Brief History of Prostitution
Brief history of prostitution
Note by the author This document owes a lot to Max Chaleil’s work. His book, ‘Le corps prostitué : le sexe dévorant’ is the main reference of this file. This historical summary will mainly concern France, even though there are a few comparisons with the situation of prostitution in other countries. 1. The Beginnings : Sexual hospitality and sacred prostitution It is not so sure that prostitution is the oldest trade in the world; the Europeans admitted to it during the colonial years. In some European societies, prostitution was associated with the notion of hospitality – various women of the house were offered to guests passing through. This custom used to exist in Chaldea, in India, in Egypt and throughout the Orient. Such sexual hospitality sometimes even implied a religious aspect that was organized by the priests of certain gods and from which they benefited. Sacred prostitutes were not at all considered in the same way and some of them had specific tasks decided by the high priests. However prostitution was soon reduced to a sexual ritual, revealing its true colours during the Saturnalia and other so-called religious orgies. Thus prostitution became a social phenomenon and started losing its sacred side, even though the rite survived. In addition to sacred prostitution, there were great courtesans in the Orient, not only in India but also in Burma and Korea and above all in Japan. In China, prostitutes originally resembled the Greek Hetaeras but soon after, prostitution became a trade. Amongst Hebrews and Muslims, prostitution was always considered with revulsion and was only practiced by foreigners or slaves. 2. The Birth of Modern Society, The Birth of Prostitution The evolution of society, from a magical religion to a spiritual one and the desanctification of the sexual act coincided with the replacement of sacred prostitution with profane prostitution. In ancient Asia, the sovereigns became aware of the various possible forms
Note by the author This document owes a lot to Max Chaleil’s work. His book, ‘Le corps prostitué : le sexe dévorant’ is the main reference of this file. This historical summary will mainly concern France, even though there are a few comparisons with the situation of prostitution in other countries. 1. The Beginnings : Sexual hospitality and sacred prostitution It is not so sure that prostitution is the oldest trade in the world; the Europeans admitted to it during the colonial years. In some European societies, prostitution was associated with the notion of hospitality – various women of the house were offered to guests passing through. This custom used to exist in Chaldea, in India, in Egypt and throughout the Orient. Such sexual hospitality sometimes even implied a religious aspect that was organized by the priests of certain gods and from which they benefited. Sacred prostitutes were not at all considered in the same way and some of them had specific tasks decided by the high priests. However prostitution was soon reduced to a sexual ritual, revealing its true colours during the Saturnalia and other so-called religious orgies. Thus prostitution became a social phenomenon and started losing its sacred side, even though the rite survived. In addition to sacred prostitution, there were great courtesans in the Orient, not only in India but also in Burma and Korea and above all in Japan. In China, prostitutes originally resembled the Greek Hetaeras but soon after, prostitution became a trade. Amongst Hebrews and Muslims, prostitution was always considered with revulsion and was only practiced by foreigners or slaves. 2. The Birth of Modern Society, The Birth of Prostitution The evolution of society, from a magical religion to a spiritual one and the desanctification of the sexual act coincided with the replacement of sacred prostitution with profane prostitution. In ancient Asia, the sovereigns became aware of the various possible forms
Bibliography: Works - CHALEIL (Max), Le Corps prostitué : Le sexe dévorant, Editions Galilée, Paris, 1981. - COSTES-PEPLINSKI (Martine), Nature, culture, guerre et prostitution, Le sacrifice institutionnalisé du corps, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2002. Articles and files - CHAUVIN (Charles), La prostitution dans l’Histoire, in Femmes et Mondes, Revue du Mouvement du Nid, n°62, 3e trimestre 1983, pp. 17 à 23. - RIANI (Annick), Des politiques de répression des prostituées, in Femmes Info, Revue du CODIF (Centre d’Orientation de Documentation et d’Information des Femmes), n°189, hiver 2000, p. 24 à 27. - VILLEY (Colette), 1946-1996, La fermeture des maisons closes, l’efficacité d’une décision historique, in Prostitution et Société, Mouvement du Nid France, n°113, avril, mai, juin 1996, N°113, pp. 23 à 28. - VILLEY (Colette), Quand les femmes prostituées manifestent, in Prostitution et Société, Mouvement du Nid France, n°125, avril, mai, juin 1999, pp. 21 à 26. Le commerce du sexe, in L’Histoire, n°264, avril 2002, 28 p. L’histoire méconnue des maisons closes, in Aventures de l’histoire, Hors-Série n°3, juin 2002, 31 p. © The Scelles Foundation – 2004 These documents are available for use with mention of copyright. 6