No
exploration of the human body would be complete without a brief glimpse at that
most ancient of professions, prostitution. How can we possibly explore the body
without contemplating the sale of said body? So let’s go back in time and trace
the evolution of this infamous trade.
As long
as man has wandered the planet, I’m sure some form of prostitution has been in
place. It comes down to simple supply and demand. I can just imagine a
consensual agreement involving sex in exchange for a juicy mastodon shank or
some handy work around the cave, for we all know a way to a man’s heart is not
necessarily through his stomach. Prostitution has many euphemisms; more so for women than for men. Male prostitutes are typically gigolos or hustlers. Females, on the other hand, sport a rash of labels, most of which are hardly flattering. Hooker, streetwalker, whore, and skank are among the most common. In the days of yore, prostitutes were known as strumpets, trollops, harlots, or courtesans. But regardless of gender, history is riddled with accounts proving tricks have been turned for thousands of years.
In the
ancient Near East, the Sumerians (conveniently) wove prostitution into their
religion. Religious prostitution in Babylon required women to venture forth to
the sanctuary of Militta at least once in their lives to have a conjugal
confrontation with a foreigner; all in the name of hospitality, of course.
Prostitution
among the Greeks was common among women and young boys. In fact, the Greek word
for prostitute is porne, which is
derived from the word meaning, “to sell,” laying the groundwork for what
thousands of years in the future would become a thriving industry.
The
first Greek brothel was opened in the 6th century BC, with earnings
going toward building a temple dedicated to Qedesh, the patron goddess of
commerce. They even had categorical names for the various types of prostitutes,
depending on where they worked, be it on the streets, in houses, or near bridges (don’t ask me). As for male prostitutes, they were quite
popular among the Greeks, and the profession was usually taken up by adolescent
boys, slaves and free alike.
The
Romans believed in farming their prostitutes and would round up abandoned
children and raise them for future sale. Slaves were also captured in battle or
purchased for the sole purpose of prostitution, and sex for sale was even used
as a form of legal punishment for women.
By the
Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church was on a rampage to tamp down the trade
in Europe, although it received blowback from those who believed the service
helped prevent rape, sodomy, and (god forbid!) masturbation. Most brothels were
left to their vices, as long as they resided on the outskirts of the village.
That is, until cities caught on to the popularity of red light districts, where
clients could window-shop for whatever touched their fancy.
Syphilis
became widespread throughout Europe, with prostitutes serving as popular hosts
for the bacterium. This only added fuel to the fire of reformationists bent on
tearing down this illicit trade. And even though folks were experimenting with
various types of condoms, from catgut to sheep bladders, those rudimentary
rubbers were no match for the “pox.”
By the
19th century, France, followed by the U.K., passed laws to ensure
regular medical examinations for their prostitutes. The Contagious Diseases Act
mandated regular pelvic exams for their “pros” – not only on home turf, but in their colonies abroad.
Of
course, around this time in America, prostitutes were as common as cattle among
the dusty plains of the Wild West (and treated equally as well).
Whoring was one of the few professions available to women of the period and, as
America spread westward, so did prostitution. Wherever a new town popped up, so
did a brothel that would set to servicing the menfolk, lickety-split.
But by
the early 1900s, the buzzkill organization known as the Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union marched in and quashed not only brothels, but alcohol, to
boot. And by 1917, even New Orleans’ famous Storyville district - sixteen blocks of
unfettered frolicking named after the councilman who established it – was
closed down, despite public outcry from the locals. One had to travel all the
way to Alaska to buy a legal poke in those days.
Today,
Nevada is the sole host to legalized prostitution in the US. About thirty brothels
support around five hundred prostitutes who work as independent contractors, most without
the need for a pimp. As for the rest of the world, it’s a patchwork of legal
and illegal selling. In a survey of one hundred countries, prostitution was illegal in thirty-nine, somewhat legal in twelve, and legal in forty-nine others.
And
fierce debates abound about whether or not it should be a legalized profession,
with advocates claiming legalization protects its practitioners, and women’s
rights groups claiming it is inherently abusive.
Despite
its legal status, prostitution is part of human culture and, as history goes to
show, wherever there's a demand for sex, there will always be someone
peddling it.
