Sex and the City: Prop K

Memo: Prop K did not pass on Election Day.  For those hoping and praying for victory, San Franciscans, as liberal as they are, voted against decriminalized prostitution.  Prop K, heavily supported by the San Francisco Democratic Party, the National Lawyers Guild, the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, along with many other prominent progressive organizations, would forbid law enforcement agencies to investigate, arrest, or prosecute anyone selling sex, although it would not technically legalize it.  To the keen visitor, San Francisco seems like a city full of prestige, ingenuity, and rich in culture. However, when you venture into the heart of the city, visitors will find that it is teeming with dirty vices.  Brothels posing as massage parlors and nail salons, narcotics being sold on the corner in broad daylight, and strip clubs innocently waiting for the tired traveler.    If you haven’t been to San Francisco for a while, there is much here to suit your pleasure: It is a perfect city for the undiscriminating John.

San Francisco, the flash-forward city of the Pacific Rim, has, for better or worse, become an extremely liberal city.  It has become a home to the Folsom Street Parade that celebrates sadism and masochism, Lovefest–a street festival where neo-hippies gather to share “love,” and a Hollywood mayor who regards his town as a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants, a haven for those practicing civil disobedience.  Prostitutes, coincidentally, have had a long, famed history in San Francisco, setting up shop on Maiden Lane (a.k.a. Morton Lane) near Union Square during the Gold Rush, then accommodating miners with women of all colors.  Today, Maiden Lane only exists as an alley for delivery vehicles and upscale boutiques. However, the elusive “call girls” have migrated to the online world.  Through this transition, escorts now have access to a more seemingly infinite database than they could ever encounter on the streets and some who they would never imagine soliciting business from.  John’s or “tricks,” one who uses an escort’s service, can now safely view and pick their fantasy in the privacy of their home without the authorities breathing down their neck.  The internet has also given escorts anonymity and has provided them with forums to share their positive experiences, fears, and business information.  Prostitution in the 21st century has become a billion dollar business.

Prostitution is the world’s oldest profession.  And there is nothing anyone can do from preventing a women from selling her body.  Unfortunately, in the modern age, many other despicable trades are associated with it such as pimping, pandering, human trafficking, and child prostitution which have slandered the honest working girl.  To which I am happy that Prop. K did not pass.  Though Prop K’s intent was to protect women and to report abuse without fear of prosecution, it allows pimps to operate legally, opening the floodgates to legal organized crime, threatening the humanity of women.  Whether one thinks prostitution should be legalized or not, one cannot deny the fact that prostitution breads a slew of detrimental activities that ultimately harm society.