Exploiting and exploited

Tammy left this note:
"I think prostitution is in its own way a form of gender inequality. Sure , you see male prostitutes now and then, but the main bulk of them are females.To me prostitution makes women seem like objects for the sexual pleasure of guys. And ultimately contributes to the gender stereotypes of women being deemed as inferior to men."

i agree that prostitution is a form of gender inequality, but not in the favour of men, but in the favour of women.

as Tammy rightly pointed out, there are far fewer male prostitutes than there are female ones. this is probably reflective of the greater demand for female prostitutes compared to male prostitutes. as such, this means that it is more viable for women to earn money through prostitution than it is for men. does this not, practically speaking, give women, on the whole, an economic advantage over men?

not only that, this additional avenue of economic production is made possible because women are able to exploit men's innate weakness: our lust, our desire for the physical gratification of sexual intercourse. does this not mean that men, not women, are the exploited in the transactions of prostitution?

From Rugby

Cougars,
I know that any words of consolation that I attempt to offer will sound empty and nothing I say will assuage the great pain that you feel. Nor will I cheapen the sacrifices you made in your struggle for the plate by telling you that it was just a game.

But I do want apologize and to thank you.

I want to apologize for not being around more for you. I also want to apologize for not doing more for you. I wasn't even able to rouse the supporters to cheer for you with more spirit. I'm sorry.

I want to thank you for the perserverance, courage and strength that you have shown throughout your journey thus far. I cannot even begin to fathom how tough it must have been to get so far given where you started from. It has inspired me greatly.

I also want to thank you for the fun, laughter and even silliness that you have brought me. I will always recall fondly the couple of times we ran together. Thanks for making me feel part of you.

Finally, I have two wishes for you.

I wish that you would find that your blood, sweat and tears have made you stronger people. I also wish that the friendship and camaraderie amongst you that you have forged through surmounting the many challenges together will keep growing and that even many years later, you will still count on each other as you have done on the pitch.

Well... it has been tough coming thus far. I hope that you have found it worthwhile nonetheless. Do continue to strive and do your best in the rest of your endeavours as you have done for rugby.

Hopefully there will be a chance to run with you guys again.

Philosophical Ruminations from Geylang

J1: ooh... look at those creamy lumps of flesh!

J2: ya! look at how it jiggles when you hit it!

R: we are still talking about durians here right? i mean... come on... we are in Geylang.

it was a fruitful (pun intended) trip to Geylang last Saturday. We feasted on yummy food and gorged ourselves silly with delicious durians and Jeremy showed us his ability to polish his seeds till they acquire a shiny sheen... :)

we also took a walk to the even lorongs, just for the heck of it, which proved to be an eyeopener for some of the ladies. SH was, as expected, grossed out. and i've been trying to get her to tell me what exactly is wrong, ethically, about prostitution. unlike drug peddling, it doesn't overtly set out to harm people. is it not just a value judgement that we look at prostitutes and say that what they do is to be frowned upon? what is the basis for such aversion, what fuels our disdain?

i think it is because monogamy, sexual loyalty to one particular mate has been pivotal in humanity's ability to develop societies and consequently civilisation. and this is a key development that gave human beings, as a species, an evolutionary edge. as such, anything, any behaviour within the species that threatens to buck such a trend is seen as deviant and thus to be strongly discouraged. and thus, as prostitution is a form of sexual disloyalty, disrupts this order which allows for the smooth forming of society, it is seen as something to be objected to.

and yet it exists. why? because at our basest, evolution has hardwired into the males of the species to have as much sex, and thus spread our own genes as far as possible. so the case of prostitution is a struggle of that which links us to other animals versus civilisation, it is also a struggle between the individual's desires and the collective well-being of the species.