Introduction
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penetrative sex, manual sex, oral sex, etc.) with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates the risk of transferring infections. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in the field is usually called a prostitute or sex worker, but other words, such as hooker and whore, are sometimes used pejoratively to refer to those who work in prostitution. The majority of prostitutes are female and have male clients.
Prostitution occurs in a variety of forms, and its legal status varies from country to country (sometimes from region to region within a given country). In most cases, it can be either an enforced crime, an unenforced crime, a decriminalized activity, a legal but unregulated activity, or a regulated profession. It is one branch of the sex industry, along with pornography, stripping, and erotic dancing. Brothels are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution. In escort prostitution, the act may take place at the client's residence or hotel room (referred to as out-call), or at the escort's residence or a hotel room rented for the occasion by the escort (in-call). Another form is street prostitution.
According to a 2011 report by Fondation Scelles there are about 42 million prostitutes in the world, living all over the world (though most of Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa lack data, studied countries in that large region rank as top sex tourism destinations). Estimates place the annual revenue generated by prostitution worldwide to be over $100 billion. (Full article...)
Selected article
Gropecunt Lane /ˈɡroʊpkʌnt ˈleɪn/ was a street name found in English towns and cities during the Middle Ages, believed to be a reference to the prostitution centred on those areas; it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street's function or the economic activity taking place within it. Gropecunt, the earliest known use of which is in about 1230, appears to have been derived as a compound of the words grope and cunt. Streets with that name were often in the busiest parts of medieval towns and cities, and at least one appears to have been an important thoroughfare.
Although the name was once common throughout England, changes in attitude resulted in its replacement by more innocuous versions such as Grape Lane. A variation of Gropecunt was last recorded as a street name in 1561. (read more ...)
Wikipedia Featured Article
Selected biography
Andrêsa do Nascimento (1859–1927) was a courtesan and celebrated society figure in fin de siècle Lisbon. She was better known as Preta Fernanda (literally: Black Fernanda) and Fernanda do Vale (her nom de plume). She was, perhaps, the best known black citizen of the city in that period.
Nascimento was born to poor parents in a small village near Ribeira da Barca on the island of Santiago in Cape Verde, probably in 1859. Cape Verde, a volcanic archipelago off the west coast of Africa, was a Portuguese colony and a nexus for the Atlantic slave trade. Although slavery was abolished in Portugal, it was only selectively abolished in Cape Verde in 1857 with complete abolition in 1878. It is possible, therefore, that one or both of Nascimento's parents were enslaved when she was born or had been enslaved. (read more...)
Did you know?
- ...that 18th century prostitute Sally Salisbury (pictured) was sent to prison after a riot but was released by a judge who was infatuated with her?
- ...that in the Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal more than 100 women get trafficked to red-light areas in Mumbai and Pune each year?
- ... that the five victims of the Ipswich serial murders are the subject of the 2010 BBC One drama serial Five Daughters?
- ...that 18th century brothel-keeper Jane Douglas sold condoms in silken bags to her customers?
Quotes
“ | Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. The one who pays sins gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which his Baptism pledged him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. | ” |
Anniversaries - January
- 1st
- 1942: Prostitution in Switzerland became regulated with the introduction of a new Criminal Code.
- 1999: Sweden's Kvinnofrid law, which criminalised the buying of sex, came into force.
- 2009: Norway becomes the second country to adopt the Swedish model of prostitution which criminalises the buying of sex.
- 3rd
- 1916: Birth of Toni Jo Henry (née Annie Beatrice McQuiston), an American prostitute, murderer and the only woman ever to be executed in Louisiana's electric chair.
- 7th
- 1929: Death of Mattie Silks, a prostitute and leading madam in the late 19th century American West.
- 1951: Death of Sylvia Clevenger, an American prostitute and a minor associate of the John Dillinger gang.
- 17th
- 1888: Death of Maggie Hall, a Dublin born prostitute and brothel madam in Murray, Idaho. She is known in local lore as a "Prostitute with a heart of gold" and the "Patron Saint of Murray".
Selected image
The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen (1622)
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Recognised content
- Mah Laqa Bai
- Butters' Bottom Bitch
- Child prostitution
- Elizabeth Cresswell
- Casey Donovan
- Dumas Brothel
- Andrea Dworkin
- Natasha Falle
- Kanhopatra
- Caroline Lacroix
- Ipswich serial murders
- National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking
- Neaira (hetaera)
- Salon Kitty
- She Has a Name
- Soho
- Valerie Solanas
- Three Sisters Tavern
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