“The big problem with pornography is defining it. You can’t just say it’s pictures of people naked. For example, you have these primitive African tribes that exist by chasing the wildebeest on foot, and they have to go around largely naked, because, as the old tribal saying goes: “N’wam k’honi soit qui mali,” which means, “If you think you can catch a wildebeest in this climate and wear clothes at the same time, then I have some beach front property in the desert region of Northern Mali that you may be interested in.”
So it’s not considered pornographic when National Geographic publishes color photographs of these people hunting the wildebeest naked, or pounding one rock onto another rock for some primitive reason naked, or whatever. But if National Geographic were to publish an article entitled “The Girls of the California Junior College System Hunt the Wildebeest Naked,” some people would call it pornography. But others would not. And still others, such as the Spectacularly Rev. Jerry Falwell, would get upset about seeing the wildebeest naked.”
- Dave Barry
I never cease to be amazed at the variety of things the Internet can be used for. F’rinstance, did you know that the World Wide Web is a fabulous resource for those offering and/or soliciting sex? Yeah, I know; who could have seen that coming??
Oh, the humanity…right? What sort of moral reprobates would troll da Interwebs in search of carnal pleasures? Well, it turns out that A LOT of people (I suspect mostly single, horny males) use the Web as their primary way to…um, procure companionship, shall we say??
Imagine my surprise, then, as I was innocently trolling doing some TOTALLY professional and above board online research (really, I was), and I came across a site called Mutually Beneficial Arrangments. Maybe it’s a Craigslist knock-off, I thought, a way for people to…oh, I don’t know…barter goods and services? Indeed; it’s ALL about goods and services, just not of the type I’d had in mind.
Good God, y’all…these people are (GASP!!) selling sex!! Shouldn’t the Internet Police be putting a stop to this sort of licentiousness and lewd commercial behavior? Do their mothers have ANY idea what they’re up to???
Strictly speaking, of course, this isn’t pornography, but this is dedicated to all those repressed patriots who defined porn as “the sex I’m not currently having.”
Trading sex for money is as old as…well, sex and money. It’s simple supply and demand, right? Women have something that men want, and some men are willing to provide money and/or other valuable commodities in exchange. All the Internet has done is streamline the process and make it significantly easier for suppliers and customers to find each other.
Thus do the wheels of commerce turn….
If you look at Mutually Beneficial Arrangements (MBA) as an educational opportunity (doing anything else would get me into a LOT of trouble), which is what I chose to do, you can actually learn a lot about relationships that are as much about money as sex. Who know, por ejemplo that there are different types of “sugar daddy” arrangements? Or that college girls can be creative when it comes to arrangements? Or even that being a young sugar daddy has its rewards (don’t make me spell it out for you)?
MBA is hardly the only site known for setting attractive young women up with wealthy, older men. This sort of relationship is neither new nor particularly novel. Money, I’ve heard it said, is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Now, thanks to the awesome power of the Internet, it’s much easier for those so inclined on either side of the equation to find one another. As long as no one is harmed, where’s the foul? After all, there are as many flavors of and desires for sex as there are human beings…and what happens between consenting adults is no one else’s damn business.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really do have to get back to whatever research it was that I set out to do originally. Damn, if I could just remember what that was…. ;-)
