Prostitution, money slavery, could be genetic

Though the study, or at least this report about the study, doesn't go there, one logical inference is that the men are hard-wired for prostitution.

Men's brains found to link sex, money

Using brain scans, researchers from Northwestern and Stanford universities, have shown that when young men are shown erotic pictures they are more likely to make a larger financial gamble than if they were shown a picture of items like a snake or stapler.

One of my personal gripes about sex laws is how stupidly sexist it is to target prostitutes while letting johns walk free. I've always said that if you're going to make a normal consensual adult sexual behavior a crime, you should at least enforce it justly. (Ok, ok, of course, I think it's disgusting that consensual adult sexual behaviors of ANY kind are crimes: sex laws are just another way for a government to force religious ideology down the throats of the sheep-like.) BUT the reality is that we are all subject to these laws. So is it too much to ask that the government at least dispense its obligations in a fair and just manner, and not limit itself to punishing the vulnerable class (sex-workers) while giving the monied class (clients) a free pass?

This study suggests that the root of such things as prostitution -- and the whole notion of money for sex -- may well be a genetic feature of male psychology in the first place. Though Western society is wedded to the notion of the evil woman (you know, just like the chick who made Adam chomp an apple in Eden), maybe behind every evil woman is a man whispering "fuck me and I'll give you a diamond ring," because he was genetically programmed that way. And perhaps women have been reacting to the male fetish all along -- and not, as so popularly believed in our culture -- because they are, by nature, ruthless gold-diggers. Of course, now I would love to see a study showing whether women are wired to enjoy getting money for sex the way men enjoy giving it for sex. Maybe it is our biology that makes us want men to spoil us with gifts?

The study raises a bunch of interesting questions about the phenomenon of "money slavery." There are different terms for it, but in brief it's the fetish for giving dominant women money as part of your service to, or ownership by, them. Its watered-down BDSM version is to be found in the "tribute" ritual, where pro dommes ask for gifts and cash beyond the fees they already charge. Vanilla-wise you see it when girls advertise for sugar-daddies, not to mention all the ones who accept rent money in exchange for a sexual relationship. Should I even mention all the ladies who will only marry rich? Maybe not.

But in its most extreme and harmful versions, money-slaves can easily be exploited or extorted to the point of bankruptcy and self-hatred. Sometimes it's with the slave's knowing and self-destructive consent but more often through criminal manipulations on the part of the sex-worker/con artist.

Are men hard-wired, to some degree, to want or need to give women money when aroused? Apparently so. Is a hardcore money fetishist, therefore, someone who, through the luck of the draw, got a little more of this or a little less of that in the genetic roll of the dice? If so, does that make it different from other fetishes -- or is this beginning of discovering that genetic pre-disposition plays a substantial role in the development of all fetishes?