Views on the morality of child sex work (e.g. prostitution, pornography)

[PorcelainLark]

What do you guys think?

[MoleMan]

If a person is able to voice their acceptance and there is no coersion, other than monetary compensation, why not?

[bravolima]

wow, thats a thought provoking question. i am a pro contact believer. i believe boys have the right to decide if they want to experience sex in a consensual way. i also think that experience should be with someone they know, and trust, to make it a good and positive experience. but then there is the other side and what i want. if i met a young boy who said he was a prostitute, how could i refuse.

[CynicalOptimist]

Child prostitution is only immoral in the case of children who are forced into prostitution due to extreme poverty or homelessness. In these situations, the child is likely doing it out of despair and not making a voluntary choice.

Youth sex workers who engage in prostitution voluntarily do so for personal reasons, such as financial gain, thrill-seeking, or to assert their independence. Just like some adults, some children are low enough in disgust sensitivity that they don't mind having sex with people they don't find attractive. In such cases, prostitution can be a viable option for these children.

Many people who oppose child prostitution project their own disgust sensitivity upon the children who work in this illicit industry. When they try to imagine what being a child prostitute would feel like, they feel horror and disgust. The thought of being a child and having sex with strangers is terrifying to them. So they wrongly conclude that child prostitution is so horrible that no child would ever do it voluntarily. 

They don't understand that not all children or adults possess the same level of sexual disgust sensitivity. In fact, some people, due to various factors such as upbringing, environment, or genetic predisposition, are low enough in this trait that they don't mind doing sex work at all. 

People also often overlook the concept of voluntary child prostitution and the autonomy it implies. They tend to envision these children as helpless and at the mercy of their clients, whom they perceive as violent and abusive. This perception stems from the widespread misconception that all clients of child prostitutes are horrible people lacking empathy for children.

[Lennon72]

I believe in the legalization of all prostitution but on a personal level, I find it it abhorrent. And there is no way on earth that I will ever take part in it ( legal or not ). I think that sex should only be done because both parties want to do it. Not because there is some pay off.

[Brain O'Conner]

I believe in the legalization of all prostitution but on a personal level, I find it it abhorrent. And there is no way on earth that I will ever take part in it ( legal or not ). I think that sex should only be done because both parties want to do it. Not because there is some pay off.

I agree with what you're saying, but the one thing you have to understand is that there are also kids and adults who engage in sex work to enjoy it and want to get paid for what they're enjoying. It's really no different than being paid for what you love doing such as a specific hobby.

[aeterna91]

Hmmm, I think that "child sex work is acceptable under certain circumstances" it's the option that best fits my position, closely followed by "child sex work is bad, but shouldn't be treated as severely". For me, there are two important nuances: the age of the child and the type of work.

For example, I think it is acceptable for a 16 year-old to engage in prostitution if they voluntarily choose to do so (I don't think that a 16 yo is a child, by the way, but current laws do state this). However, for real children my position is closer to "is bad, but shouldn't be treated as severely": I don't think it's as horrible a crime as today's society considers it -in fact, in some cases, there may be no harm at all-, but I do think the risk of exploitation is very high; I mean, I don't think it's a good idea for children to work in a McDonald's either, so...

As for other types of sex work, for example, selling pictures would seem acceptable to me almost always, no matter at what age. I do have some reservations that a very young child might not fully understand all the implications and regret it later, so I would also recommend caution, but in a society that wasn't so sex-negative, this would be very, very unlikely. I think that someone who enjoys watching your nude pictures, shared voluntarily, cannot cause any harm unless society pressures you to believe that you must suffer for that reason.

[terminally_unique]

I have ethical concerns surrounding prostitution regardless of who is doing it. I think both adults and children are too susceptible to abuse or exploitation.

[Phossu]

Most of this hinges on the morality of AMSC in general, but putting that aside I don't see any reason why it would be different from adult prostitution.

I don't have any ethical issues with prostitution and sex work so long as it's being done consensually and not out of desperation. I agree with CynicalOptimist.

[Outis]

I went with unacceptable but shouldn't be treated so severely.

I don't think sex work is good at any age. I know some people do it because they enjoy it, but I just think there are enough who do it out of necessity with long term effects that it shouldn't be encouraged. I don't like the idea of anybody having to have sex with someone they don't want to have sex with, so even if only 25% of sex workers are pressured into it through circumstances then that is enough to say it should be blocked, unless there's some way to truly ensure the only people who it are doing it for love of the job. That's the same whether someone is 10, 20, 60 or whatever.

But, I think when someone does it, harsh punishment doesn't help.
Someone is a sex worker because they love to be a sex worker, why punish them for that?
Someone is a sex worker because they are pressured into it, punishing them only adds to the harm.
Someone visits a sex worker and believes the person is enjoying it and it's mutual, why punish them for it?