Wham bham, whazzat ma’am?

I’m always one to call a spade a spade and – snerk - a hoe a hoe.

So. What’s a ho – oops, whore?

Easy peasy. A prostitute. Someone who engages in sexual activities in exchange for money/material gain.

So then… what’s an attention whore, what's a comment whore?

From the context within which these catchphrases are being so fashionably bandied about, it appears that an attention whore is someone who is desperate for attention. Yada badada re comment whore.

But how does that even jive with the sale element inherent to whoring, in its traditional sense? Since attention/comment whoring presumably involves no sexual activity (although given the level of desperation of some, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does), I guess the attention sought is analogous to the material gain bit.

Traditional whore – sex for money
Attention whore - ? for attention

Help me here…what’s being exchanged?

Aha…a quick check with answers.com reveals the definition of whore to include –

"A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain"

Ding! - Attention whore = someone who “sells out” for attention.

I see.

Hmph… I still think that more often than not, it’s being used wrongly. For the sake of sounding “edgy” and cool. Think I sound a tad bit snobby? Not true. Definitely more than just a tad.

[warning – attention deficit, digression alert]

Frankly, being labelled as “compromising principles” doesn’t do justice to prostitutes. Whose principles? The prostitute’s? Feh. I’m more inclined to say that the definition obviously comes from the perspective of that old nag, morality’s highhorse. What’s being slighted (oops, did I mean “compromised”?), from yon high perspective, is actually society’s morality.

What’s wrong with “selling your body”? Before you start polishing your lynch weapon of choice, please note that I’m talking about voluntary prostitution here. I don’t for a minute condone human trafficking.

How is voluntary prostitution different from a doctor using the skill of his hands and getting paid for it? Or a manual labourer being paid for the brute strength of his body?

Oh looky here, there’s something wedged up society’s butt…shivers, it appears to be a big fat holy book.

It’s ALL about the sex isn’t it? The fact that someone’s trading sex for money just gives the tight-butted righteous the heeby jeebies. All the “your body is your temple” and “intimacy of love-making” mantras and nose-wrinkling disdain at the concept of “f@&king", they're all there in the morality police manual.

Well, what about a man selling his sperm, then? I assure you that there’s been many a college guy who’s deliriously cried “I get to wank, a supply of porn AND get paid for it? Awesome!”.

The argument that prostitutes corrupt and tempt their clientele ("those tawdry trollops!") flies in the face of capitalism. Which capitalist worth his/her salty one-cent coin would say no to servicing a ready market? The focus of a spouse’s/partner’s outrage should be directed on the partner, not the prostitute. Perhaps the outrage should be at the fact that there is a demand in the first place, and that it will still be there even if there were no “product” to satisfy it.

Sometimes, it’s all a woman has left to fall back on. Whether it be economic duress or good economic sense, it’s her asset to sell. Why should there be shame in that?

Prostitution should be legalised if only for the sake of keeping an eye on how it’s practised. Me, I think removing the stigma and giving legitimacy to a honest way of earning one's keep will go a long way towards restoring some dignity, not to mention safety, to the women who for whatever reason find themselves in it.

Prostitution has been around since mankind’s been able to say mrowl. It's not about to go away. Might as well make it safe and regulated.

And taxable.

Baiting the high-stepping horses. How's that for attention whoring?