Is Professional Cuddling legal in all states, counties, and cities in the U.S.?

johnbothejohnbothe
in Pro Cuddling

I went online to an article about professional cuddling and
it appears that in the State of Wisconsin Professional Cuddling is considered
to be a form of prostitution. I was wondering if Professional Cuddling is legal
in all states, counties, and cities. I contacted my local police department and
ask if Professional Cuddling (which is the exchange of money for cuddling
services) considered legal. The Law official emailed me back saying that there
were no business of Professional Cuddling in the City and that the law supports
consensual/mutual cuddling in a private setting. I was never given a straight
answer as if the exchange of money for cuddling services was considered
Illegal? I emailed him back but got no response. Who do I need to contact in my
local area to find out that wherever I am doing professional cuddling it is
considered legal by state, county, and city laws? If someone could help me out
that would be great!!!!

Comments

  • johnbothejohnbothe
    Any information would help!!! I am a Straight Arrow who has never broken a law in my life.
  • quietman775quietman775
    Could you please post a link to whatever source led you to the conclusion that professional cuddling is considered prostitution in Wisconsin?  Because that doesn't make any sense to me.

    I'm no lawyer, but I think the common understanding of prostitution is the one found in the dictionary: "the act or practice of engaging in sex for money."  cuddling, as defined and practiced by members of this site, is a platonic activity. There are no sexual acts involved. Therefore, cuddling is by definition not prostitution.

    If you are referring to the city of Madison having closed down The Snuggle House, I remember reading about that. A bunch of politicians wrongly concluded that there must be something sexual going on, because they couldn't believe that men would pay for innocent platonic snuggles. Sheer ignorance on the part of the politicians. No specific allegations of impropriety were made; no charges of any kind were filed; it was a simple case of Snuggle House being closed preemptively out of a sense of "presumed guilty until proven innocent."  But from what I read at the time, there were no laws on the books in Wisconsin or anywhere else that defined exchanging hand-holding and hugs for money as prostitution. How could it? That would be redefining the word. If charging for companionship is prostitution, then all the thousands of people who provide companionship services to the elderly are hookers. It's really that simple.

    Of course, no one can answer for every law that might be on the books in every jurisdiction in America. But if you wish to reassure yourself about where you live, it's probably better to check out a law library at your local college, or pull up your town's bylaws online, or ask a local defense attorney. That last option would be the most thorough; police officers are law enforcement, but they are not lawyers, so they would not be my first choice to ask how a specific statute is best interpreted. But from this layman's perspective, I can't imagine any jurisdiction that outlaws paid snuggling. Heck, the whole industry is too new for most legislative bodies to have ever considered it.
  • funandadventurefunandadventure
    @johnbothe, Dear John, this is a very gray area in certain states, I too have asked the question and as above got the same answer, Maryland is one state where I know it is not illegal,
    As for the rest of the world, In NZ, AUS, GB, USSR, China, India, and most states of Africa, to name a few, it is not against any laws. A gray area is Islam, from the friends/cuddle buddies I have there it is fine and not seen as against most laws but there are exceptions, the main rule not to be broken is that both parties are clothed.
    I hope this may help and would very much like to know what you research shows.
    Love and friendship John and his trees, Auckland NZ.
  • funandadventurefunandadventure
    You can e-mail me direct on my profile.
  • johnbothejohnbothe
    @funandaventure. Thanks for all of you advice. Do you know if it is legal in the state of Texas in the United States? I have done some research by emailing my local police department but they never gave me a straight answer. I think the police departments are aware of what Professional Cuddling is!!!
  • [Deleted User]Unknown (deleted user)
    edited June 2017
    you might try posting this in lawyers.com there are various categories , and state by state also .
  • MarkMark Mod
    I would recommend here too: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/ 
  • [Deleted User]chococuddles (deleted user)
    My insurance covered half of my acupuncture sessions last year.

    I would LOVE for Pro Cuddling to get to a point where it's respected and accepted as a legal form of therapy and recovery.

  • CarlosHuntCarlosHunt
    What two consenting adults do should be nobody's business except for the two consenting adults.  I'm all for the separation of church and state .  Next time could America please be discovered by Tahitians (think Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando)?
  • [Deleted User]Unknown (deleted user)
    @johnbothe Here's an article that doesn't address the legality of professional cuddling here in Texas, but it's a non-issue in the article:
    https://www.google.com/amp/www.chron.com/jobs/amp/Professional-cuddling-industry-is-up-in-Texas-10796327.php

    And here's another article in Dallas News:

    https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2017/02/11/san-antonio-woman-makes-80hour-professional-cuddler

    @quietman775 Great answer! Laws are written very specifically, and since platonic cuddling does not fit the legal description of prostitution, it would not be against said law. As for the ignorance of the law enforcement community on what actually hapoens during cuddling sessions, well...that's on them.
  • [Deleted User]Unknown (deleted user)
    Insurance-covered cuddling? Hear, hear, @chococuddles! That would be amazing if we got there, here in the US.
  • funandadventurefunandadventure
    edited June 2017
    Mod Note: This post partly responded to an off-topic discussion that has since been moved to another thread.

    Dear All, the point of this post is can members help with the legal status of Platonic cuddling in your city/township/state.
    As a visitor to the US I also do not want to get into a problem with law enforcement, I have asked the question, even getting an opinion from a very large legal firm in New York ( which cost a dollar or Two ) they said each city/town/state would have to be looked into and at there rates, not for me. We have a pool of members in most state's some of you can find out.
    The problem seems to be who decides what sex is, in law making, is a lap dance sex, if so, then dry humping is sex and allowed to carry on is an offense in some states but only if money changes hands.
    Come on friends, lets see what we can find out and help others.
  • quietman775quietman775
    edited June 2017
    @funandadventure, I see several problems with having individuals post the results of legal research into their own municipalities. First, if the legal/not legal question is so granular as to vary from city to city, posting information about my little town of 18,000 people wouldn't be meaningful to very many members here. Second, most of us aren't lawyers, and our personal reading of the statutes of our local communities would not be authoritative enough to be relied on by anyone. And most of us aren't going to pay a law firm to definitively research an answer for us. 

    Again, I think it really comes down to common sense definitions. Platonic cuddling is non-sexual by definition and therefore is not prostitution by definition. Comparisons to strip clubs (which by definition involve nudity) would not seem applicable. As for the comment about dry humping (something covered exhaustively in another thread, now mercifully closed) I think we can all agree that it forms no part of the definition of platonic cuddling; so whether or not a municipality prohibits lap dances, or whether or not dry humping is considered sex, has no bearing at all on the legality of platonic cuddling.

    What is illegal in almost all U.S. jurisdictions is sexual conduct for a fee. Look at the picture of the couple in the stock photo on this site's log-in page. They are a couple watching TV, sitting upright, fully clothed.  She is leaning into him and they are holding hands. What they are doing is cuddling, and I can't imagine the legal pretext by which any jurisdiction in this country would claim that the activity pictured is illegal sexual conduct, whether or not money changed hands.  If there is neither sex nor any form of sexual gratification involved ... case closed, no?

    I appreciate OP's question. He wants to do things by the book, and that's great. But it's easy to over-complicate things that should be simple. Before we all fan out to approach our local police or state legislators with questions that could raise suspicions about what we're "really" doing (and perhaps provoking reflexive cuddle bans where none exist) maybe we should pause and reconsider. Most of the time, we talk about how great it would be if "touch therapy" were widely recognized as a profession and reimbursed by insurance. That will never happen if we talk about lap dances, dry humping, and prostitution in the same breath.

    @johnbothe, I think your police department did give you a straight answer. by referencing professional cuddling businesses in their answer, it is clear they understood the idea that money would be exchanged. They said there were no such businesses located in your town, but no law against the consensual activity. And if the activity were illegal per state law, then the police department would surely have mentioned that. Trying to chase down a specific legal "permission slip" for paid cuddling in every jursidiction is which you might meet a cuddle pro seems like an unnecessary complication. IMHO
  • pmvinespmvines
    edited June 2017
    Though many people don't realize it, it is perfectly legal to be an escort. There is nothing illegal about exchanging money for someones time and company. When it becomes illegal is when conversation and intent takes place and money is exchanged for expressed and understood intent of sexual services. Slippery slope and all about plausible deniability. So re paid cuddling, I cant imagine it is or should be any different in that you are exchanging money for someones time and company. Of course I am not saying that paid cuddling and being an escort are the same, simply that there are some parallels when it comes to questions of what is legal and what is not. They are obviously very different so please, no throwing shade at me lol. Since cuddling is not a sexual service, I cant imagine why or how it would not be legal. Its one thing if it turns sexual, but when the context is platonic cuddling for reasons of pure intent and therapeutic nature it would fall under the category of simple time and company of the person and not sexual services.
  • funandadventurefunandadventure
    edited June 2017
    @pmvines, Dear PM Your comment is a good one as intent is what it is all about, but in a sting situation this can be spelled out with out you knowing about it.
    At least we are talking about it, as a visitor to the US I need to get it right.
    Love and friendship John Auckland NZ
  • Mike403Mike403
    If insurance covered professional cuddling, prices will go up and be out of control just like healthcare. We'll be out of pocket just as much if not more than we are now
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