An admitted call girl once said that prostitution is a profitable business if you market it correctly and properly screen your clients. The U.S. Department of Commerce claims that the underground economy (especially illegal gambling and prostitution) represents between 3 and 40 percent beyond the legal economy.

Fifi defends the right to sell sex between consenting adults and argues that a person has the right to use his or her body in any way that maximizes income. "We allow people to box professionally. So why do we allow people to beat the crap out of each other for a living, but prohibit people from being nice to each other (via sexual acts)?"

From the perspective of prostitutes, such as Fifi, "It's not the government's business. Should sex between consenting adults be a concern of the government at all? We allow prostitution in Nevada and in many other countries, so we're inconsistent as well. You mean to tell me that all those places are immoral? We do the same thing that a legal massage parlor does, only we do it on different parts of the body."

However, many former prostitutes say that most were drug addicts and many were molested as children or as young girls or boys. "When I first did it, I felt a tremendous sense of power," said Bula, "but that feeling quickly faded. Feelings of powerlessness, shame, and drug addiction ultimately followed, knowing that my prostitution was a continuing form of abuse, even though I made good money."⁴⁶

Evaluate the moral permissibility of Fifi's decision to be a prostitute.

Evaluate the moral permissibility of Bula's decision to be a prostitute.