Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Iceland government makes it harder to get warm

My casual impression has always been that regulation of the sex industry tends to be pro-cyclical, with laxer regulation in bad times, perhaps because the general public has more sympathy with people who will take "any job" when there are fewer jobs to be had in general.

Iceland provides some evidence against this theory, as they have just banned strip clubs, despite being in a fairly dire economic situation. Matt Yglesias has some comments, with which I largely agree.

I still find it odd that anyone would think it feminist to either deny female sexuality or to put women out of work. This is just good old fashioned puritanism, dressed up in secular clothes. In my view, a serious feminism aims to empower women, not treat them as metaphorical little girls who need the protection of the state.

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