I've never understood prostitution, or: men are pigs

Since we're on this cheerful topic:
The whole concept of prostitution is very suspect to me. I know it's ancient, and despite the fact that, at least in this country, many young women already dress, speak, writhe and put out like hos (and mega-sluts like Paris Hilton are on magazine covers), the demise of prostitution is not happening anytime soon. Quite the contrary, prostitution is thriving, one of the most successful byproducts of globalization. Nowadays, former Soviet Republics are exporting fresh young Slavic whores to all the corners of the globe. And men traverse the planet in search of young hungry flesh and commit chazerai in other countries that is illegal and penalized at home.
I don't think prostitution should be illegal. I think it should not exist, period, but I wasn't born yesterday. Therefore, it should be legalized so everybody who engages in it pays taxes on it. Particularly the johns, I should say. Everybody always talks about how the prostitutes should pay taxes. Fair enough, but those who use them should pay too. If we pay a special tax for smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol, why not pay a tax for sex?
But really, why do we need prostitution? The only reason seems to be because it is there for men to exploit. It seems to me that in this day and age where women, at least in the developed world, have achieved considerable sexual freedom, and where contraceptives and condoms are cheap and easily available, there is no more need for whores. Why do you need to go to Thailand or Cuba or Costa Rica, or Prague and pay to have sex with a white slave or an underage child? Can't you get a freaking girlfriend who will happily put out for free? Pig.
If your wife bores you, get a lover. Do it with someone who wants to do it with you too. Is it that difficult? If you are so disgusting that no one will bed you, you have a hand. Use it.
What bothers me about prostitution is that it mostly seems to be a one way street. Or a narrow two lane road, to be exact. Most of the prostitutes are women and most of the johns are men. Then there are the homosexual prostitutes, again mostly men who pay for men.
I would be more inclined to tolerate prostitution if it was more of an equal playing field. In the age of Viagra and sexual "revolution", what prevents women from demanding to pay for sex too? Women who are bored with their husbands, lonely women, women who want a quick fuck, or just to indulge in the fantasy, why not have a service as easily available as there are for men?
So, to level things out a bit, imagine a male brothel for service to female clients. The boytoys could be handsome, squeaky clean guys with great physiques, (out of work actors, etc), who in a pinch could pop some viagra (or not) and voilá, make a woman happy. They could even bring roses, or chocolates or dress up as the client's fantasy of choice. Condoms would be on the house (and obligatory). But here is the question: Would there be decent men lining up for the chance to be male whores to women? And then how much would a woman be willing to pay for a male prostitute? Probably not much. I bet that less than she pays for a pair of good shoes or a leather handbag. Somebody told me that this wouldn't work because women would fall in love with their whores and become attached to them. They would pay the same guy over and over to have a reasonable facsimile of a boyfriend. Pathetic. But the bottom line is, as a very smart male friend points out to me, that women don't need to pay to have sex. We just need to part our legs and evince a modicum of willingness and we can probably get safely laid.
We don't live in the Victorian era anymore, but sexual exploitation still seems to go mostly one way. Can you imagine places like Scores, but inverted? The men are writhing around the poles and lap dancing on women's laps. And I'm not talking about Chippendale's. (Does it even exist still?). Can you imagine the same amount of male and female flesh in porn? The deck is clearly stacked against women. I know, I know: why should a woman be a seamstress in a sweatshop or perform other backbreaking, mindnumbing labor, and make 1 dollar an hour, when she can be a whore and make 100 dollars an hour? Why do they pay advertising copywriters more than they pay school teachers? That's how the world works.
Do women who become whores think it's easy money? I doubt it. Perhaps the "high class" ones that charge a gazillion dollars for a bj do. There may be some prostitutes who really like sex, or who are sex addicts (if life gives you lemons, make lemonade) and who love their jobs. I want to know how many are really like that. Most prostitutes probably already come from a long cycle of humiliation and abuse and without an education, without self-esteem, they may see no other option. We are talking about those who actually make the decision themselves, not those who are increasingly forced, sold, intimidated into it.
We have been fed the male fantasy that some prostitutes actually love their jobs. Just see that Cathouse series on HBO, which takes huge pains to make it look like these women stuck in a henhouse in the middle of nowhere in Nevada are actually having the times of their lives. Do they ever quit? What do they do with all that money? And for those men who entertain the absurd notion that their whore loves and understands them, you didn't read the memo. All they love and understand and want to stroke is your wallet. Get a wife.
I do not begrudge a woman the right to support herself as she sees fit, when she's the one making the decision. But most prostitution is a form of slavery. And the whole world is a cesspool for allowing it to happen. I don't care how much people talk about the great advances in gender equality, as long as female prostitution is around, we're still in the dark ages.
Plus, sex should be free of charge.