I think our western society hasn't really got to grips with the reality of the sexual nature of our species
The marketers have though that's for sure. Yup 'sex sells' is their mantra! They have seen the commercial value of sex and as a result have sexualised just about anything that they can in order to squeeze a profit out of it.
It does seem that sex or the suggestion of sex is everywhere. But is everyone getting the sex that is dangled like a carrot in front of their faces the whole time? On one hand there seems to be an openess about sex but on the other there still seems to be a sort of repression as well....or at least unhealthy associations attached to an act that should be healthy, fun and liberating for people.
Personally i think sex is a basic human need like: air, water, rest and food. Sure that might not be the case for everyone and i respect whatever works for them.
The point i'm trying to make is that due to the commercialisation of sex it is always in our faces but not everyone is necessarily reaping the fruits of that. So whats the point of stirring up lots of sexual energies if those energies can't then be grounded?
Our profit orientated society is obsessed with sex but does not seem to have created a healthy or mature attitude to sex.
So everyone's sexual buttons are being pushed all the time but sex itself is often driven underground.
People have to dress up in revealing ways and cram themselves into glorified meat-market nighclubs and pubs and go through bizarre mateship rituals....ie get extremely drunk and then spin excrutiating lines to prospective partners or dance like clowns in order to get people's attention. Go out on the street on a saturday night in any British town/city and you will see a mad carnivalesque, bacchinalean vision of the last days of Rome where intoxicated people fall all over the place, leer at each other, vomit, fight, and consume lots of food that is physically impossible to eat unless you are very drunk. If you are sober, town on a friday or saturday night can vary from amusing to downright scary or intimidating.
Sure it's fun...for a while....but it's not without it's problems and it is also part of a big letting off of steam after a week of 9 to five work. 'Living for the weekend'.....really is that all there is to life? The answer is definately NO. The accident and emergency rooms get filled with casualties from accidents and violence which burdens the National Health Service which we all then have to pay for in our taxes. People's health is declining and cirrhosis of the liver is being recorded in younger and younger people. Britain has a serious problem with binge drinking. Alcohol it seems, despite being one of the most dangerous and unpredictable of all drugs, is ok with the state. Yup a depressant drug that in large enough quantities can turn people violent is state sanctioned and provides lots of tax for the government's coffers. Why is drink allowed? In my opinion it is because it closes down thought and feeling instead of opening people's minds; it numbs people and helps them forget things. Booze is the release valve for a society which isn't really working for a lot of people.
The other phenomena of modern day life is finding partners over the internet. This has become a popular way to find partners because we have become such an atomized society, with little time or energy to pursue the finer things in life.
So these are legitimate ways to get sex. But even these aren't always going to work. So some people turn to the sex trade, which has itself been driven underground by the law. I'll come back to this but a quick word about strip clubs and pornography.
If people go to strip clubs because they want sex then they are going to be sorely dissapointed unless they are willing to pay for sex and can find a dancer who will sell them it.
Most likely all that will happen is that they will leave the establishment even more sexually frustrated then when they went in and a lot poorer as well having been fleeced of the contents of their wallet by a set up designed to make them part with their cash, very efficiently.
Pornography is the same....it's all suggestion with no delivery! It's also exploitative and attracts people who are already pretty damaged who will then smother themselves in the stigma which a repressed society has created around sex, which will probably have the result of damaging their already depleted self esteem.
So what option is left for people who can't get sex? There is prostitution. Because prostitution has been made illegal and therefore driven underground there is no regulation for it. It's illegal status also means that in order to fill illegal brothels with prostitutes, very nasty men: coerce, kidnap, rape, threaten, beat and blackmail women into working for them as sex slaves.
Many British people will tell you arrogantly that Britain is a 'civilised', 'modern', 'advanced' country, but they are clinging to a nationalistic and delusional belief that their country holds a premier position in the world; this is a leftover from the days when Britain had an empire. What having an empire means is that you invade other countries, enslave their people, take their natural resources, rape their women and brutalise their men.
Yes in modern day, 'civilised' Britain there is huge amounts of sex trafficking (sex slavery) in order to supply women for the underground sex trade. It's not something that's really discussed much in the media and it is generally just swept under the carpet. Is that a mature or civilised response to a problem? No but sadly Britain seems to lacking in imagination when it comes to solving problems and the approach of the politicians is usually to look to the USA for an example of what to do.
Other prostitutes who choose to go 'on the game', usually do it to pay for drug habits. The drugs then help them to deal with the low self esteem created from their occupation, the stigma attached to it and what they see as their fallen status in life; this creates a spiral. Being on drugs their control over their lives slip and they become susceptible to all sorts of diseases and infections which may then be passed on to their customers.
In Holland, things are somewhat different. Prostitution is tolerated and is regulated. in the red light district of Amsterdam there are streets full of glass fronted rooms which are rented by the night by prostitutes who work for themselves and therefore aren't ripped off by a pimp. The women sit on a stool in the window and customers can walk down the street and choose who they want to sleep with. The prices are standardised, the women checked regularly (by law) by doctors and provided with certificates to prove they have no transmitable diseases. The women probably do not suffer from the self esteem problems women elsewhere suffer from because society does not affix the same stigma to their profession. They probably make a lot of money, safely and arguably provide a beneficial service to society, by creating an outlet for sexual energies amongst the populace.
No doubt many potential rapists or other potential commiters of sex crimes have relieved their sexual frustrations, in the red light district of Amsterdam, instead of committing a sex crime. No doubt many struggling, sexless marriages have also been saved by the vice girls of Amsterdam!
Is this outrageous? The reality, which no one can deny, is that regardless of whether or not you legalise prostitution, it will always exist. So do you drive it underground and let criminal gangs take over and sex slavery flourish or do you legalise and regulate it and do your best to keep everyone involved safe?
The Dutch method seems more civilised to me. They have not denied the sexual needs of people, but have instead sought a way to deal with sexual energies in a way that is less harmful and exploitative.
They also tolerate cannabis as long as it is smoked within cafes, behind closed doors and not smoked in front of young or old people. Also a pretty civilised approach if you ask me.
The down side for the Dutch is that because of their relaxed approach many people flood into their country from other countries and it is these people who often act irresponsibly, misbehave and create a more seedy feel to their city. The Dutch then have to suffer for the repressed approach of other countries, in putting up with large numbers of drug and sex tourists who do not always have such a mature attitude to life.
I went there myself when i was younger, as i was really into my pot at the time. All the people cluttering up the streets and being rowdy seemed to be non Dutch. We walked through the red light district and although seeing women sitting in bikinis in shop windows seemed a little strange to my British sensibilities i did recognise that their way of approaching certain things seemed more progressive than ours. I didn't indulge myself, but wouldn't judge another for doing so.
