Brothel for women - readers respond

Photos / Thinkstock, Paul Estcourt

The Herald this week revealed former MP Pam Corkery was planning a reality TV show based on the opening of a brothel catering only to women. It's certainly a controversial topic, and the story generated more than 100 comments on nzherald.co.nz. We asked readers if they thought a male brothel would be successful.

Some thought the idea was revolting. "That's just awful," said Susan. "What TV channel would want to have its name forever linked with the sleezy world of the ultimate degradation: prostitution?"

R2D2 said "prostitution is wrong - I don't care what the governments or anybody else thinks. It's just plain wrong."

Penelope reckoned the idea was "shameless and embarrassing. We need to focus more on our kids rather than a stupid idea like this. Is this woman really that desperate for a man?"

Others supported the plan. "Good on ya Pam, if it's good enough for women to sell themselves then it's good enough for men," said George, while Guinevere was excited by the idea. "Yay! You mean there is a way out of the hell hole of dating men as a solo Mum?! Fantastic!"

Leah said "I am a straight married woman and I think it's awesome that such a place will exist."

"Wow cool, I'd visit a male brothel!" said M Taylor. "Why? Because good men are hard to find, and if you do find someone and it ends up purely physical from their perspective then you tend to get a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am thing going on, which isn't very satisfying."

Fluff reckoned it was "an absolutely fabulous idea, it gets your itch scratched in a safe environment. It's a lot less dangerous that picking up someone from a club for a one night stand!"

Others were fine with the idea of a brothel catering to women, but didn't like the idea of a reality TV show based around it.

Mchaggis said "Although I do support this move, I am not in favour of turning the establishment of this brothel into a reality programme."

Dolly's view was: "the only thing that disturbs me is that voyeuristic dopes will watch a 'reality show' based on this piece of unreality. Exploiting desperate people for entertainment purposes is far worse than a consensual transaction for sex."

Jeannie said "the reality TV show might be a bit over the top but if people did not make such a fuss, I am sure it would all just fade away and become just another brothel."

Most commenters didn't have a problem with the idea of a male brothel, but did question whether such a concept could ever work.

Macca said "Sorry Pam, it won't work because of the overhead costs caused by the extra employed male staff you would require. Unlike woman prostitutes, the male sex workers would have limited resourses of performance over their hours of employment."

Others thought women didn't need, or want, to pay for sex. "The reality is women will seldom need to pay for sex unlike men who pay for it all the time," said Grey. "Even the less physically attractive woman can easily pick up a partner for the night effortlessly."

Dee said "I really do not think women are stupid enough to pay out good money for sex."

Ian reckoned it was a simple matter of supply and demand. "There is an economic reason for the existence of a sex industry, supply and demand. Men need to buy it, women can sell it. I can't see such a brothel making economic sense."

Julie thought the idea wouldn't work because women were after more than just sex. "Even if a woman is desperate for a man, it is more to do with forming some sort of relationship as well, not just one-off meaningless sex, which seems to satisfy the men who use prostitutes."

Allan reckoned "Women don't need a brothel. They just need to go lean on a bar and someone will take them home. Too easy, and it doesn't cost her hundreds of dollars."

Camel thought there would be more of a market for private escorts for women than a brothel. "Female clients are much pickier with regards to looks, physique, dress etc, and tend to want more than a 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' experience. They would not be seen dead going to a brothel."

Others thought the proposed brothel's success would depend on the calibre of its workers and the service they offered.

"Women want the whole 'experience' with a man, not some one-minute wonder," said EKT. "They would have be some serious Greek gods to make it worthwhile."

Similarly, Craig said "I'd guess it would depend on how many Brad Pitt lookalikes they can recruit."

GC babe pointed out that she'd "want the best orgasmn of my life for $150. Great idea, not sure if I'd use it though. I'd want to see pics first too."

Rosie said she would visit the brothel "as long as the staff are good looking and well trained".

- NZ Herald staff