Is there anyone out there who actually believes that prostitutes do what they do because they LIKE it?

a tiny minority maybe.

The reason for why a woman is a sex worker are likely as many as there are prostitutes. I don’t know. There are many different situations people are in. They sure do it for money. I am sure there are clients they enjoy being with.

I’d say that most of them wouldn’t do it if they saw a choice.

I don’t believe that ALL, or even MOST prostitutes do it because they enjoy it.
But I wouldn’t say that NO prostitutes enjoy it.

As with any job. There have to be people who hate it, people who dislike it, people who don’t mind it, and people who love it.

He probably needs the fantasy.

Sure! And garbagemen do it because they love the fetid stench, too.

@laureth That doesn’t feel like an appropriate comparison since, y’know, people actually DO have sex for fun (with money not being part of the equation). I don’t know anyone who collects garbage for fun (with money not being part of the equation).

edit: and if you meant it in regards to my There have to be people who hate it, people who dislike it, people who don’t mind it, and people who love it. statement.. There are plenty of other aspects to enjoy about it. Fairly simple job, get to keep to yourself, nothing particiularly difficult. If youv’e got a weak sense of smell, it’s not horrible.

@Sarcasm I have a weak sense of smell. It helps in dealing with prostitutes, too.

Is it possible to imagine any woman (or man, for that matter) who wants to have bad sex with ten or so different strangers per day? Not from where I sit.

I can imagine that some of them aren’t right in the head, and may, in fact, enjoy giving away a part of their most intimate selves to hundreds of strangers.

@Facade In fairness, just because “giving away a part of their most intimate selves to hundreds of strangers” isn’t something you can imagine someone enjoying, doesn’t necessarily mean those who do enjoy it “aren’t right in the head,” IMO. They may just be very, very different from you…

I can’t imagine they do it for fun. Perhaps they don’t think they have the skills for other jobs, low self esteem, who knows.

I also wonder about the sort of men who use their service, what does it say about them?

The prostitute and the customer are sad cases in my mind.

I always wonder if those who defend it would be proud to say my mother, sister, daughter, wife (or the male counterpart) is a sex worker, isn’t that wonderful!

I know sex workers who enjoy their jobs so yeah I am one of the believers

To those who don’t believe prostitutes enjoy their jobs, what do you think about porn actors/actresses (This is anyone who posts sexual videos. Whether it’s with strangers, with their SO or by themselves)?

I think a lot of them like it better than working long hours at a minimum wage job just to barely scrape by

I think it completely depends on what kind of prostitutes we’re talking about here. If you’re specifically talking about the kind that literally walk the streets, then no, I don’t believe for a second that any one of them like it. I could be wrong, of course, but I’ve studied it somewhat and the statistics and personal accounts from prostitutes does not equate to “I enjoy my job”. A lot of them are runaways, a lot of them are addicted to drugs, and most of them were sexually abused as children or young teens. Most of them are controlled by pimps, which leads to their own money being taken away and them being physically and mentally abused.

Now, if you’re talking about the kind of prostitutes who get jobs somewhere like Nevada, or countries where similar kind of “houses” are legal, then I think the statistics change somewhat and you’ll definitely find a higher number of women who actually enjoy their jobs. Most of them aren’t doing it to support a drug habit, they don’t have to worry about AIDS or STDs, they have no one taking their money – except the establishment they work for, and even then, it’s not nearly as much as a pimp would take. That said, a lot of the women who choose that kind of profession also still have a history of sexual abuse. That doesn’t automatically mean they chose the job because of issues that may or may not be directly related to the abuse, but it does raise the question. Porn stars almost always have a history of sexual abuse, too.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. Generally, nothing is black and white.

@everyone Just to let you all know, I did not post the above comment. My goober bf @jaketheripper, thought he was being funny.

As for the question..idk if I really have an opinion.

@sarcasm My husband takes recycling out of the garbage for fun. Close enough?

We had a sex worker come speak at our class when I was in college. She enjoyed her job and she seriously promoted the idea that it wasn’t “wrong”. I’ve also watched shows about the Bunny Ranch where some women insist they like their job.

Personally even among women who say they enjoy it I wouldn’t say that I believe they enjoy the sex-work but instead they enjoy getting money for sex. Or that many people choose to enjoy their work because they feel it is their only real option.

This man your talking with however sounds like he is part of this new culture of porn where many many men insist the women “like it”. And many of these men say that they would perform certain sexual acts in their relationships or hook-ups even when a woman doesn’t ask/agree to them because she is to shy to say she wants it or likes it. It is really a scary phenomenon. And yes it is very real and documented.

and in general how many people out there like their jobs – I know tons of people with ‘proper’ jobs who just hate it and they dread it and get nothing out of it and don’t contribute in any positive way to society, whatsoever

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Now that is a good point

the ones in the brothels in nevada also are not at as much risk of getting beaten up or abused as the ones out on the streets. also, i live not far from NYC and when i drive through Hunts Point in the winter, or see whores in the city, they stand outside in the winter in negligees and spike heels. they must be freezing. i don’t know how they do it. i would not think that’s too enjoyable. i agree with what gailcalled said: bad sex with strangers, strangers who may smell, are weird, have bad teeth, the list goes on.

Some people are masochists, some people like being abused because its the only thing that makes them feel alive. Some people like being self destructive. “like” is a very ambigious word.

And i agree with Simone, very few people really enjoy their jobs. Even if you are a complete nympho , you would not possibly enjoyng fucking any guy who wants to pay you for sex.

I don’t think all the men who visit sex workers are sad. Sometimes, maybe its just more convenient for them than the money spent on having a relationship that he doesn’t want.

I recall a call girl from my youth arguing with a nurse about career choices. The call girl, Robin – a friend (no I never had any sexual involvement with her) who owned a penthouse apartment and drove an E-Type Jaguar – an impressive car in those days – was arguing with Sophie another friend who was a nurse. The summary was “I can have sex with any man I select and be paid extremely well, but there is no amount of money existing that would make me clean faeces, urine and vomit as a part of my everyday work-life. You earn more respect – I earn more money – and I am required to do less that is of an offensive nature than you do.”

However I believe that most street hookers are sad little drug addicts trapped in a world of unbelievable risk and depression. I doubt that they enjoy their lives or their work.

Did anyone see the BBC programmes where Stephen Fry drove around America (in a taxi cab!) meeting people from various walks of life? Well, he went to a brothel (I forget what state it was in now) and spoke to one prostitue who claimed to enjoy her job and wad aware that she could easily get another job but chose not to. Stephen Fry asked her if she orgasmed with her clients and she said that she often orgasmed.

Now, I’m not saying that she wasn’t lying for the camera but I actually believed that she did enjoy her job. She was working from a fairly decent looking brothel which kept her off the streets. I believe everything was perfectly legal and she claimed to have regular health checks.

I’d imagine that prostitues like her are in the minority but there are so many people in the world working in the sex industry that I’m there are a few that enjoy (or at least don’t hate) the job.

I think that there are many who wants to believe they enjoy it and are happy, and I think there are many who wants to believe that they hate it or are mentally ill.

I think that we should ask prostitutes. My bets are that it’s a far more complex question than it appears.

If someone will bankroll me, I’d be more than willing to do the research on this question.

Do owning a penthouse and a Jag have anything to do with real contentment? Not for me, the only person I can speak about.

@all. Great answers, everyone!
@Sarcasm You said, “To those who don’t believe prostitutes enjoy their jobs, what do you think about porn actors/actresses (This is anyone who posts sexual videos. Whether it’s with strangers, with their SO or by themselves)?” They make those videos for the money. The money comes from the men who watch the movies for sexual gratification. Sure, some women watch porn, but I wonder, if you walked into an XXX Movie house how many women would be there. Probably none. Again, they’re making those movies because they need the money. I’m sure many of them are aspiring actresses, but aren’t good enough to get any other kind of roll.

“but aren’t good enough to get any other kind of roll.”

You’re not talking about a bagel, I guess, but an acting part (role)?

@gailcalled LOL! Damn!! I’m embarrassed! But at least I pronounced it right!

Roll = roll in the hay, I thought it was a pun and not a bad one at that!!!

@rooeytoo Oh! That’s what it was! Really! A bad attempt at a joke, not, um, a literary screw up! Really! I did it on purpose! Whew! Bailed me out! Thank you!

this is how they roll!!