I never liked it when prostitution laws were enforced, partly because sex workers already have so much to deal with, why also add cops breathing down their necks to their burdens? I always thought it should be legal because they needed the money and were not hurting anyone other than possibly themselves. And I don't think the government has a right to step in when it comes to protecting yourself from yourself. Also, if the industry was regulated, it could be much safer.
Then I read this article and realize my previous perception of prostitution was based on a capitalist system. In a free market, everything is a commodity. In poverty, people do desperate things. The wide gap between rich and poor doesn't help either, because it sets up the former to exploit the latter. (Is it really necessary that a CEO make 50 times what the average worker does??) But what if poverty doesn't warrant the need for desperate measures? What happens then?
That is the case with Iceland. Of course, there are a lot of factors at play, like the women in power. I am just saying that the two go hand in hand: (sexual) objectification and economic equality. I am starting to think socialism creates a much more civilized society. A quick google search proves me right about Iceland: It has one of the smallest gaps between rich and poor and one of the lowest rates of poverty in Europe.
God, Iceland is so ahead of us it's depressing. Their prime minister is lesbian, and people here launch massive campaigns to deny gay and bisexual rights.
I especially love the quote in the article, because it confirms what I have thought for a long time. We need more women in power. Men have done this for too long, we need a more balanced perspective:
Once you break past the glass ceiling and have more than one third of female politicians, something changes. Feminist energy seems to permeate everything.
-Halldórsdóttir Kolbrún, the Iceland politician who proposed the ban
No comments:
Post a Comment