08/27/2003 Archived Entry: "So"

Lets talk about porn!

Why is making porn legal but procuring a prostitute not? In both situations someone is hired to have sex with someone else, the only difference being that porn is taped and probably distributed. If a man, lets call him John, puts up signs around town that he needs girls for a porn shoot and gets some (pun intended) it's perfectly legal but if this same John were to walk up to a woman who was explicitly offering her services then it wouldn't be legal? Could John get away with going up to a prostitute and asking her to make a "film" with him? Someone mentioned that it may be because for porn both the "actor" and "actress" are hired by some producer but what if the producer was also the "actor"?

Anyways, someone please explain to me the legal differences here.

Replies: 6 comments

It's not clear that prostitution is entirely illegal. What is illegal is procuring people or soliciting them for prositution.

You can read more about it here, in the Canadian criminal code.

Posted by Joe @ 08/28/2003 08:38 AM EST

I studied this is my OAC law course. The acts that Jerome mentioned are what is illegal. Being paid to have sex with someone is not. The act of procuring (finding someone to have sex with you for money) is illegal. You can actually claim your source of income as protitution and it is completely legal.

As for the porn movie. The person is not solicited to have sex with someone, they are sought out to "act" in a movie. That, althought a very minor difference, is the technicality that makes it perfectly legal.

Posted by Mike @ 08/28/2003 09:47 AM EST

Ask Monira "So". I'm sure she has all the info you need. Nice title of this entry too. PUN intended i'm sure.

Posted by Doug @ 08/28/2003 10:38 AM EST

I don't know why two of you mention that soliciting when it's also the first thing I mention =P

You can claim ANYTHING as your source of income and it would be perfectly legal. "Drug deals - 200 000$" you can't get busted for that since it's confidential.

Jerome didn't mention any acts.

so it's perfectly legal to say to a woman "Act like your having sex while having sex for money".

So..instead of being a Pimp, one can be an "Agent" and instead of prostitutes one can have "Actresses" and this would be perfectly legal! Wonderful!

All puns here are intended. Always.

Posted by Rayne @ 08/28/2003 02:24 PM EST

a) How did I suddenly get referenced in this?

b) When you have sex with a hooker, do you have to supply the condom? Or is it, you know, factored into the cost?

Posted by Romer @ 08/30/2003 04:24 AM EST

Watch Pretty Woman. It'll answer that question.
Or you could always ask one...

Posted by Andrea @ 09/01/2003 03:33 AM EST