Speaking as a woman, I can see the convergence of financial need versus denial of morality these prostitutes base their actions on. If you're down and out, any port in a storm, is how I think they see it. Is it right? No. Better to clean toilets.
But I'm wondering about guys who indulge in this stuff. Is it an attempt at fantasy fulfillment? They've obviously got money, which means they've got lives. What is it about their lives that they can't meaningfully connect to a companion? Companionship is what human happiness is all about, thinks me. Am I off-base in some way?
But it really is slavery - women forced into prostitution, separated from their homes and families - that this story is in large part about. Unfortunately, this is something that is not simply in Dubai, however bad there, but is a global epidemic. There are examples of sex slavery in Canada and around the world.
As for the men, yes I think it is in part about a hoped for fantasy "fulfillment" (though it's not really fulfillment as the desire for sex and a taste of the sacred will be sated only for a short time when using a prostitute).
Some men don't have wives or girlfriends and some who do don't know how to maintain a loving relationship. So many are susceptible to their desires (which I would distinguish from biological appetites, which are also very strong in young men with hormones going crazy), desires being images of the sacred or transcendent that we learn from each other, feminine beauty being among the most powerful of these. And in this day and age we're exposed to representations of sexual desire with great frequency. This can be very frustrating because it is the image of that which is untouchable, most of the time. People fall in the trap of thinking that if they can only consume an object of desire, they will somehow solve the problem of endlessly frustrated desire. But you can't really defeat the problem of desire by endlessly feeding it; you just become an addict, or broke. Rather, one has to do the hard work of developing desires that can be pursued in creative, ascetic, and loving directions. But it's not easy; it certainly does not come naturally, and there are not enough good role models out there.
Thanks, truepeers, you make eminent sense. I agree there aren't enough good role models anymore -- men or women, for that matter.
And I didn't mean to downplay sex slavery -- did a little searching, and found that I had no idea of the exact scope of this scourge. Plus, there's similar widespread non-sexual slavery going on as well (domestic servants, etc.).
4 comments:
Why complain? Slavery is permitted and accepted in the Koran. The Great Pedophile had slaves, and they do follow him.
Sad. So, very, sad.
Speaking as a woman, I can see the convergence of financial need versus denial of morality these prostitutes base their actions on. If you're down and out, any port in a storm, is how I think they see it. Is it right? No. Better to clean toilets.
But I'm wondering about guys who indulge in this stuff. Is it an attempt at fantasy fulfillment? They've obviously got money, which means they've got lives. What is it about their lives that they can't meaningfully connect to a companion? Companionship is what human happiness is all about, thinks me. Am I off-base in some way?
Guy perspectives appreciated.
Eowyn,
But it really is slavery - women forced into prostitution, separated from their homes and families - that this story is in large part about. Unfortunately, this is something that is not simply in Dubai, however bad there, but is a global epidemic. There are examples of sex slavery in Canada and around the world.
As for the men, yes I think it is in part about a hoped for fantasy "fulfillment" (though it's not really fulfillment as the desire for sex and a taste of the sacred will be sated only for a short time when using a prostitute).
Some men don't have wives or girlfriends and some who do don't know how to maintain a loving relationship. So many are susceptible to their desires (which I would distinguish from biological appetites, which are also very strong in young men with hormones going crazy), desires being images of the sacred or transcendent that we learn from each other, feminine beauty being among the most powerful of these. And in this day and age we're exposed to representations of sexual desire with great frequency. This can be very frustrating because it is the image of that which is untouchable, most of the time. People fall in the trap of thinking that if they can only consume an object of desire, they will somehow solve the problem of endlessly frustrated desire. But you can't really defeat the problem of desire by endlessly feeding it; you just become an addict, or broke. Rather, one has to do the hard work of developing desires that can be pursued in creative, ascetic, and loving directions. But it's not easy; it certainly does not come naturally, and there are not enough good role models out there.
Thanks, truepeers, you make eminent sense. I agree there aren't enough good role models anymore -- men or women, for that matter.
And I didn't mean to downplay sex slavery -- did a little searching, and found that I had no idea of the exact scope of this scourge. Plus, there's similar widespread non-sexual slavery going on as well (domestic servants, etc.).
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