When did morals go away?

[chicagodisneyfan]

Well if you are single and don’t want a relationship?
in my opinion Sex work should be legal and regulated for safety. Like in certain places in Nevada.
(Obviously no underage or sex trafficing)

And honestly- there are websites where girls are seeking sugar daddies. And women who will only date men who make $$$. That’s just selling yourself for money, but in a more acceptable fashion.

 

[Moliphino]

A lot of people have never had them.

What happened to personal integrity? Integrity….doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

You know what's interesting? Recent research has shown that neurodivergent people are far more likely to do the right thing when nobody is looking. Neurotypical people will do the right thing publicly, but make the a more selfish choice in private or when nobody else would know.

 

[ronandannette]

I’m in the “...nothing new under the sun...” camp. Whatever the motivation, religion, law, groupthink, etc., social mores at any given time constrain what is seen as bad behaviour. Until they don’t. Morals are an individual thing, so the original question should have been “When did people in this society start openly behaving in ways that I think are immoral?”. As has been pointed out, studies of ancient cultures quickly reveal all sorts of behaviour that might, subjectively, be seen as far worse than what we’re talking about here. And so it will ever be...

 

[CdnCarrie]

I've been asking this question for years now.
It's sad how so many people are today.

People tease me about how Downton Abbey is my favorite show, but I love it because it's a clean show during a time that most people had many of the qualities people lack today. When this current world starts aggravating me, I put on Downton Abbey to hit the reset button.

Fairly certain there were prostitutes in the Victoria era as well. Or the 1910/20s. In fact KIng Edward VII was known to get around.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I don't think people's morals have changed. I think our ability to hear/see the information about bad moral behavior is so much more accessible thanks to the Internet.
PBS did a show interviewing reporters who covered the White House and they were asked why some of the moral indiscretions of days gone by weren't reported. The reporters all agreed, in those days, a President's private life was private and had nothing to do with being President. They only covered the Presidents official duties, not his extracurricular activies.

For sure. JFK was a rapist.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

This thread is a hoot.

 

[Praying Colonel]

There is no definite figure for the number of children that Henry fathered; it is presumed to be twenty-four but the real figure could be much higher. Some mistresses had children which were not recorded as Henry’s but could have been and also the information recorded at the time on female children was never as extensive as on male children, especially so for illegitimate daughters.

The Illegitimate Royals: The Many Children of Henry I

 

[sam_gordon]

Well if you are single and don’t want a relationship?
in my opinion Sex work should be legal and regulated for safety. Like in certain places in Nevada.
(Obviously no underage or sex trafficing)

And honestly- there are websites where girls are seeking sugar daddies. And women who will only date men who make $$$. That’s just selling yourself for money, but in a more acceptable fashion.

I personally agree with you. I brought up legalizing prostitution on the Dis a year or so ago. Here's the thread... https://www.disboards.com/threads/should-prostitution-be-decriminalized.3789558/

 

[dcassetta]

This is about misogyny.

 

[Karin1984]

This is about misogyny.

Want to elaborate?

 

[jrmasm]

Fairly certain there were prostitutes in the Victoria era as well. Or the 1910/20s. In fact KIng Edward VII was known to get around.

Prostitution is also know as the World's Oldest Professions so...

 

[CdnCarrie]

Funny that the OP think morals have changed recently lol.

 

[jimmymc]

They've never been there in the first place. This news story is child's play compared to how Thomas Jefferson or George Washington lived.

What has happened is that social media and news are so competitive for views that they need to report the most shocking stories possible. Actual useful information doesn't sell.

 

[Christine]

To me, this story isn't about prostitution per se, but about human trafficking and the clients who are partaking in this: "clients included politicians, high-tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors who possess security clearances, professors, lawyers, scientists and accountants."

We know better now. At least the "politicians, military officers, and government contractors" know better because we are trained on it annually. The question of morals isn't about the prostitutes or the "ring" itself, but the people who continue to take part in it. Yes, it's been going on forever but many "clients" were not aware of the trafficking and abuse that goes on but they know better these days.

 

[dcassetta]

Want to elaborate?

Sure. Men continue to control the sex work industry. Perhaps these women are sex workers because they have been trafficked. Perhaps these women are sex workers because they don't feel they have better options. The vast majority of people who visit female prostitutes are male, this is also true of people who visit male prostitutes. We use different terms to describe people who engage in sex with multiple partners - the terms for men tend to be complementary, but those for women are not.

 

[Pinnochio]

Since the internet and social media made it easy to say whatever you want while remaining mostly anonymous....so approx. 20 years....

 

[Sykes]

In ancient Greece prostitution was legal and acceptable. It is called the oldest profession in the world for a reason. It exists, because there was (is) a demand.

It has always existed and it always will.
The only thing that can change is public opinion. People think this immoral now.

Prostitution being illegal is a fairly recent change--it was legal almost everywhere in the US until 1910, and was legal in most of Europe until World War II. The truth is that prostitution exists and is easily accessible in every city and town of any reasonable size in the US. All we've done is drive that business underground, which encourages human trafficking and makes it more dangerous for both the sex workers and the clients. Like with most vices that are outlawed out of moral panic, we'd be much better off legalizing and regulating the industry--there will still be an underground component, but it would be a fraction of what it is now.

 

[Kennywood]

"America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

 

[sam_gordon]

To answer the question, I don't think people's morals have changed. What's changed is people don't care what they "look" like. Put that together with social media and 24/7 news cycle, and it LOOKS like a change.

 

[jtopp]

It's a sad day when common sense and personal responsibility are no longer valued traits, but the more outrageous and controversial behavior is accepted and celebrated.