Presentation - The Pleasure Business Taboos

I was asked to give a talk at the yearly symposium of History Students in the Netherlands (Studenten Geschiedenis in Nederland). It was held in Amsterdam in June of this year. The overall theme was taboos. Below you will find my introduction text and the slides. 

The Pleasure Business Taboos
- Resources on Entrepreneurship and Dutch Prostitution, 1850-1911.
Prostitution is a much-debated topic, surrounded by taboos. Should it be legalized or criminalized? If legalized, where to locate it in a municipality? If criminalized, should the focus be on the people that sell sex or those who buy it?  
During the Nineteenth-Century, similar discussions appeared. With changes in government policy, economy and socio-cultural developments the Dutch legal status on prostitution was replaced with a brothel ban in 1911. How did entrepreneurs within the pleasure business of prostitution respond to these changes? My presentation will focus on historical resources that give insight into this transformation and the taboos surrounding it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Choker necklace and prostitution

Image
In 2016 I was asked if nineteenth-century women who wore a ribbon around their neck (or a choker  as it was called), were considered prostitutes? The reason for inquiring was a resurrection at the time of this type of necklace among celebrities and teenagers. And even now, five years later, Harpers Bazar still considers a choker a fashion trend . This past week during an online lecture on the Belle Epoque in Paris,  the choker was mentioned. This reminded me of the former question. So I did some searching for the answer. (1)   According to Encyclopaedia Britannica , the definition of a choker is:   "a necklace that fits closely around the neck like a snug, high collar". The reference source also explains that the choker became popular in the nineteenth century. In its most common early form, it contained one or several rows of pearls. Halfway through the century, a choker made of a velvet band with a pin or pearl became fashionable. The red ribbon version that was tied around
Read more

Secret register of released prisoners, 1882-1897

Image
Looking at an old photograph of a person really brings the past to life. If you are lucky enough to find one from the 19th Century at an archive, then chances are that the depicted person was having problems with the law. And if he or she was added to the Dutch  secret register of released prisoners , it was even worse. Because then they had committed a serious offence and were considered dangerous for society . Access to the register was in those times limited to people working in specific professions. Nowadays you can  find the old register online  at the Provincial Archives of Brabant ( Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum - BHIC). (1) Among the listed, I found brothel owners and prostitutes, like the grim-looking man you see on the right. His name was Gerardus Mulder.  The initiative for a secret register came from the Minister of Justice at the time, Anthony Modderman .  (2) From 1882 to 1897 all persons that had been convicted for serious offences were photographed before re
Read more

Five historical novels on prostitution

Image
What should you be reading during the summer holidays? I have listed my current favourite historic novels on prostitution, although, not all of them are set in the nineteenth century. Yet, the books have in common that they are character studies in which the main leads undergo a journey of transformation as a result of the choices they make. The stories are mainly told through the eyes of the protagonists and it even feels as if they are literally sitting next to you on a bench talking. As a reader, it seems rude to stand up and leave. Besides, you really really want to know how their stories evolve. So I can highly recommend these page-turners. Three of them are written in English and two in Dutch.  ENGLISH NOVELS 1. Michel Faber,  The crimson petal and the white (Edinburgh 2002) With almost 840 pages it is quite a journey you make with the main character. Yet it was one of the hardest books to put down. When the final chapter was nearing I had to put myself on a 'reading diet
Read more