Often when I research material on the subject of prostitution, I come across the same old cliche of it being the worlds oldest known trade or profession and as old as history itself. Like many children raised in the Catholic Church, one of my first accounts of prostitution was from a controversial passage in the Bible telling the tale of a woman named Mary Magdalene. I believe the story goes something like this.

Mary was singled out and accused by the dudes of the time as being a prostitute and they were about to stone her or do her some harm as a form of punishment for her actions. These guys must have thought that they were pretty cool as they were all so willing to pass judgment on this woman. Just as they were about to kill her another dude by the name of Jesus piped up and said to this crowd something like 'whoever among you who has not done anything wrong in their past, you throw the first stone' or something like that. Not one person in that mob was willing to make the first move. They all left probably mumbling in their beards. Jesus was supposed to have been a bit of a holy man himself and he told Mary that he also was not about to condemn her. I'm pretty sure he would have recommended she go and maybe consider another line of work.

Though simplistic in its delivery, this story has not change much over the centuries. There are still those people who sell themselves for sex. There are still those people willing to pass judgment on what these people do even though they have no idea of the reasons why these people are in this predicament in the first place. There is still the associated violence, the victims and those willing to forgive.

As old as the hills, prostitution today takes more forms than ever before. Around the world the sex industry presents many faces. Male or female, prostitutes are still shunned and labeled whores or hookers. Those who buy it are seen as sleazy or immoral. From the low end of the scale in the slums of a third world country to a legalized brothel at the high end of the scale do opinions on prostitution change? Are prostitutes always victims or do some control their work and even enjoy the sex? When the industry does away with the street pimps and the other players in the game are the disabled or subscribers to cyber brothels, is prostitution somehow destigmatized or is violence, drug abuse and disease still global realities?

The sex industry adapts itself to different cultures but the bottom line is that the institution is primarily about providing sex. Around the world, it faces similar problems. Many are driven to sell sex against their will and they are rejected by society as a result. Some are trafficked as children, others end up on the street to escape child abuse and become ensnared by pimps and a few lured by the high end of the industry. No matter what the circumstances, prostitution carries a powerful stigma and people who sell sex are considered tainted.