Sexual Self-Employment

Jesse Walker | October 31, 2008

Both the Netherlands and New Zealand have decriminalized the sex trade. According to The Economist, the New Zealand prostitutes are faring far better -- in part because their country took decriminalization much further:

In the Netherlands and Nevada, the business is confined to brothels, which are usually run by businessmen rather than the sex workers themselves.

Clearly, the brothel-masters' status as the sole legal providers of commercial sex enhances their grip on the women who work for them. In New Zealand, prostitutes can fend for themselves. As well as letting them keep all their earnings, this independence gives them freedom to reject nasty clients and unsafe practices. "They feel better protected by the law and much more able to stand up to clients and pushy brothel operators," says Catherine Healy, head of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective.

Unsurprisingly, the New Zealand system's critics include brothel owners, both in that country and elsewhere. Going with a girl outside a licensed establishment is like "Russian roulette", says the website of the Chicken Ranch, a brothel that serves the Las Vegas crowd. In New Zealand, one brothel keeper fumes that the earnings of independent sex workers are "tax-free money, which is not benefiting the Inland Revenue Department".

Comments

Guy Montag|10.31.08 @ 10:48AM|#

No surprise that this silly notion that the government must regulate everything to the hilt has infected brothel owners. Or perhaps it is advanced syphilis.

BTW, anybody who thinks the behavior of these brotherl owners is "Conservative" or "L(l)ibertarian" really needs their mental dictionary examined.

Head|10.31.08 @ 10:51AM|#

the craigslist girls in my area keep a lot of what they earn.

Abdul|10.31.08 @ 10:52AM|#

When I studied Latin in college, we came across some ancient political attack ad grafiti. "The Pimps of Rome support Quintilius for Consul."

In modern New Zealand, pimps actually are a special interest group petitioning the government.

|10.31.08 @ 10:56AM|#

I often see New Zealand doing things in a more libertarian manner than the US. What, other than the infestation of hobbits and low likelihood of immigrating legally, are the negatives on New Zealand?

Head|10.31.08 @ 11:07AM|#

Hobbit Pimps - now there is a thought...

Fluffy|10.31.08 @ 11:09AM|#

I read the headline quickly and thought it said, "Sexual Self-Enjoyment".

The Chad|10.31.08 @ 11:10AM|#

I see New Zealand as a nice potential exodus post-Obama victory. Any input on the quality of life/job prospects down there?

|10.31.08 @ 11:11AM|#

As one of the few posters here who can legitimately say that they once sold pussy (I used to run a cattery out of my house), I'll say that not paying taxes was the best part about it.

Pimpin' ain't easy.

Abdul|10.31.08 @ 11:13AM|#

I see New Zealand as a nice potential exodus post-Obama victory. Any input on the quality of life/job prospects down there?

It's a short hop from Pitcairn Island where there's practically no rule of law whatsoever.

MikeB|10.31.08 @ 11:14AM|#

low likelihood of immigrating legally
Are you sure about that? I checked out their site and it looks easy for a skilled migrant to gain entry in to NZ. You don't even need a job first and once you get one you are given a permanent resident card. Moving there is an idea I have been toying with just in case I have to quickly escape the McBama administration. Best thing of all it looks like Hawaii there and housing is about 1/15th the price.

JLE|10.31.08 @ 11:16AM|#

This isn't quite sincere. Prostitution is the single biggest moneymaker by law enforcement in Vegas. The "detention centers" are full of hookers who have to post over $600 each to get out. The girls count bail as part of their wages/taxes. In the middle of the desert, one may encounter a legal brothel (outside of Clark County, meaning not Vegas), but one must also keep in mind that 85% of Nevada is owned by the federal government for the testing of bombs and the storing of nuclear waste.

|10.31.08 @ 11:18AM|#

low likelihood of immigrating legally

Actually your chance of being accepted as an immigrant to NZ are pretty good if your young (under 40) and have a marketable skill.


Of course it's the government that determines what a marketable skill is.

Abdul|10.31.08 @ 11:21AM|#

I checked out their site and it looks easy for a skilled migrant to gain entry in to NZ.

Yeah, but how can you prove that your a skilled prostitute? Do they have a test?

Urkobold™|10.31.08 @ 11:23AM|#

THE URKOBOLD HAS A QUESTION. WHY DO MEN NEED TO HIRE PROSTITUTES WHEN THEY HAVE MATCH.COM?

|10.31.08 @ 11:35AM|#

The few legal brothels in Nevada are also heavily regulated by the counties that allow it. They're forced into remote locations, away from local communities and even at times off paved roads. The brothels are also heavily taxed, supposedly to cover the costs of the weekly medical inspections they require. They may "allow" the brothels to operate, but that doesn't mean that they welcome them. That is a pity, too, because the brothels are far more honest about what goes on under their roofs than what goes on under the roofs of every legislative building.

Head|10.31.08 @ 11:36AM|#

You pay them for the sex, urko, you pay them to go away.

Head|10.31.08 @ 11:36AM|#

damn - should have said you don't pay them for the sex. screwed up a perfectly good joke.

Urkobold™|10.31.08 @ 11:48AM|#

HEAD,

FOOL! YOU MUST LEARN TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! TAKE THE MATCH.COM-PROCURED WHORE TO HER HOUSE. THEN "GOING AWAY" SHALL BE AT YOUR SOLE DISCRETION. NO BROTHEL EVER DEVISED BY MAN HAS HAD SO MANY HOT, PSYCHO WOMEN UNDER ONE ROOF AS HAS MATCH.COM.

|10.31.08 @ 11:59AM|#

I guess that's the way of the world: even pimps are rent seekers now.

Living in New Zealand sounds like fun, but since they don't play a lot of baseball there I'm pretty sure I don't qualify as a "skilled migrant."

D.A. Ridgely|10.31.08 @ 12:00PM|#

Any bets on how long before the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective begins acting like a professional association lobbying for barriers to entry, colluding to keep prices at "living wage" levels, etc.?

|10.31.08 @ 12:13PM|#

Boy, I bet those sheep are PISSED!

|10.31.08 @ 12:43PM|#

Boy, I bet those sheep are PISSED!

I'm not as familiar with ovine sex as you, but I would think the ewes would be grateful.

|10.31.08 @ 1:55PM|#

J Sub D,

That was for my friend and colleague who hails from New Zealand and who turns all sorts of interesting shades of purple when sheep sex comes into the conversation. Which is why I introduce it to the conversation as often as reasonably possible. He also changes to that color when I mention the Swiss.

|10.31.08 @ 2:47PM|#

So where will New Zealand's supply of rap stars come from?

|10.31.08 @ 3:01PM|#

Did you see they are talking about decriminalization of prostitution in San Francisco?

Pretty soon, you'll be able to legally smoke a blunt or legally smoke a pole in San Fran, but not legally smoke a Marlboro Light.

|10.31.08 @ 3:42PM|#

I think you might be disappointed by your anarchist paradise of Pitcairn Island. Seventh Day Adventists on Welfare would be a more accurate description.

Alexa|10.31.08 @ 5:04PM|#

Actually your chance of being accepted as an immigrant to NZ are pretty good if your young (under 40) and have a marketable skill.

Actually, if you tell them you're coming into the country to work as a sex worker, they'll deny you entry in NZ. You have to be a citizen of NZ to legally work in sex work there (the intent was to prevent traffickers from bringing people in to work as sex workers).

Kaiser|10.31.08 @ 5:42PM|#

"Did you see they are talking about decriminalization of prostitution in San Francisco?

Pretty soon, you'll be able to legally smoke a blunt or legally smoke a pole in San Fran, but not legally smoke a Marlboro Light."

I am moving to San Fran in January to be with some friends of mine. I asked the exact same question to them. How does a city legalize marijuana and legalize prostitution make smoking cigarettes a sin? It really just goes to the bigger picture for me that liberals are as much against civil liberties as conservatives. They may be for gay marriage or abortion but when it comes to trans fats, smoking, guns etc they lead the crusades.

|11.1.08 @ 12:35AM|#

You do not want to live in NZ. Why? Because I am moving there in '09 and I don't want any of you nearby.