"I would venture to guess that there are very few women who have not, at some point in their lives and relationships, had sex because of physical or psychological coercion... "

It depends what level you mean that as to whether that is scary.

Have I ever felt physically or psychologically bullied into sex while openly protesting about it? - No

Have I ever engaged in sex because I thought I was expected to, or to keep him happy because he was in the mood and I wasn't but I didn't want to deal with the emotional results of me rejecting his advances? - yes, sometimes.

Do I feel coerced as a result? yes. kind of.
Do I feel abused as a result? No.

Maybe I've been lucky in life and have not experienced the kind of thing that Janie meant, I'm not sure.

For me, sex isn't always about deep emotional stuff - it can be just about mutual fun between people who want to share each other's bodies. In an idealistic world I don't see why there shouldn't be a financial transaction involved as well, with a prostitute enjoying her work and being recompensed for her time and skill, in an environment that is not physically/psychologically damaging.

The realist in me, however, accepts that the above situation is not common and I'm not convinced the legal status of prostitution would make a great deal of difference to anything. There are a lot of unhappy, damaged, or downright nasty people out there, and any prostitute is going to be vulnerable to them no matter what the circumstances.

Anybody read any Robert Heinlein? His attitude to sex and prostitution is refreshing. But maybe not very realistic.