OK, so why DO men frequent prostitutes?

[TexasPaganDem]

93. Coming at this from both sides

First:
As a banker, I have clients of mine that are prostitutes. One in particular is a very interesting 32 year old woman, fun to talk to, very well educated, and I have had the pleasure of talking to her at length as a friend. She was working on her MBA when a heart condition forced her to leave college. She lost her driver's license, and because she had no income, was in danger of losing both her apartment and her children. She put her MBA classes to work in "people management". She sees clients, and has at any given time 2-4 women that work under her and she acts as their "screener", checking out potential clients for their safety. In her position, she makes close to $400K a year.

We were also talking about her tax situation, and it kind of amazed me. She filed business tax returns, and listed her profession as "prostitute." She said under the tax code, if you report income from illegal activity, you are still allowed to take deductions (like the hotel room, clothing and cell phone costs), and are charged at a higher tax bracket, but it prevents you from going to jail for tax evasion if you are audited.

No one forced her into the situation, and she doesn't force her girls into prostitution, they come to her. She declines clients they don't want to work with. And they have the ability to say no to any act.

Second:
I have a friend of mine that frequents prostitutes. He's my wife's best friend, and I've known him for years. There are some acts that his wife is just not interested in (what he's asking for, in any relationship that I have had, is a very standard thing, not abnormal in any way). She is fine with this habit, and prefers that he visits a prostitute 1 or 2 times a month rather than forming an emotional bond with another person or going behind her back for it. He also travels for work (he works for a large chemical company and will travel for 2-3 months at a time), and has her blessing to hire a prostitute while out of town if he's gone more than a month.

They have rules of course, I know there has to be protection, no bringing anyone home, no emotional attachments, etc. They also have a budget for him which is less than my wife and I typically spend on dinner and drinks for an evening (and I have no guarantees when I get home, lol).

So, I can see why people visit prostitutes. I know people on both ends of it. I never have, nor do I feel the need to, but I don't condemn either party for doing what they feel is right for them.