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I take exception to the claim that being against casual sex is to be anti-sex in general. Having a single, dedicated sexual partner as a spouse is plenty suffic

I take exception to the claim that being against casual sex is to be anti-sex in general. Having a single, dedicated sexual partner as a spouse is plenty sufficient to satisfy the human need for sexuality, and can provide a deeper, richer sexual experience from mutual knowledge, trust, and practice. I am staunchly against sex work of all stripes. It's degrading, it frequently brings out the ugliest sides of humanity. Sexual motive is among the first considerations in a murder, and the 'profession' attracts crime regardless of legality. Sex work is actively deleterious to the human condition. Standing in opposition to sex work is, in fact, standing in favor of safe and positive sex. While I agree that the law should, in general, stay out of the bedroom, money IS a matter of, indeed, a direct appendage of law. By bringing cash into sex, you have invited the law in, and saying that a commercial act so tied to health and public safety should be unregulated is preposterous. Would you disband the FDA because they won't let Joe Entrepreneur start a pufferfish sashimi shop with no regulation or certification? Edit, copied from below to support the first paragraph: Studies I've seen cite 20% of married men have committed at least one act of infidelity, and that the current percentage is almost twice what it was in the seventies. That seems to me like the vast majority of couples get along just fine in a monogamous relationship, and that culture has more to do with infidelity than primal need.

havetocharge 9y ago
> a spouse is plenty sufficient to satisfy the human need for sexuality I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, defining humanity's sexual needs.
- OtterCoder 9y ago
  And you are sufficiently qualified? And willing to insist that sex work is essential to human happiness?
  - havetocharge 9y ago
    Where did I say, or even imply anything about sex work? Extramarital prevalence alone is in stark contrast with your assertions.
    - OtterCoder 9y ago
      I'd like to see a citation for the prevalence of adultery. Studies I've seen cite 20% of married men have committed at least one act of infidelity, and that the current percentage is almost twice what it was in the seventies. That seems to me like the vast majority of couples get along just fine in a monogamous relationship, and that culture has more to do with infidelity than primal need.
      - jacobolus 9y ago
        The culture of enforced monogamy also involved closeted gay people getting married to people they had no sexual relationship with and hiding their real relationships, rampant alcoholism and domestic violence, many depressed and anxious people stuck in relationships they were unhappy in but felt social pressure not to leave, women with out-of-wedlock children and people who (for any number of reasons) never wanted to get married being ostracized by their communities, women systematically excluded from many careers and positions of social/political power, trusted institutions like the Catholic church covering up large-scale sexual abuse of children, etc. etc. Cherrypicking a single summary statistic gives a far too rosy impression of past sexual/family culture. Ultimately if you go back far enough the original purpose of sexual mores related to marriage were primarily about clarifying and maintaining patriarchal land inheritance and designating women and children as chattel of the male head of household.
        OtterCoder 9y ago
        If I'm cherry-picking, you're strictly appealing to emotion. Are you suggesting that the gay population, which is between 2-6% of Americans, plenty of whom are also monogamous (75% of male homosexuals, by recent estimates), are a major factor in a 10% uptick in infidelity in the general population? Are you possibly suggesting that abuse never gets inflicted on prostitutes, and that reducing them to human chattel, as their bodies are bought and sold, has improved their lot?
        jacobolus 9y ago

havetocharge 9y ago

> a spouse is plenty sufficient to satisfy the human need for sexuality I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, defining humanity's sexual needs.

OtterCoder 9y ago
And you are sufficiently qualified? And willing to insist that sex work is essential to human happiness?
- havetocharge 9y ago
  Where did I say, or even imply anything about sex work? Extramarital prevalence alone is in stark contrast with your assertions.
  - OtterCoder 9y ago
    I'd like to see a citation for the prevalence of adultery. Studies I've seen cite 20% of married men have committed at least one act of infidelity, and that the current percentage is almost twice what it was in the seventies. That seems to me like the vast majority of couples get along just fine in a monogamous relationship, and that culture has more to do with infidelity than primal need.
    - jacobolus 9y ago
      The culture of enforced monogamy also involved closeted gay people getting married to people they had no sexual relationship with and hiding their real relationships, rampant alcoholism and domestic violence, many depressed and anxious people stuck in relationships they were unhappy in but felt social pressure not to leave, women with out-of-wedlock children and people who (for any number of reasons) never wanted to get married being ostracized by their communities, women systematically excluded from many careers and positions of social/political power, trusted institutions like the Catholic church covering up large-scale sexual abuse of children, etc. etc. Cherrypicking a single summary statistic gives a far too rosy impression of past sexual/family culture. Ultimately if you go back far enough the original purpose of sexual mores related to marriage were primarily about clarifying and maintaining patriarchal land inheritance and designating women and children as chattel of the male head of household.
      - OtterCoder 9y ago
        If I'm cherry-picking, you're strictly appealing to emotion. Are you suggesting that the gay population, which is between 2-6% of Americans, plenty of whom are also monogamous (75% of male homosexuals, by recent estimates), are a major factor in a 10% uptick in infidelity in the general population? Are you possibly suggesting that abuse never gets inflicted on prostitutes, and that reducing them to human chattel, as their bodies are bought and sold, has improved their lot?
        jacobolus 9y ago