The Role Of Prostitution In The Nineteenth-Century

Prostitution, sometimes referred to as “the world’s oldest profession” (Henslin, pg. 54), is defined by James M. Henslin as “the renting of one’s body for sexual purposes” (pg. 54). This arrangement, though illegal and socially deviant in most parts of the world, exists universally in many different forms (pg. 54). As a matter of fact, types of prostitutes range greatly in variety from call girls – who are said to be “the elite of prostitutes” (pg. 58), to streetwalkers – “who have the lowest status among prostitutes” (pg. 58), to sugar babies -young, physically attractive women who provide “rich, older men” (Kitchener, par.4) “…with attention (and sex) in exchange for the finer things in life” (par. 4).

265). The movement’s attempts were to help control and prevent sexual abuse, in addition to abolish prostitution, while promoting abstinence to sex. Women of this movement focused their efforts on the “fallen” women within the society and the victims. Their efforts were noticed by actually “reaching out to prostitutes directly” (DuBois & Dumenil, p. 265)). It was a reform that not only focused on sexual aspects of life, but it was also important for health because all of the prostitutes were at risk for venereal diseases (DuBois & Dumenil, p. 267). For the women in the reform working against prostitution, they were faced with a major problem because the “glamorous prostitutes of San Francisco” were receiving a considerable amount of paid attention, even more than that of a working woman (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012, p. 267). Most of these prostitutes were working in hotels near the mines and were making one to two dollars per customer (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012, p. 265). The Moral reform was different from the other reform movements in that it was the only reform that was entirely composed and built on

Since the beginning of time prostitution has been a part of our world 's culture, and it is said that it is the world 's oldest profession. Man has always been equally participated and felt the need to pay for services of a sexual nature since the beginning of time, whether it was legal or not. During 19th century woman who belonged to lower class family might have worked in order to support her family, in harsh times. During that time as farther away a woman moved from the mother and home, the lower her status became. Prostitution was clearly seen as disrespectful; the prostitute was at the bottom of society’s status chain. “During the late 19th- and early 20th century, the nature of society forced the working class women of Eau Claire to take advantage of any means to support themselves, including prostitution. Each woman had to decide herself which work option best supported her financially.”(Schaar.A) The wages these women earned were unbelievably low, and at times as much as 80% lower than the wages men earned. Back in those days there weren’t many jobs

Though widely accepted throughout the course of human history, the approval of prostitution in today modern society seems to be a much more grey area. While once legal in every major civilization on earth, prostitution is now illegal in many countries, though sometimes tolerated for the revenue it generates. This cold shoulder toward prostitution began in the Middle Ages, when church officials began to preach of the sins associated with the profession. Their cries, however, fell on mostly deaf ears. Prostitution had become such a large contributor of public revenue in so many countries, that is was protected and regulated by law. In the centuries to come, however, things began to change. With the rise of stringent sexual morality standards associated with the Protestant Reformation, the increased transmission and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and the implementation of such social movements as feminism, prostitution began to fall out of favor, eventually becoming illegal in many parts of the world. (Jenkins).

Prostitution looms large in the Victorian consciousness. The image of the fallen woman reflects the Victorian upper classes' ideas about sexuality, gender and class. The prostitute is a staple of 19th century fiction. Debate about prostitution is also a reflection of cultural anxiety about urbanization.

Historians argue that prostitution was a form of negotiation on the part of the women involved and it allowed them to seek out alternatives to poor working conditions and low pay (Laite 734). According to Elliot West, “the oldest profession should be considered an aspect such as serious subjects as western communities, their changes, economic development and attitudes of their people,” (West 18). Prostitution was an alternative business opportunity that allowed women monetary freedom and independence. It was an economic necessity and a lucrative business model and many women chose to participate because they believed it offered them a higher standard of life than working in factories or

The predicaments leading up to a person choosing prostitution as a method to support oneself financially must be difficult, however many women residing in the East End of London succumbed to such a lifestyle. Sadly, all five canonical victims of the notorious ‘Ripper’ had come to live out their lives in a manner most of us would find unfathomable. In James Tully book, Prisoner 1167: The Madman who was Jack the Ripper, explains the how the East End of London was a place where prostitution was prevalent:

In the mid-19th century, prostitution was at its height of popularity in Victorian England. A total of 8600 documented prostitutes was estimated by the Metropolitan Police Division during 1868, not included the number of those whom the police had not acknowledged (Acton 38). Initiated as an occupation that bestow the social power upon women, prostitution was scrutinized and perceived as the root of social corruption by many male scholars at the time such as William Acton and Henry Mayhew. In fact, prostitutes were sorted and studied in different categories by Mayhew with contrasting sentiments toward each group. The movement had pressured the state to take an attempt to regulate through the passage of Contagious Diseases Acts of 1864, 1865

The combination of “Medieval Europe” and “Prostitution” are not normally linked in the same image in peoples minds. One impression of 11th and 12th century Medieval Europe was a time period dominated by the church and it’s conservative views on life. The church controlled all aspect of human life, from marriage arrangement, intercourse, adultery and even death. The moral views of the church and the combination of the newly reform Canon laws made this period one of the most repress in European history. The church views on men and women were that they should be fully celibate and suppress all their sexual desire.

Male prostitution was not always considered a social problem. During the eighteenth century, men in Europe, particularly London, engaged in sexual behavior with other men in return for payment (Bray 81-114; Norton 49-105). However, this sexual behavior was not understood as prostitution. In fact, there was no relationship between homosexual attraction and the commercialization of sexual acts among men. Rather, the commercialization of sexual acts was regarded as a

Members of the N.Y. Female Moral Reform Society whose important goal was to deal with prostitution believed that a good girl should not engage in activities related to sexual appeal for payment; even though these girls were poor or desperate, there were still alternate means of work for the girls. A good girl should try to get the education to better themselves and get out of the lifestyle that they were in. Hence, in the conversation, they would like to understand why these girls from the Live Nude Girls Unite documentary in the 20th century wanted to be strippers or prostitutes, a job created a very negative path that women fell into because of poverty in the 19th century.

Mrs. Rosen is very detailed about her views and her study. As you read the book, she gives you a feeling regarding the nineteenth century prostitutes. The prostitutes according to Rosen were often classified as societal outliners. They did the work other women couldn't do or because of their high class standards didn't want to do, prostitutes actually “held an important place and served vital social functions” (6). In the Victorian society, belief that while mens sex drive was very strong, the female’s was practically non existent. This meant that under this moral system, a prostitutes role to an extent was as the “protector of the home” (5). Prostitutes to an extent helped men relieved their desires, they basically guarded the righteousness of the mens’s higher class wives.

Prostitution has been around for centuries but is becoming more of an issue in recent years. Out of all the professions in the world, prostitution is thought to have come before most. Gies said, “Prostitution, often known as the world’s oldest profession.” Prostitution has existed before most known professions in today’s time, but prostitution is becoming more controversial. In ancient Athens the state created brothels. According to an online article, “Solon established state brothels in Athens, the employees of which came from the lowest strata of society” (Miller). In Athens, the reason prostitutes came from lower levels of society was because they were the ones that needed that money. All other levels of society had alternative ways of making a living. Also in Athens the state regulated the brothels and made a profit from them through taxes. Although prostitution was accepted in some ways in ancient times, prostitution was not accepted by the Christian

In those days, so many people were forced into prostitution to earn an income. The living conditions were very low. People were poor, homeless, enemployed. There was crime and desperation. Mostly people were forced into prostitution to survive.

In terms of sociology, Prostitution is a way for an individual to maximize their monetary intake or in other words “benefits” by selling the thing that they have readily, their bodies. In other words, it is the act or practice of participating in promiscuous sexual activity especially for money. Prostitution has been in existence for ages, going back to the Byzantine, Roman, Greek, and Egyptian Empires. Ironically, the ancient religions of those eras dealt with the needs of the group and consequently developed protocols for dealing with sexual relations that have propagated throughout time to the modern era. As a result, prostitution is not about to disappear anytime soon, despite relatively recent local laws. Also throughout centuries,