Would You Sell Your Body To Make Ends Meet?

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 10:33 am: [report]

What about literally selling your body? How much are kidneys going for these days?

Jessica Wakeman
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 10:52 am: [report]

This is why sex work should be decriminalized. Women (and men, too, I’d guess) with no experience whatsoever, no idea what to expect, going onto Craigslist sounds extremely dangerous to me. If it were legalized and regulated, one would hope selling one’s body for money could be made safer in a lot of ways.

I don’t really like how Clark-Flory phrased sex work as “such a choice,” that middle-class people are just now deigning to do it. Sex work *always* as a career exists for a lot of people and I don’t think it’s necessarily something to be ashamed of.

Raugiel
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 10:52 am: [report]

@CheeeeEEEEse - Not as much of a joke as you might think! When my BF was in college, he sold plasma as often as the law allowed to make ends meet.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 11:01 am: [report]

@Raugiel: My dad sold blood, since then I’ve never seen cosh for blood deals or I would have been doing it too, sperm as well (But their weeding out process is difficult as I’m not 6’2” with a chiseled jaw).

sadie
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 11:46 am: [report]

Women can fetch a pretty penny for selling their eggs.

I would probably not be a prostitute (along with a lot of other jobs I probably wouldn’t do) but I have nothing against prostitution and think it should be legalized.

resullins
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 12:34 pm: [report]

@Jessica: I agree. If society is going to relagate the sex industry to the allies and sleazy motels, that’s where it’s going to stay. Right there with the rats, the AIDS, the abusive pimps, and the drugs.

I still feel weird about the government trying to regulate my use of my body in any way. I’m pretty sure I’d never turn to actual prostitution, nor could I sell my eggs… but a kidney, why not?

writergirl
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 12:39 pm: [report]

No. Mainly because I probably wouldn’t be good at it.  And you know, if you are going to take a position, then you should at least be able to perform in the more-than-adequate range.

chouette
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:28 pm: [report]

I’ll just say up front that I believe prostitution is wrong, so my solution to this is
1. move somewhere cheaper and spend less money
2. find a different job. ANY job. cleaning bathrooms, selling french fries, whatever.  I realize there are always people in horrible situations who feel there is no other way, but for everyone else: just find something that isn’t this.  Just because you make lots of $$ quickly doesn’t make it right.  IMO.

mlyway
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:33 pm: [report]

During this recession it is incredibly hard to get financial aid to attend for college. And Obama highly suggests waiting a couple of years. As if that is reasonable and possible for most students. If it comes down to it by August, I would sell my eggs and/or become a part-time stripper. Education is key, and I am going to college—whether or not the economy is good.

PinkRanger
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:43 pm: [report]

“Sex industry” is a pretty broad field of course, but in terms of prostitution there is not way I could do it. Mentally, I’m not strong enough *too many insecurities, anxieties yadda yadda yadda not to mention the mental trauma many prostitutes experience*, and it’s an extremely dangerous job. If it was legalized I agree that it would be less dangerous in many ways, but I have mixed feelings about it. I feel that STDs are a huge societal issue, and legalizing prostitution could, in many ways, encourage the spread of STDs and HIV. Even condoms aren’t 100% all the time. As I said, mixed feelings….

chouette
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:47 pm: [report]

@mlyway Just out of curiosity, why choose stripping over, say, waiting tables or babysitting?

neverwake
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:48 pm: [report]

LOL w/writergirl

No question I would do it. Probably the online stuff, and pick a niche where a lot of people I know wouldn’t go wandering.. :p
In fact I would do it now, but my boyfriend wouldn’t look so fondly upon it, haha!

resullins
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:48 pm: [report]

@Pink: you’re right, I too, have mixed feelings. But the way I look at it, if someone REALLY wants a prostitute, they’re going to get one. Them going to some skank on the corner is going to spread HIV a lot faster than if he went to one that used safe practices. The instances of STD’s at regulated and “safe” brothels are far less than that of back-alley prostitutions.

And most of the people that aren’t going to pay for sex now won’t pay for it if it was legal… I just think it would be safer.

resullins
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:53 pm: [report]

@chouette: During college, I worked as a bartender, barista, waitress, and yes, a stripper. Being a stripper was the only one that actually gave me enough to sleep, eat and get my homework done. It might have been a poor choice, but it got me through a four year college where I graduated with 192 credit hours, and averaged 3 hours of sleep even when I wasn’t working.

Then again, my motto has also often been “work smart, not hard.” I don’t agree with being a lazy ass, but kissing stranger’s asses for 10% tips in the sh*tty economy while on your feet all day and getting paid $2.50/hr is NOT the better choice in my eyes.

mlyway
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 01:57 pm: [report]

@chouette well I would do waitressing, etc. in addition but you know strippers tend to make more money per hour. And being a full-time student only leaves so much time when I have over $20,000 I need to accumulate. And I have done modeling before so that’s an easy way to get money..but stripping is a last resort for me.

And plus, stripping is easier than being a waitress…although I would never do anything illegal or that involves sex because I think that type of stuff draws the line between degrading women.

pornqueen
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 02:11 pm: [report]

I would only do it if the other party was, you know, good looking, killer body, large/thick member, financially stable, with a house, cars, but then again someone like that will not be paying for sex most likely, so that leaves me with Yes, i will do it but he gotta be cute, loaded,live in his own place and drive nice cars.  Otherwise no, not that I’m not good at it, but because I gotta enjoy it also.  I don’t want to do it with an unattractive person.  It doesn’t matter if I’m getting paid or not. I just know I’m going to get so much crap for this, oh well!

chouette
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 02:11 pm: [report]

@ resullins and @ mlyway: I can see where you’re both coming from, and am not trying to judge.  The problem is that I think stripping DOES degrade women.  It would never, ever be an option for me, period.  I’ve had this discussion before and maybe I just have puritanical beliefs on this subject, but my motto would have to be “find another way”. 

That said, it isn’t exactly the same as prostitution, which was the original object of the article.  But I think furthering an industry that abuses women is something that should avoided at all costs.

chouette
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 02:13 pm: [report]

*should be aoided

Alexa
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 04:32 pm: [report]

For the love of whatever deity you worship, can we PLEASE stop calling it “selling your BODY?”  When you sell something, you transfer ownership of it.  Those who sell sex DO NOT sell their bodies.  We may rent them out, but we sell their time and/or services, not our bodies.  The last time I checked, I bring mine home with me after each appointment.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 05:34 pm: [report]

@Alexa: Then if your body is a parking meter, where do I put the change?

sportzriter13
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 07:07 pm: [report]

at least this woman is trying to find a job and be a productive member of society. I wouldn’t do it, but I’ll give her credit. there are people who’d probably stop working and hop on the gravy train in those circumstances.
*gets on soapbox*
Sex between two CONSENTING ADULTS should be legal, whether or not money is exchanged. I feel that prostitution should be legalized AND regulated. That way, law enforcement can better prosecute traffikers/abusive pimps (women could come forward without legal repercussions), health officals can better contain the spread of disease (mandatory testing). Let’s face it, no law(s) will ever stop the “world’s oldest profession”.
*gets off soapbox*

mlyway
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 07:20 pm: [report]

@chouette..I do think that stripping degrades women somewhat but in the society that we live in, some women should seize this unfortunate opportunity in order to get ahead (if it’s meant to be a temporary purpose in order to further education or get back on your feet, then I say go for it). Men could not take the same sort of steps when faced in dire situations—but more often women are left being single mothers—more so than men are being single dads..so some women need to find some way of supporting themselves. But I think it is not a job you want to make long-term and certainly not a career. But everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

Sonic
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 07:44 pm: [report]

I don’t agree that legalizing sex work would make it more regulated.  I feel like a lot of people have this mindset against prostitutes and wouldn’t give much of a damn if one was hurt or raped or killed by their clients.  “Well, she was a hooker…what did she expect, you know?” would be the kind of remarks that would pop up. 

I probably wouldn’t do sex work because of the dangers involved (the kind of men you would service, the diseases you could catch, and feeling guilty about doing it) but stripping is something I would consider if the situation really became bad because I feel like you can make a lot of money really quickly.

Alexa
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 07:50 pm: [report]

@Sonic, by definition, legalizing prostitution would make it more regulated.  Some people advocate decriminalizing it, which would simply remove all laws prohibiting it, and that would not involve regulation. 

I’ve done both stripping and professional sex, and I find stripping to be much more “degrading” (to the extent that I find either of them degrading to begin with).  With stripping, the customers pick you and you have little choice in the matter.  With professional sex (done correctly), I select who I see.  I’ve never once been treated badly by a client, felt threatened, or felt used.

Sonic
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 08:01 pm: [report]

@ Alexa:  I guess I should have worded it better:  I agree that there would be regulations in place because sex work would be considered another job, but the cynic in me does not believe those regulations would be upheld.  I don’t believe people would be able to overlook their prejudices to protect prostitutes.  It’s like how police officers didn’t do their best to protect doctors who perform abortions in rural areas even though the MDs are doing legal, lawful work and technically should have been afforded better protection.  I would love to be proven wrong, but I am a pessimist by nature. 

I can see your point about the stripping being more degrading.  I don’t know which would really feel more degrading because I haven’t done either, but I guessed it would be the stripping simply because I wouldn’t have to have sex, which seems like a more intimate activity to me.

luvlost
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:41 pm: [report]

well as much as i hate to admit it if times got so bad to where it was either sell my body or be out on the streets starving i would sell my body

Infamous
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 07:30 am: [report]

Let’s get real… if it was down to either having sex for money, or my child being hungry… the last thing I’m going to be thinking about is whether or not it degrades women.

Hell, if I had the body I would have stripped my way through college and thought nothing of it. I really don’t see what the big deal is with stripping, working in porn, or working the corner. I’m not going to judge someone else’s decision when I’m not in their 7-inch stilettos.

resullins
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 08:07 am: [report]

@Alexa: Actually, one of the definitions of sellis “to tranfer into slavery for a price.” Works well in this connotation. You can also sell a Senate Seat… as Rod so aptly proved, but does that mean Roland gets to actually take the chair home with him? And some of these women are talkign about actually removing eggs and selling them, so there’s that.

I think the only real argument here is whether someone believes that sex is special and reserved for love, or if it’s just a natural act that all humans participate in for both fun and procreation. If the options were between prostitution and welfare, I’d prefer every woman in the world (including me) become a prostitute. So I totally have to agree with sportzriter on this one.

Alexa
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 08:11 am: [report]

@resullins, your point is what?  Are you comparing prostitution to slavery?  The last time I checked, a slave is “owned” by a master and is not free to leave or exert agency.  That’s not the case with typical prostitution, so your analogy (if that’s what it was) is defective. 

The analogy re: the senate “seat” refers to the position, not the specific chair occupied by a senator.

resullins
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 08:15 am: [report]

@Alexa: No, but I am saying that you don’t actually have to hand a physical something over to own it. You are handing over the rights to your body for a specified amount of time… so it is selling. Your argument was that you actually have to transfer ownership of something. Not true, you can buy a Senate Seat without every actually owning anything. Transfering the rights to something is, by definition, selling. Without transfering actual ownership.

Alexa
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 08:20 am: [report]

@resullins, I don’t think you paid very close attention to everything I said.  I was referring to tangible property when I referred to transferring ownership.  You can sell a car, for example.  The deed to it transfers to the person who paid for it. 

You can also sell a service (including service as a Senator), but there is no “transfer of property” in that case. 

In the slavery case, the person *is* property and is indeed owned by someone else.  Prostitution is the selling of a service, not the selling of property (i.e., one’s body).

resullins
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 08:31 am: [report]

@Alexa: I’m not arguing semantics with you… that’s not the point of this forum. There are However, what people are describing here does indeed fall under the definition of SELLING. So I’m merely taking issue with your getting on people for calling it selling. It’s fine if you want to call it whatever you want, but so will I. And to me, it’s selling.

Alexa
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 08:36 am: [report]

@resullins, and I’m telling you it isn’t “semantics.”  It is called using the English language correctly.  I sell a service, not my body.  I take my body home with me every time I leave.  If I did that with *anything* else I own, I’d be guilty of theft for having sold it and then keeping it from the person I sold it to. 

People can call it being “sold” if they like.  I’ll just consider them ignorant of how to use the English language appropriately.  The service is being sold, not my physical body.  This isn’t rocket science, really.  I’m not sure why someone would find it necessary to use a word inappropriately intentionally.  Jeez.

resullins
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 09:48 am: [report]

You just called every single poster on here, along with the author, ignorant… Hmmm… pretty sure I’m not the ignorant one here. Just because you feel the need not to acknowledge any other definition but the one you choose, doesn’t make me wrong. Sell has multiple definitions. You can SELL a manuscript without handing over an actual book. You can sell an idea, and still go home with that idea in your head. You can sell a stock, without actually handing over a piece of the company.

But either way, I’m done arguing over something so insignificant. If you want to believe you’re smarter than every other woman on here, including the woman that writes for a living, then you just keep thinking that. If you need to insult people over the use of a word that literally has thirteen different definitions, then by all means, make yourself feel better by belittling others. If you want to claim to be the be-all-end-all of the English Language on TheFrisky.com and then use an interjection commonly reserved for adolescents and stoners, I won’t call you ignorant for it.

Katyuha
wrote on July 3 2009 @ 11:40 pm: [report]

If you’re mentally and emotionally prepared for that kind of service, sure, but it’s not going to help you much in the future (or the present) if you have a mental breakdown no matter how much money you accumulate.

Alexa
wrote on July 4 2009 @ 05:36 am: [report]

@Katyuha, tat would be true for any job.  People in other jobs have mental breakdowns, too, you know?  That’s hardly unique to sex work.

Alexa
wrote on July 4 2009 @ 05:37 am: [report]

@resullins, if you use the words incorrectly, then, yes, you are ignorant.  That’s a fact, not something I just pulled out of my ass.  The word means what it means, and you’re not free to modify it to suit your own purposes.

resullins
wrote on July 4 2009 @ 02:21 pm: [report]

@Alexa: perhaps you should look up the definition.

to transfer (goods) to or RENDER (SERVICES) for another in exchange for money; dispose of to a purchaser for a price

to accept a price for or make a profit of (something not a proper object for such action)

give up for a price or reward

I didn’t modify. I just read the entire definition. It is completely and totaly possible to sell things without handing them over.

Don’t yell at me because you feel the need NOT to understand that one word can have multiple ACTUAL definitions.

Alexa
wrote on July 4 2009 @ 02:25 pm: [report]

@resullins Exactly right.  Read it.  “to transfer (goods)”  The prostitute’s body is NOT transferred to anyone.  She maintains ownership of it.

“to or RENDER (SERVICES) for another in exchange for money;”

Which is exactly what I said happens.  It says “services.”  Prostitutes don’t sell their bodies - they sell a SERVICE.  You do transfer GOODS (i.e., the body), as the definition states.  The body is NOT a “service.”

Now, will you please STFU, now that you’ve proven what I was trying to point out all along?  kthxbye.

_jsw_
wrote on July 4 2009 @ 04:01 pm: [report]

Thank God we got that whole definition thing worked out, because I was _very_ confused by the title and story and thought it referred to posthumous cadaver transfer, which wouldn’t really do much good while you were still alive. So, just to be clear, we’re talking about using one’s body to render services to someone else in exchange for money?

Now I’m all thrown off by the “render” part, which, from my home remodeling work, I know means to cover with a coat of plaster. Thus, I assume we’re discussing doing general contacting work during the recession, which I’m all in favor of, but I recommend dry wall over plaster.

One really needs to have a dictionary handy to be able to follow along with these stories. I do wish the authors would at least _attempt_ to write without such ambiguity.

resullins
wrote on July 6 2009 @ 07:31 am: [report]

@Alexa. To Render Services in exchange for money is to SELL. You just said that’s what people are doing, so vis a vis, they are selling their bodies. Are you really so dumb as to think you can pull the definition of a word apart and only use part of it? To render services for money is to sell… by the definition.

@jsw: I agree with you, btw, I just don’t appreciate being told to Shut the F*ck Up by someone that doesn’t know that if someone is rendering services for money, and that’s the difinition of sell, then someone is selling something. It annoys me. But apparently arguing this point with her is futile, so I’ll stop now.

Alexa
wrote on July 6 2009 @ 07:39 am: [report]

@resullins, I can’t believe how incredibly dense you are.  The “service” is sex - SEX *IS* A SERVICE.  The “body” is a tangible object.  The human body is NOT a “service,” it’s an object.

Pull your dictionary out again and look up the word “service.”  Service is an activity, not an object.  For example, a car is an object, not a service.  But using that car to transport someone *is* a service.  When we sell the service of transporting someone, we don’t say that we sold the car, we say that we sold the service of transporting someone.  When we prostitute, we sell sex.  Sex is an activity; a service.  And, just as when we use that car to provide a service, when we use our bodies to sell the service (i.e., sex), we’re not selling the tangible object used to provide that service (i.e., the body).

Why is that so hard for you to comprehend?  It’s not rocket science.  Jesus F. Christ.

duhh
wrote on October 25 2009 @ 02:01 am: [report]

HELL NO.