Questions about prostitution
- Thread starter elbandit
- Start date
Following onto Joe's comments, you'll note that when I made my initial assertions about campaigns having a pre-modern feel, I explicitely stated that this is not the norm. Most people want to adventure in a hybrid world that is materially medieval and culturally modern; that's really the D&D default.
But both the medieval material and the modern cultural situations are clearly Western/European. The modern social and ethical ideas of D&D are essentially those of the 21st century West; they are clearly not the ideas of 21st century Iran, 21st century Singapore or 21st century China.
But both the medieval material and the modern cultural situations are clearly Western/European. The modern social and ethical ideas of D&D are essentially those of the 21st century West; they are clearly not the ideas of 21st century Iran, 21st century Singapore or 21st century China.
Dr. Strangemonkey
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damn double posting
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Dr. Strangemonkey
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MerakSpielman said:
That's a good list of options MerakSpeilman, but there are others.
D.) Prostitution is seen as an acceptable part of every woman's development. Ritual prostitution as seen in Herodotus fits into this category, though some others argue that it is effectively a part of certain portions of Medieval social consciousness save that prostitution occurs at the end of a young woman's marital life rather than the begining.
E.) Prostitution is a duty to and of the state. 'Publicly owned' brothels operate for the benefit of certain portions of the national institution. In modern times these brothels primarily operate off of slaves and war captives, but a semi-pre-modern parallel could be drawn with regard to depictions of Turkish seraglios as a means to curb the lusts of the royal family without producing troublesome heirs.
F.) Prostitution is a formalized and controlled client profession. This would be something akin to the systems of prostitution at work in renaissance Venice and Japan, certain interpretations of temple prostitutes - see Gilgamesh -, or our own ideas of how high class call girls work in certain political circles. Sex workers are protected and cultivated, but they and their use are highly controlled and dependent on the approval of certain key demographics. The rest of the society may, in fact, have a very low opinion of the institution and enact measures against it at regular intervals, albeit unsuccesfully.
G.) Prostitution, and this depends on your definition of prostitution, is a domestic affair and courtesans are contracted or bought for use in specific households for extended, though potentially limited, periods. Prostitution does not take place outside of these contracts and there is social acceptance of both parties involved in these contracts where other forms of prostitution are looked upon very poorly. This would cover such institutions as temporary marriage, many forms of sex slavery, some forms of concubinage, and some perceptions of domestic servants, nurses, and indentured servants.
All of these are a little exotic for Greyhawk proper, but Oerth has a lot of exotic places.
Talon5 said:
So the Netherlands, Nevada and Melbourne are evil? I see it more as a law/chaos thing - Lawful human societies may ban or at least shun it as detrimental to the social order, chaotic societies don't care about the social order; chaotic-good societies emphasise an individual's right to do what they want so are unlikely to ban prostitution (or drug use), although they may regulate the conditions in which it operates to reduce abuse.
Talon5 said:
So the Netherlands, Nevada and Melbourne are evil? I see it more as a law/chaos thing - Lawful human societies may ban or at least shun it as detrimental to the social order, chaotic societies don't care about the social order; chaotic-good societies emphasise an individual's right to do what they want so are unlikely to ban prostitution (or drug use), although they may regulate the conditions in which it operates to reduce abuse.
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