bye bye, red light district :(

[bingalpaws]

Boutiques replace brothels in red-light area of Amsterdam ​

Skimpy skirts and revealing tops are making way for designer gowns and luxury handbags in Amsterdam's red-light district as the area tries to ditch its seedy image.


Fifteen young Dutch designers opened stores in former brothels this weekend, displaying their creations in the tall windows where prostitutes recently sat touting for business.

"It is time for a change here," said Lodewijk Asscher, the deputy mayor of Amsterdam, at the launch of the city-backed fashion push. " Amsterdammers ought to able to feel proud of this area."

The city council is getting tough on the 800-year-old red-light district, pledging to stamp out crime and human trafficking by revoking the licences of suspect sex clubs and brothels – including some of the industry's best-known names.

The city paid €27m (£20m) to buy the buildings from businessman Charles Geerts last year. They had housed about a third of the windows where prostitutes beckon to customers and take them into a small adjoining room for sex.

Dubbed "Fat Charlie" by the Dutch press, Geerts' licences were revoked by the city on the accusation that his financial accounting lacked transparency. He was fighting that decision when the two sides decided to settle out of court.

By allowing the designers to occupy these former brothels for a year free of charge, the city council hopes to breathe new life into the area – and attract visitors who are more interested in shopping than sex.

But the Red Light Fashion project has angered local window prostitutes. " The women here fear it will affect their earnings because the shops will bring the kind of visitor who wants nothing to do with them," said Metje Blaak, of the sex workers' union.

Many in the tourist industry acknowledge that the red-light district – a warren of narrow alleys and canals lined with sex shops, peep shows and brothels – is as big an attraction as art museums and coffee shops where marijuana is smoked.

"They'd lose so much money if they shut it down," said Max, 25, an English tourist, who admitted the drugs and women had attracted him to Amsterdam.

The city's new policy is part of a wider trend in the Netherlands of tightening the laws that sanction coffee shops and prostitution. Under current plans as many as a third of all the sex windows and brothels could close.

Edwin Oudshoorn, 27, a fashion designer, told the first visitors to his shop that he hoped he could work side by side with the prostitutes. He has ripped out the neon lights and put up yellow wallpaper to display his womenswear collection.

"When I first came in here, it was disgusting, but within a week I made it my own," he said. "Now it is my little doll's house."

link​

 

[bingalpaws]

alright, getting rid of brothels, the mushroom issue, coffee shop licensing issues, the new 'no smoking' thing that's supposed to be in july that'll apply to coffee shops, kinda don't have that urge to visit amsterdam anymore..

 

[AmorRoark]

I'm glad I visited before it was too late.

 

[tobala]

The Netherlands is turning into the USA.

What a tragedy.

 

[kultron]

Yeah, because we all know exploitation of women is a good idea.

 

[bingalpaws]

Oh damn, my bad - didn't realize the red light district was solely a forced-prostitution gig lolz.

 

[kultron]

That's the stupidest comeback I've ever heard, especially from a moderator. You clearly don't grasp the full meaning of the word 'exploitation'.

 

[bingalpaws]

I'm not even gonna bother to fight semantics on exploitation - bottom line is that if women want into that profession, it's their right to choose it.

 

[Ody]

edit

 

[kultron]

Are you admitting to being an idiot or something? You're basically saying to me, "I tolerate this behaviour as appropriate for the functioning and advancement of an excellent city/society." Let me ask you these questions:
Why do you feel it necessary that prostituition be present and legal in a society?
Do you feel that women should be encouraged to participate in this profession as any other?
Would you tell your children about it or would you present it as normal like any other behaviour?
Do you think that the leaders of countries should actively endorse and participate in this business?
If there was a way to remove prostitution from a society entirely, would you?
Would it be in your best interests to run a prostitution business?
Do you encourage human trafficking?
Are you a pervert?

 

[bingalpaws]

You're basically saying to me, "I tolerate this behaviour as appropriate for the functioning and advancement of an excellent city/society."

By 'this behavior' I have to presume you mean prostitution in general. Yes, I do tolerate this behavior, tolerate may even be an understatement. And yes, I feel for a society/city to be truly excellent, people should be allowed to do as they choose - for many, this includes both selling and purchasing sex services.

Why do you feel it necessary that prostituition be present and legal in a society?

Because it's a consensual, victimless activity, and a just society should not have the ability to outlaw said activity.

Do you feel that women should be encouraged to participate in this profession as any other?

In certain cases, sure.

Would you tell your children about it or would you present it as normal like any other behaviour?

You're making it seem as though those are mutually exclusive and I don't see them that way. Also unsure if you're asking that based on me observing prostitution, purchasing sex services, or selling them myself. But to pretty much any of those my answer's the same - when they're mature enough to understand I don't see any issue whatsoever.

Do you think that the leaders of countries should actively endorse and participate in this business?

Actively endorse? I think leaders of countries should worry about far more pressing things.

Participate? Do I think they should? You ask that like I can give you a yes or no, when it's very clearly dependent upon whether they *want* such services. If they want them then of course I think they should have access, what makes you think I'd feel a leader shouldn't be able to when a normal citizen can?

If there was a way to remove prostitution from a society entirely, would you?

Holy hypothetical!! Hmm, if I could remove "the world's oldest profession", would I?

For now, I'll emphatically say NO.

I think you're presuming I kinda see issues or problems with the general idea of prostitution, but am okay tolerating it. That's not the case. I have zero moral/ethical hangups with seeing someone have the legal right to buy and/or sell sex services in the same way they can buy/sell any other services.

Would it be in your best interests to run a prostitution business?

You're asking the weirdest questions. Would it be in mine? Certainly not - but you have no idea what my current career is so the fact that I wouldn't currently be interested in running a brothel/call service means absolutely nothing. In different situations, sure I would. I'm not even sure what you're trying to get out of me with that question - why would my current desire, or lack thereof, to run a brothel/call service have any bearing on my arguments, feelings on the matter, or anything?

Do you encourage human trafficking?

lolz wish I didn't even respond to the rest of your q's upon reading that one. Q doesn't deserve an answer.

Are you a pervert?

Well, pervert is quite subjective sometimes, ain't it? Am I a pervert to you? I'd bet on it. Do I consider myself one? Nope.





I answered your questions, perhaps you could answer a few of mine.

Would you like to see prostitution fully erased from this planet?

Do you think the government should have a say in whether I engage in consensual, victimless activities based on moral grounds?

Do you believe that making prostitution illegal is in the best interests of prostitutes? If you respond 'yes' here, please back up your position.

 

[captainballs]

There's nothing wrong with a city trying to beautify some of its prime real estate. I'm pretty sure a person can get away with just about anything there, maybe they just can't be big douches about it anymore.

 

[qwe]

Why do you feel it necessary that prostituition be present and legal in a society?

having sex with who we want should be legal
selling whatever we want should be legal
therefore, selling sex should be legal

if a woman wants this as a profession, for whatever reason, it is HER choice. AKA freedom

Do you feel that women should be encouraged to participate in this profession as any other?

some girls like it some girls dont. but none of us are saying we should encourage all the girls to be prostitues. thats just stupid, AKA strawman

Would you tell your children about it or would you present it as normal like any other behaviour?

i would tell my children, when they are old enough that they know about sex, that sure, some people 'purchase' sex. in fact a lot of people do. making sex, and related sex topics, taboo, has done an enormous amount of harm to this world and country

Do you think that the leaders of countries should actively endorse and participate in this business?

well first of all, they already do. second of all, i dont care what someone endorses. people can endorse whatever they want. that's why we're supposed to be a free country. AKA free speech

If there was a way to remove prostitution from a society entirely, would you?

this would involve destroying a market for which there is both a consensual, willing demand, and a consensual, willing supply (like the drug market).

i'm not saying prostitution never occurs as a symptom of society's ills. sometimes it does. what i am saying, is that prostitution is not always that way, and i'd rather address those 'original ills' than the symptoms of it any day. <another reference to the drug war>

Would it be in your best interests to run a prostitution business?

no, because some people (mainly christians) who want to impose their morals on other peoples, would try to put me in jail even though no one is being harmed

Do you encourage human trafficking?

i believe an individual has the right to go wherever he pleases. eg if someone needs to escape his country for some reason (and he isnt guilty of harming other people and the punishments of his country are reasonable). since i believe in individual rights to the full extent, i believe that if someone CONSENTS (key word for this whole entire post) to be 'trafficked' somewhere else, they have the right to do so, regardless of immigration laws

but unwillingly trafficking in humans (aka slavery) is a violation of individual rights and of course i do not support that

Are you a pervert?

everyone is a pervert. if you can't see this, you need to read a sociology textbook

 

[qwe]

damn two people beat me to it. i had to go do something before i wrote my post!

anyway, a quote from another dead hero,

If fucking is legal,
and selling is legal,
then why isn't selling fucking legal!?

 

[huntmich]

Are you admitting to being an idiot or something? You're basically saying to me, "I tolerate this behaviour as appropriate for the functioning and advancement of an excellent city/society." Let me ask you these questions:
Why do you feel it necessary that prostituition be present and legal in a society?
Do you feel that women should be encouraged to participate in this profession as any other?
Would you tell your children about it or would you present it as normal like any other behaviour?
Do you think that the leaders of countries should actively endorse and participate in this business?
If there was a way to remove prostitution from a society entirely, would you?
Would it be in your best interests to run a prostitution business?
Do you encourage human trafficking?
Are you a pervert?

http://www.independent.org/publications/working_papers/article.asp?id=1300

Rape Rate in the US:32.05
Rape Rate in the Netherlands: 10.39

 

[GoddessLSD-XTC]

Been to A'dam three times. Tried to be a window girl but they wouldn't rent me a window 'cause i didn't have an EU passport. Next time I go I'm gonna hook up with the prettiest one along the historic canal, pay her 100 euros to stand in her window. Whoring in Amsterdam is my Mt. Everest.

http://www.bluelight.ru/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=44389&cat=500&ppuser=69168

 

[masonyoung]

I love the smell of Amsterdam...coffee and weed...yum

 

[captainballs]

Originally Posted by DigitalDuality
depends on how it's done IMO. I'm not a big fan of eminent domain.

As Americans we have automatic negative reactions to eminent domain because our government would have taken the red light district, sold it to halliburton, and placed ex-prostitutes in halfway houses next to the waste facilities. NL will make sure all the people adversely affected by this will have very soft landing pads, and the city will probably be better for the decision in the long run.

 

[Mariposa]

I think Amsterdam is the only place I have ever been where I thought that (assuming the person is in the profession CONSENSUALLY) legalized prostitution truly worked. One step over the line, and there is a cop or bouncer ready to keep matters under control. This includes the dealing of hard drugs. I saw this three separate times in 8 days in Amsterdam in 2001.

DD, in most part I agree with you and bingalpaws, but "eminent domain" (which I have no personal knowledge of Dutch law regarding the issue) does not include revocation of licensing and what essentially amounts to gentrification.

 

[Beatlebot]

I had a sticky beak around the red-light district while I was there. Not having women on display in windows is probably a positive change overall. While some of the middle-aged women dressed in lingerie were interesting to look at, there were alot of women who just looked like they need serious help. Women with bruises all up and down their legs and women who looked right out of their heads on drugs or something.

It's not like they're going to fully eradicate brothels, nobody can do that, although I agree this does seem to fall into a trend towards the conservative in the Netherlands. However when you look at it, The Netherlands has a pretty conservative history.

I hope you'll still be able to catch live sex shows there with the fruit and everything. That sort of thing really impresses me.