The men seeking prostitutes did not respect any woman in the neighbourhood because it was assumed (by them) that any youngish woman was available for purchase.

And any woman available for purchase was not a woman, or human, that was due basic respect. This was my take on the behaviour of the men.

Again - legalizing prostitution would do little to change the behaviour of the men - they would still regard any woman they could buy as not deserving of respect. And any woman on a street where hookers worked would be considered fair game.

I also lived in Europe in a city where there was legalized prostitution. It was somewhat more civil, but it was still nerve wracking to be in the area. Again - the behaviour of men made it so - not of the hookers. I also worked with a couple of men who made use of the legal services, and their attitudes towards women in general were not . . . good. One of those fellows hitched his trousers up at the end of a Friday work day and said to the "office", "Well, I think I will go fuck a bitch tonight".

Oh, how nice! It was so, uhm, unconscious, that it was kind of funny. (He was talked to and told to be more "polite" when a female was around. - I've had the interesting luck to be the only female in some all male job situations - you learn a lot. Fly on the wall.)

Legal prostitution did not make my life and work relationships with men . . . better.

Aqain, why should I want legal prostitution? Will I and any other woman be treated with the same respect as a man on that street would be? Will it help men develop more respect for women in general? Or would any woman in the vicinity where prostitution is being practiced be expected to experience some level of harassment as men seek to purchase vaginas?

as long as male sexuality is not identical to female sexuality, or at least as long as men are not forced to behave as though it is, women are not secure and therefore not free

This is a disturbing collection of words from you.

I am well aware that part of freedom is dealing with people and actions that are uncomfortable to you.

However, in the case of my experiences, men were free to come up and ask me if I was "working" but they did not. What they did was act in a pointedly aggressive disrespective way. If these men wanted to exercise their freedom to buy a vagina, they were free to do that - but they (and people in general) need to treat each other with respect. I was not merely displeased with poor manners - I was subject to some hostile aggressions.

The effect it had on me was lasting. It also incurred empathy for what those prostitutes had to deal with. If those men were so distainful and angry at me, while merely trying to purchase my vagina, I could only imagine the vileness the prostitutes had to deal with when their vaginas were actually bought.

I still have far more empathy for hookers than johns.

Again: what would legalizing prostitution do for me?

I eventually moved out of that neighbourhood. There was an open acceptance of street prostitution and "happy ending" massage parlors in that city until a boy was ended up dead as a result of actions in a child sex ring. Then the city cracked down on all sex trade. The hookers moved and the johns followed I guess. Last time I was through that area, it was still seedy but women could walk to the store without having to brace ourselves for sexual assault.

Why can't men pursue their sexuality without threatening the personhood of women? Or are you saying this is one of those conflicts (between male and female) that cannot be resolved without one gender becoming the slave of the other?

How sad.

I still have some optimist in me that says this is not so.

as long as male sexuality is not identical to female sexuality, or at least as long as men are not forced to behave as though it is, women are not secure and therefore not free

Are you saying that women will never be secure or free as long as men are free to express their sexuality? I kind of says that to me.

Does prostitution exist as an expression of male sexuality?