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Prostitution has been called the world’s oldest profession. While basically everyone and there grandmother knows that prostitution exists, nobody wants to believe prostitution in their own backyard.

People feel very strongly about the subject. So here is my list of the top 10 best reasons why prostitution should be legalized.

1. One of the reasons that prostitution is considered a crime is because, at our core, our culture sees sex as inherently evil, dirty, wrong. It also sees money as dirty, evil, non-spiritual. Mix the two and you have a hot bed of religious fundamentalism fodder. Legalizing prostitution will force us to update our ancient beliefs about sex and get them in line with current technology and reality. The rules and laws about sex were created by a different people, living in a different time, with a very different set of concerns. In this sense, science may save sex.

2.  Sex between consenting adults is not a crime. The exchange of money is not a crime. To me, prostitution is one of the purist, most honest expressions of capitalism. Let’s marry the two already and get it over with. Penalizing people for having sex as consenting adults is crazy - and it’s not working. If you have noticed anything during this last recession, you have noticed how many different businesses have closed. That’s SOP in a free market economy. Demand drives the market. There wouldn’t be prostitution if there wasn’t a demand for it. Let’s get real here.

3. By making prostitution a crime we continue to put practitioner and client at tremendous risk from law enforcement officials. There are no laws or protections for the human beings involved in illegal activities. All of my friends who are practitioners would be protected by law - and deserve to be protected by law. So would their clients. Furthermore, it would allow law enforcement agencies to put their efforts into fighting serious crime. I understand that prostitutes are easy pickings - relative to drug cartel - but once a woman is formally charged and convicted of a sex crime - she is unemployable in the “real” world. She's no longer a viable member of a conservative society. This is a vicious cycle. The cost/benefit to policing prostitution doesn’t make sense.

4. If we openly deal with cash for sex, we can also openly regulate / tax / and set standards for commercialized sex. From STI’s to safer sex practices, from basic communication and boundaries, to personal hygiene and personal safety - in general, we could give women and men mentoring, guidance, and preparation for what lies ahead on this path. Most all sex workers are under-prepared for the rocky waters of sex work. For most people, professional sex work is something that they must suffer alone - without any support from friends or family. Lack of emotional/physical support can be very destructive to the practitioner’s sense of well being, and self worth. Loneliness and a feeling of separation from society can go hand in hand for sex workers. If a woman or man were free to make their money in the open- self esteem would rise dramatically. There’s nothing like legally making a fist full of cash for a good day’s work.

5. Studies suggest that date rape, sex crimes and all the like would go down if we could buy sex openly and freely.

6. Criminalizing prostitution creates an ideal world for exploitation, abuse, and manipulation. Keeping prostitution in the shadows cultivates shadowy behavior by all parties.

7. One of the biggest complaints I hear from females is how bad their lovers are. The reality is that so many men have such limited sexual access to women, they never develop sexual skills past “running the bases” that they developed in high school. Ample access to sex would give men an opportunity to gain experiences that could potentially make them better, more experienced lovers.

8. So many women long for profound, deep sexual experiences. This would give them an opportunity to work with practitioners who can take them to places they only dream about. Some professional sex workers have the ability to be non-judgmental, easy and open regarding female sexuality. We all need role models in communication, education, and possibility. These experiences set reference points for what is possible.

9. It would give people open access to all infinite ways that sexuality and sexual tastes express themselves. I don't believe that everybody should have sex ONLY the way I believe they should. That's called sexual dictatorship, sexual fundamentalism. There are a lot of folks promoting ideas that amount to sexual dictatorship -and I’m not interested. Free market sexual expression allows for all the beautiful ways that sexuality expresses itself. We need to free up our limiting beliefs about how sex is to be expressed. Sex is. There is a friend of mine who is wheel chair bound and deeply disfigured from a fire. The only sex he has ever had in his life is with prostitutes who were willing to share affection in exchange for cash. There is genuine respect, appreciation, and even love that can occur for both parties - and it’s none of my business. Claiming some kind of divine inspiration, religious people, for and against prostitution, claim they know what’s best for us. I beg to differ.

10. Prostitution is already happening. It’s been happening. It will continue happening - regardless of laws. Humans are not monogamous. Neither are most of the other species of life on the planet. That’s the reality. People want sex. People want access to sex. Sex is the life blood of life on the planet.