A few thoughts on the red light district in amsterdam.
Prostitution - in general, tends to not be the best thing in the world. maybe that was a slight understatement. I'm all for people being allowed to do whatever they want to do for money, and i see nothing wrong with men or women using their bodies for cash. The problem clearly comes in with the organized exploitation by pimps, etc, which leads to the abuse, the drugs, etc. Which to my mind is an argument in favor of legalization and unionization, such as one finds in amsterdam. The prostitutes are in a union which provides insurance and a pension, there are cops everywhere, and the women are in complete control. So far as i'm concerned, no problems there.
the major response again being exploitation/objectification. If a whole bunch of women are standing in these windows in lingerie and skimpy outfits, dangling their bodies like lures, doesn't that just encourage men to see them as nothing but objects? I expect that this argument wouldn't hold much water to the SG community, since respect for and open lust for the female body is lauded here. Still, I think the best response to this "issue" in Amsterdam is that it forces the viewers, who may well be objectifying these women, to at some level question themselves and their own sexuality - meaning, the blunt honesty and sexuality of the amsterdam prostitutes is a frontal challenge to all the idiotic, braindead motherfucking frat boy pigs who walk past and make that little piggy-chuckle-snort laugh that stupid football players make because their skulls are too thick to allow true vocalizations. To be confronted by sex is to either embrace it or to run away from it - this is what faces everyone who walks through the district.
And watching the responses is truly insightful. Their are the british and american herds of 20-something males, such as the american frat boys and the british soccer hooligans, who walk around and point and make comments, but can never actually find the scrotal capacity to step up and have a go. The group allows them to bolster each others' lack of ability, of confidence, of testicular fortitude, settling for the sex show instead of the actual sex. There are the middle-aged couples who walk around and smile beatifically, almost revelling in the aroma of youthful lust in the air. There are the middle-aged couples who puritanically react with mock shock, secretly titillated and hoping to get back to the hotel soon for a tumble in the sheets. There are the asian tourists, always walking in huge crowds, always trying to take pictures of the women in spite of all the signs forbidding photos. And of course there are the men who walk around actually looking for their choice for the evening.
everyone has to deal at some level with the reality of sex. i think america could do with some honest responses to sex, something a bit more real and immediate than the cheap titillation of elite new york socialites and their shoes or sappy meg ryan movies. viva the red light.
Prostitution - in general, tends to not be the best thing in the world. maybe that was a slight understatement. I'm all for people being allowed to do whatever they want to do for money, and i see nothing wrong with men or women using their bodies for cash. The problem clearly comes in with the organized exploitation by pimps, etc, which leads to the abuse, the drugs, etc. Which to my mind is an argument in favor of legalization and unionization, such as one finds in amsterdam. The prostitutes are in a union which provides insurance and a pension, there are cops everywhere, and the women are in complete control. So far as i'm concerned, no problems there.
the major response again being exploitation/objectification. If a whole bunch of women are standing in these windows in lingerie and skimpy outfits, dangling their bodies like lures, doesn't that just encourage men to see them as nothing but objects? I expect that this argument wouldn't hold much water to the SG community, since respect for and open lust for the female body is lauded here. Still, I think the best response to this "issue" in Amsterdam is that it forces the viewers, who may well be objectifying these women, to at some level question themselves and their own sexuality - meaning, the blunt honesty and sexuality of the amsterdam prostitutes is a frontal challenge to all the idiotic, braindead motherfucking frat boy pigs who walk past and make that little piggy-chuckle-snort laugh that stupid football players make because their skulls are too thick to allow true vocalizations. To be confronted by sex is to either embrace it or to run away from it - this is what faces everyone who walks through the district.
And watching the responses is truly insightful. Their are the british and american herds of 20-something males, such as the american frat boys and the british soccer hooligans, who walk around and point and make comments, but can never actually find the scrotal capacity to step up and have a go. The group allows them to bolster each others' lack of ability, of confidence, of testicular fortitude, settling for the sex show instead of the actual sex. There are the middle-aged couples who walk around and smile beatifically, almost revelling in the aroma of youthful lust in the air. There are the middle-aged couples who puritanically react with mock shock, secretly titillated and hoping to get back to the hotel soon for a tumble in the sheets. There are the asian tourists, always walking in huge crowds, always trying to take pictures of the women in spite of all the signs forbidding photos. And of course there are the men who walk around actually looking for their choice for the evening.
everyone has to deal at some level with the reality of sex. i think america could do with some honest responses to sex, something a bit more real and immediate than the cheap titillation of elite new york socialites and their shoes or sappy meg ryan movies. viva the red light.
i cant imagine what its like to do that. um, i just caught you so im ending this here