Backpage Sleazy Sex Ads Should Be Illegal

by Nicole Fabian-Weber
http://t.co/sl3bF7a

Who doesn't remember the halcyon days when the Adult Services section of Craigslist was flourishing? Want to engage in some naughty behavior? Head over to Craigslist! Jonesing for a sensual massage that involves a pipe cleaner, a grouper, and a can of glitter? Post it up on Craigslist! Looking to sell your three-year-old IKEA couch? Sell it on Craigslist! (Okay, that last part has nothing to do with Adult Services, but how great is it when you make a sale?)
Unfortunately, Craigslist quietly shut down this portion of the site in December after lawmakers complained that the site had a laissez-faire attitude toward prostitution and child trafficking. Pssh, boring lawmakers!
Fret not, though, dear pervy ones, you can still get your bizarro fixes on the Village Voice Media-owned Backpage.com. Rapists and crazy people please apply.
Truth be told, despite the fact that the Adult Services section is now defunct on Craigslist, business is still booming. Go ahead, take a stroll down some of the more ambiguous sections of Craigslist (Miscellaneous Romance, anyone?) and see what sick s**t you dig up. And bad things still happen from this stuff. In fact, just the other day, a women was choked unconscious by a man who responded to her Craigslist ad.
However, after the all-too-obvious category was shut down, more and more people started heading over to Backpage, where the same kind of horrific things are resulting (a woman was recently sliced). Backpage also boasts brazen (and ballsy!) proof that the oldest profession is still up and running. (Not that we didn't know, but isn't this stuff supposed to be on the DL?) One post reads:

Looking for sexy women in the Seattle area interested in earning money through a new agency. Must be 18 or older, hwp, be drama-free and have a great attitude. No experience necessary. Contact us for more details.

I mean, that's blatant prostitution right there, is it not? Why haven't lawmakers gotten on Backpage yet? (And why haven't they gotten stricter with Craigslist?) Bad, bad things -- besides rich people getting richer -- are happening from this crazy rabbit hole of sexual postings. It not only seems like a stupid thing for young women to get lured into, it seems like a really stupid thing for the government to ignore.
What do you think of sites like Backpage?