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Pretty slow news week, huh. Whelp, buckle up folks. Because New York district attorney Cy Vance just said hold my beer, we’re not going to prosecute prostitution or illegal massage:
District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced today, April 21, that his office will no longer prosecute prostitution or illegal massage, which is a huge step towards criminal reform and the way the justice system defines and looks upon sex professions.
Even though sex work has often been portrayed in the mainstream in a negative light, liberal attitudes are progressing towards normalising it as a socially-accepted profession. Illegality, as Vance Jr. said, serves nobody.
Cy Vance, you visionary. You old dog, you! Look at the Manhattan DA “normalizing” prostitution, trying to do what GTA III failed to do and make it a socially-accepted profession. What?! Seriously?!!! Out of nowhere. Just what the doctor ordered.
Honestly, I am a complete ignoramus when it comes to prostitution in New York City. I know that sounds exactly like something a guy who routinely engages with sex workers would say, but hear me out. You watch movies set in the New York of the 70s and 80s, and the streets are lined with scantily-clad ladies of the night, calling out to the protagonist and offering him their services. Crocodile Dundee comes to mind. Apparently Times Square used to be the epicenter of prostitution in New York. Meanwhile, I’ve been living here for over a decade and I’ve never ONCE seen a sex worker leaning into the car window of a potential John. I avoid Times Square at all costs but the only unusual outfits I see there are Elmo, Buzz Lightyear, and the Naked Cowboy. And as far as I know, he’s not circling the block in the back of anyone’s stretch limo. Times have changed!
These days, I suspect that prostitution has become digitized. Instead of looking up some escort service in the backpages of one of those free newspapers, you have to know a guy who will refer you to some email listserve or automated texting service. As a result, the industry isn’t so out in the open anymore. My guess. Just what I’ve heard.
Like with drugs, the data has clearly shown that legalizing and regulating the sex industry is much safer than trying the zero tolerance crime method. Sounds like this is a step in the right direction. Hooray, sex!
