constitutes an investment in another company, helping it survive. Then, that worker has to pay bills, which means further revenue for the State. Additionally, the professional contributes to the pension and healthcare systems, and so on.

And speaking of professionals: there are many adult girls who study but cannot support their education, or they are unemployed and need to pay rent. If prostitution were legal, they could open a VAT number, post advertisements, and earn enough to support themselves, without having to go to the State to ask for welfare. And it wouldn't even be immoral, as the State has authorized it. The beauty of it is that many could end their experience in this sector as soon as they find a good career job. No prostitute does this work forever, but it is an excellent way to cover the gaps if one is at home doing nothing and doesn't know how to pay the bills. Or, it could actually become a career. Who knows!

Now let’s look at the company itself. It must pay taxes for every single worker, pay the bills, the rent or mortgage, security, cleaning, and the tools of the trade, all while investing to expand. Try to imagine how many people would revolve around a brothel and have a job just because ten women are working in paid sex.

Final Thoughts.

Prostitution has always existed since the times of ancient kingdoms. We have tried to tolerate it, abolish it, and make it illegal. Nothing has worked. In fact, we have only made the situation worse, forcing women to practice this profession in precarious—if not non-existent—hygienic and safety conditions.

At this point, why not legalize everything? Let’s allow people to do what they want with their own bodies. Let’s show the world that paid sex is a transaction between consenting adults that doesn’t need to be hidden, but regulated.

As a citizen, I believe this represents a great step toward that freedom we desire so much. For the State, it would mean billions in tax revenue that could be reinvested in healthcare, education, or, paradoxically, in centers for the protection of women who are victims of actual trafficking.

Plus, just imagine the idea of saying, "We renovated this church with money coming from carnal pleasure!" Quite a show!

M.