Best Political Cartoons

[Barbarella]

mad lib: obama's gigantic penis will DESTROY american trees.

I'm going to enjoy this.

I'd pay to see that....except the GOP would probably be happy to see trees destroyed.

[Lt. Fred]

Depends on the Radical Feminist, I guess. Transphobes can fuck right off, for instance.

True. TERFs are turds. 

I agree.  And SWERFs are shit.

But we should be careful about generalizing radical feminists.  Not all radfems are man-haters, and vice versa.

What is a SWERF?

[Ultimate Paragon]

Depends on the Radical Feminist, I guess. Transphobes can fuck right off, for instance.

True. TERFs are turds. 

I agree.  And SWERFs are shit.

But we should be careful about generalizing radical feminists.  Not all radfems are man-haters, and vice versa.

What is a SWERF?

Sex worker-exclusive radical feminist.

[Lt. Fred]

Depends on the Radical Feminist, I guess. Transphobes can fuck right off, for instance.

True. TERFs are turds. 

I agree.  And SWERFs are shit.

But we should be careful about generalizing radical feminists.  Not all radfems are man-haters, and vice versa.

What is a SWERF?

Sex worker-exclusive radical feminist.

I don't know where I stand on that issue. I think both sides have a reasonable case.

[Askold]

Depends on the Radical Feminist, I guess. Transphobes can fuck right off, for instance.

True. TERFs are turds. 

I agree.  And SWERFs are shit.

But we should be careful about generalizing radical feminists.  Not all radfems are man-haters, and vice versa.

What is a SWERF?

Sex worker-exclusive radical feminist.

I don't know where I stand on that issue. I think both sides have a reasonable case.

Let's make this easy: Would you like to have the sex workers have basic human rights? Would you like them to have work safe without the risk of being exploited or harmed by clients? Because there are going to be sex workers, people are going to pay for sex, stopping that is pretty much impossible. What you can do is legalize it and then put it under control by making laws that not only protect the customers from STDs (by allowing the sex workers to have regular medical checkups without the risk of being arrested and so on) but also protect the workers from exploitation because they can actually go to police if they have something to complain about (without also going to jail for being a prostitute.)

The biggest problems have always been sex slaves and crime organizations controlling prostitution. By having legal organizations people are way more likely to go for them rather than the illegal option.


OR you could simply go with the SWERFs and demand that all prostitution must be illegal and that everyone involved in it must be jailed. This will push the trade underground and those who suffer the most from this are the sex workers.

[Lt. Fred]

The counter argument is that you want to ban prostitution and other sex work because it is fundamentally demeaning and a symbol of a deeply sick, misogynistic society.

As I said, I'm not sure which is true.

[Askold]

But it is not necessarily demeaning. That has more to do with the cultural stigma than what is actually happening and if you believe that people are allowed to choose who they have sex with there is nothing wrong with prostitution (unless minors are involved or someone has been forced into becoming a prostitute but those can be dealt with more ease if sex trade is not illegal.)

[Lt. Fred]

But it is not necessarily demeaning. That has more to do with the cultural stigma than what is actually happening and if you believe that people are allowed to choose who they have sex with there is nothing wrong with prostitution (unless minors are involved or someone has been forced into becoming a prostitute but those can be dealt with more ease if sex trade is not illegal.)

Yes, there is a counter-case. I'm not sure, as I said, which argument I accept. I think both have merit.

Obviously I'd not want to outright BAN prostitution, because that just wouldn't work from an implementation perspective. But what should be the objective of policy - to make prostitution a more 'democratic' job, for lack of a better word - or to discourage it as much as possible, while avoiding the inevitable unintended consequences of banning?

[RavynousHunter]

Categorical imperative.  Make sex work safe, clean, and acceptable.  More people are happy, more people are able to pursue work that they find enjoyable (yes, there are sex workers that do the job because they like it), and more people are able to pursue their work in a secure environment where their safety is a priority.  Conversely, the social stigma (which leads to the discouragement of which you speak), would spread unhappiness and would bar people from choosing work which they find fulfilling.  Therefore, logically, legalizing and regulating sex work is the superior course of action.

[Sigmaleph]

There was a post here. It's gone now. Sorry.

[Canadian Mojo]

But it is not necessarily demeaning. That has more to do with the cultural stigma than what is actually happening and if you believe that people are allowed to choose who they have sex with there is nothing wrong with prostitution (unless minors are involved or someone has been forced into becoming a prostitute but those can be dealt with more ease if sex trade is not illegal.)

Yes, there is a counter-case. I'm not sure, as I said, which argument I accept. I think both have merit.

Obviously I'd not want to outright BAN prostitution, because that just wouldn't work from an implementation perspective. But what should be the objective of policy - to make prostitution a more 'democratic' job, for lack of a better word - or to discourage it as much as possible, while avoiding the inevitable unintended consequences of banning?

Why do you even need an objective?

Make it safe and let grown-ups decide for themselves what to do with it.

[Lt. Fred]

But it is not necessarily demeaning. That has more to do with the cultural stigma than what is actually happening and if you believe that people are allowed to choose who they have sex with there is nothing wrong with prostitution (unless minors are involved or someone has been forced into becoming a prostitute but those can be dealt with more ease if sex trade is not illegal.)

Yes, there is a counter-case. I'm not sure, as I said, which argument I accept. I think both have merit.

Obviously I'd not want to outright BAN prostitution, because that just wouldn't work from an implementation perspective. But what should be the objective of policy - to make prostitution a more 'democratic' job, for lack of a better word - or to discourage it as much as possible, while avoiding the inevitable unintended consequences of banning?

Why do you even need an objective?

Make it safe and let grown-ups decide for themselves what to do with it.

Well, if you accept that prostitution and the sale of womens' bodies is a fundamental part of the patriarchy than yeah!

Edit: The problem with just leaving it up to employers and employees is that it's the freedom of the market - you're free to sell your body or to starve to death. There is always an element of compulsion. That's why markets work.

[Eiki-mun]

And do you also ban male prostitution?

[Lt. Fred]

And do you also ban male prostitution?

That's the thing, right - bans 100% will not work and everyone knows it, so it becomes a problem of implementation. How do you discourage and gradually eradicate prostitution without driving it underground and turning all the prostitutes into sex slaves?

The Scandinavian model is okay I guess? Not sure how effective it's been but that's the sort of thing you'd be looking at.

But if you don't accept that prostitution is fundamentally degrading - and that's totally the thing I don't know if I agree with or not - then there's no need. It's super easy - you just legalise it completely, regulate like any business and encourage some sick worker's cooperatives or unionisation.

[Eiki-mun]

I do not accept that prostitution is fundamentally degrading. In fact, I would go so far as to say the only reason we perceive it as such is due to the pervasive influence of Judeo-Christian religion on our societal values and taboos.

But that's just, like, my opinion, man.