by Guest » Mon Apr 05, 2010 11:49 am
[QUOTE=Smirks;35634]I also disagree with this. When prostitution was a common thing, women (including those NOT in the prostitution industry) were considered more like objects than compatible, personable life partners like you describe. They just had duties beyond sex...like doing the damn dishes! haha
I know this is merely your perception, and your perception has been jaded by events here and there, but it seems a little too extreme to be a healthy outlook on the opposite sex. Kinda seems like there is some unresolved issue fueling the misogyny, too. :([/QUOTE]
Prostitution was a common institution as recently as 70 - 80 years ago. Both of my grandfathers lost their virginity to a prostitute, as did all of their brothers. My dad was offered a prostitute when he was 14, I think, but my grandmother found out and wouldn't let him go.
In truth, pop culture has really ingrained in our minds that women were treated incredibily poorly before the Sexual Revolution and Woman's Sufferage Movements. But, I contend that this is not the truth. Sure, women were viewed as property, but the sense of ownership does something to a person. If you think you own something, you tend to care for it because it has value to you. Were there examples of poor treatment? Sure. But, it wasn't nearly as prevalent as today's society wants us to believe (as humans we tend to think that we're more enlightened as a race than we were a 1,000 years before...this is, generally, not the truth).
Take the rule of thumb farce. The rule of thumb was sold to millions of people as having been orginiated from a law that said a husband could beat his wife with a stick that was no thicker than his thumb. But, no such law ever existed. Quote from Wiki:
[COLOR=red]It is often claimed that the term originally referred to a law that limited the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to [/COLOR][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_violence"][COLOR=red]beat his wife[/COLOR][/URL][COLOR=red], but this has been discredited.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb#cite_note-europrofem.org-0"][1][/URL][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb#cite_note-Sommers1994-2"][3][/URL] British [/COLOR][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law"][COLOR=red]common law[/COLOR][/URL][COLOR=red] before the reign of [/COLOR][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England"][COLOR=red]Charles II[/COLOR][/URL][COLOR=red] permitted a man to give his wife "moderate correction", but no "rule of thumb" (whether called by this name or not) has ever been the law in England.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb#cite_note-5"][6][/URL][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb#cite_note-Straight_Dope-6"][7][/URL] Such "moderate correction" specifically excluded beatings, only allowing the husband to confine a wife to the household.[/COLOR]
Sure, the husband could discipline a woman, but to even think for a moment that all men viewed women as property is just totally wrong. And, even if they did, why is that such a bad thing? Remember you tend to care for your property.
Instead, it was more of a partnership. You married a woman that could nuture you and your children, that could work in the home, and that was compatible with you. That's what the norm was. And, like it or not, prostitution was a huge part of that so that sex could be taken out of the equation when determining which woman you wished to marry and have children with.
My grandparents didn't have sex until marriage. The reason, besides social norms and religious pressures, was because the man was, most likely, getting periodic sex from a prostitute. Both of my grandfathers hired prostitutes while they were courting my grandmothers. It was understood and normal. And, all of my grandfathers' brothers did the same exact thing.
My theory is that men are miserable in marriages because they marry a woman for the wrong reasons. They get blinded by sex and compromise on the important things that drive compatibility in a relationship. My grandparents had no such dynamic. They made their decision based on factors more important than sex, and, as such, both marriages lasted 50+ years. And, both couples were very much in love with each other until they day they died. The same was true of their siblings, with one or two rare exceptions.
My point is that the decline of prostitution in our society is making it much more difficult for men to simultaneously fulfill our carnal desires WHILE finding a truly compatible mate.
Not only that, but it's also preventing unskilled women from earning higher wages than they currently do...it's the oldest profession, and one of the highest paid for women.