It was like the one social network I had any friends on. And they were good friends too. Stupid LinkedIn.

It's your right to sell your body. It's other people's right to think you're a skank and not let you on their professional site. Sucks, but that's the way it is. There's no inherent right to have everyone approve of your choices.

I agree fuck ditch diggers, sweaty brainless apes, how dare they sell their bodies; greedy, immoral fuckers aught to get married and only do that sort of thing for their wives

So, I always pose the same question for those who have a "moral" objection to prostitution

1. How is it different from porn? (as LinkedIn allows pornographers on its site this question is especially apt today)

2. How is it different than fucking for - dinner, rent, grades, school work, ect

3. How is it different than marriage

I'm going to guess that people who have strong feelings about prostitution also object to 1 and 2... I dunno, does Linked In allow porn stars? If so yeah that seems inconsistent, but again, their website, their decision.

If you're only getting married for the money then it's not different. But hopefully if you're getting married it's for more than that!!!

"How is it different from porn?"

In a nutshell, porn performers aren't paid to have sex, they're paid to be filmed or photographed having sex, and those films or photos are protected under the First Amendment (People v Freeman 1988). Amy's attorney Mr. Randazza lays it out here:

http://randazza.wordpress.com/2008/03/18/why-is-prostitution-illegal-but-pornography-is-not/

These are legal businesses in reality, so why shouldn't they have a presence in virtual reality?

They can but not on LinkedIn. This outrage is the equivalent of demanding that the corner shop put up your flyers for "call for a good time".

They can have a presence in virtual reality - it's called a website. Since when did social media become a right? I can see why prostitutes would want to be on LinkedIn - all those well-off, traveling, ready to cheat husbands to advertise to.

In the meantime, private businesses get to decide who their customers are. Might be a good thing, might not.

For me, it would be a plus - but I'm not everyone.

Prostitution has been around for thousands of years. They might as well tax the shit out of it and make it legal.

Imagine the revenue stream on that one. Also, then it could be regulated and you wouldn't have hookers dying of who-knows-what disease, or OD's, or being beaten by the pimps. I also imagine you could ensure the health of the johns that way.

As far as I can see, the only people who have a problem with prostitution are matronly busybodies whose marriages are way past the best before date.

Jeez. Ya fuck ONE BATTALION for cash and they call you a battalion-fucker.

Prostitution is legal here and there's still black market prostitution with all its problems.

I'm going to guess that people who have strong feelings about prostitution also object to 1 and 2.

You'd think so, but I know guys who watch porn who think prostitution is gross

And I've known a number of women willing to suck off a proffesor or TA for grades, or flirt shamelessly with guys to get them to do the work for them

I had one girl pull that on me in highschool, I'm sure most smart guys have. Suckered me pretty good the first time. I was suprised she tried it a second, but after my work on that second project got her an F she didnt try it a third

@Nicole;

It's legal on a Federal level?

@ Nicole

Just looked up the US prostitution laws. Odd.

It works much differently up here. Believe it or not, prostitution is legal, but communication for the purposes of prostitution is not.

So you can screw the prostitute, you just can't talk to her.And the laws really haven't changed for the past two centuries.

I wonder if this would go on LinkedIn or Craigslist?

http://fmobserver.com/piece-of-crap-recreational-vehicle-thrives-in-western-north-dakota-oil-boom/

Amy, you have said that you support the right of any business to refuse service or employment to anyone for any reason. How is this different from Hooters not wanting to hire small-breasted women?

WTF, I don't live in the US, I live in Switzerland. I assume it's legal on the federal level, it certainly is on the cantonal level. There are prostitutes everywhere. 1 in 5 Swiss men, according to the Hebdo I read in the Dr's office last week, regularly sees prostitutes.

In addition to legal, regulated prostitutes there are black market prostitutes who do all the things legal prostitutes can't do... like avoiding testing, not wearing condoms, being underage, being illegal aliens, and being trafficked. We do have the black market here. Legalization has not solved the problems one usually associates with prostitutes.

We live in a world in which scores of millions of people currently have HIV, a fatal, incurable, sexually transmissable disease (that's tranmissable for 6 months before it is detected by screening tests), and people still question whether or not prostitution should be OK? Heck, having more than one sexual partner in your life logically is risky these days.

Monica, while Amy may support a business right to do what it wants, she never said that meant no one could criticise them for being stupid

And in this case while linked in is banning prostitutes, its still allows pornographers, dominatrixes who dont have sex, mail order bride services, and other sex industry businesses