Most of the arguments made in support of legal abortion could also be made for legal prostitution.
Furthermore, there is a fair amount of research indicating that legal prostitution reduces occurances of rape.
Although I suppose it would increase “liquidity” in the market, and reduce the value of sex to a certain degree.
The value of goods sold will always be at a higher value when you have a monopoly. Legal prostitution would get men sex for certain at a known cost, whereas taking somebody out on a date is not certain to lead to sex. Keeping prostitution illegal means the monopoly is strengthened.
BTW, here in Denmark, having sex for money is legal, but only the prostitute can make money of of it (directly, anyway), which means that prostitutes can outsource their protection to the police. In Sweden it is legal sell sex, but not to buy it, which means they technically could call the police anyway, but it will destroy their business -- and that the customers they do get are less likely to obey they law and so are more likely to be violent.
So how do brothels/"massage parlors" make money? Charge prostitutes? Sell overpriced condoms?
Please don't put words in my mouth, I was presuming nothing.
Man, for similar reasons (and the male of the species in most such species) is selected, where woman selects. It's easier for a man to be rejected by potential mates, than the opposite.
Most of our urges are not rationally defined by us (or even our species alone) -- they are millions of years old.
Your understanding of human sexuality and mine are so not on the same page, they aren't even in the same book.