because porn is evil or something?

Weird passage in a BBC article about strip clubs.

But until this research is complete, hard data surrounding the impact of lap dancing clubs remains fairly limited, according to Birkbeck University's Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon, author of The Price of Sex: Prostitution, Policy and Society.

As such, she argues, local authorities are making decisions about whether to grant licences without full access to the facts.

"You can argue that it's a better thing for the men who visit them to be interacting with other people than to be viewing pornography at home, alone," she says.

Buh? How does that make any sense?

Now, in my happily idealistic world, I will say that I don't see anything wrong with going to a strip club so long as you're respectful to the workers, and I'm given to understand that at least some of the people who attend ARE respectful.

However, it's also pretty well known that a lot of them are not, and many are downright abusive. I've heard plenty of stories from women who worked as dancers, and even the article goes on to point out that verbal and physical abuse are common problems in the job.

How is it 'better' for men to be seeing strippers in person than to look at porn?

I certainly know that journalists can be lying scum and quote things out of context, but I'm baffled what was meant here, other than perhaps playing on some vague "common knowledge" that people looking at porn at home are sad sickoes or something.

Which is a very confusing idea to me.