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"A grotesque exercise in the dehumanization of women is carried out routinely at Sheri?s Ranch, a legal brothel about an hour?s ride outside of Vegas.

By Ann Althouse

Writes Bob Herbert, inviting the presidential candidates ? who are campaigning in Nevada ? to pay attention to "the dark persistence of misogyny in America":

There the women have to respond like Pavlov?s dog to an electronic bell that might ring at any hour of the day or night. At the sound of the bell, the prostitutes have five minutes to get to an assembly area where they line up, virtually naked, and submit to a humiliating inspection by any prospective customer who has happened to drop by.

First of all, these prostitutes aren't at all like Pavlov's dogs, who heard a bell and actually got physically excited by anticipation that they would be fed. They're more like doctors who carry beepers. They've chosen a line of work where their clients determine when their services are wanted, and they're being paid for attending to those needs whether they are in the mood or not. That's difficult to do, so show some respect. Don't condescend and tell them they are being humiliated. It's legal prostitution, and the job is voluntary. Are doctors humiliated when patients show up and expect them to palpate and attend to their naked body parts?

Full post as published by Althouse on January 15, 2008 (boomark / email).