In America, why is prostitution illegal but pornography legal?

Like the legal age of consent, it depends which bit of America you happen to be in.

In most States, prostitution is legal, and porn mostly is not.

Giving a woman (or man) money for sex is not illegal anyway. Procuring, soliciting, lewd or immoral behavior or suggestions is illegal. And in some places, so is living off the earnings of a prostitute.

As for harmless -

Within USA, 85% of those taking part in the sex trade are slaves, the average age of a prostitute is 13, about 200,000 kids are kidnapped for sex slaves each year, with about another 20,000 imported.

Worldwide, the average life expectancy is 5 months.

for the same reason it is in other countries, such as Russia, Both are legal in Denmark and both are illegal in Iran, so it runs the full course depending on where you reside.

Pornography or erotica is also a business where both parties get paid, and it is much easier to control the exploitation and disease control. It is a contradictory affair, There is never full consistency in any legal system especially where there are so many laws in play. One decision does not begin an examination of all similar statutes.

Well for one, the people in pornography are clean are very well taken care off. The people who do prostitution are not well taken care off, and many if not most have some form of STD. There are the tiny percentage of those who do pornography who end up with a sleazy operation, and there are the small percentage of those who do prostitution who are well taken care of.

In most states, it is NOT illegal to pay for sex. Solicitation and pimping are the usual prostitution related charge.

Prostitution is not illegal in the US. It is legal. Various states have made it illegal because that was the will of the people.

You cant get aids from beating off, its good population control.