I understand that there are some who feel that prostitution is the only way they will ever get sex; that some employ prostitutes for a particular aspect of sex (i. e. the man who loves blowjobs, but his wife thinks they are nasty...); and still others for whom it is a fantasy/fetish (one of those forbidden fruit things, no doubt). Personally, it just does not appeal to me, but then again, anonymous or very casual sex doesn't, either.

I think it's ridiculous for prostitution to be "illegal," though. The government has no authority, IMHO, to regulate ANY kind of sex between consenting adults. I'm guessing that the prohibitions originally grew from puritanical roots, but I would bet that the main government opposition these days is an inability to figure out how to tax it & profit from it.