Asklemmy

Now that you mention it, isn't it odd that it feels weird? I wonder exactly where the line starts to come into focus between something as innocuous as paying for a meal and something as taboo as paying for sex? Obviously that's a question of culture, but it's entertaining to think about nonetheless...

Like, there's definitely something kind of unusual about this specific taboo. Speaking from the perspective of modern western culture, I'd say that the following things which share some characteristics with prostitution are all individually qualified as being relatively socially acceptable:

• Paying for therapy (i.e.: buying the service of social comfort)
• Paying for a massage (i.e.: buying the service of physical comfort)
• Having a one night stand (i.e.: receiving the service of sexual comfort without buying it)
• Buying a sex toy (i.e.: buying sexual comfort without involving a service worker)

I posit that there's something uniquely specific about the direct intersection of service, money, and sexual pleasure which makes prostitution uniquely uncomfortable for (modern western) people to think about. I might be overthinking it, though. Perhaps these three things are already uncomfortable topics to really think about so we naturally want to resist the idea of combining them?