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Sex Work Throughout History: Our Favorite Reads
Often considered one of the oldest professions—dating back to at least 2400 BC in Mesopotamia—sex work has taken many forms throughout history. Ancient Rome held festivals revolving around sex work, many American cities once had red-light districts, and waitresses in frontier towns often walked a fine line between service and sex. Welcome to the Ancient Roman Festival for Sex Work By Sara Mellas From late April to early May, Ancient Rome held an annual festival full of flowers and sex. Known as Floralia, the event celebrated a fertility goddess, who may or may not have been a prostitute. The festivities included mime performances, bunny hunts, and plenty of carnal indulgence. Most American Cities Once Had Red-Light Districts By Sarah Laskow Between the 1890s and 1910s, red-light districts were commonly found in many American towns. Saloons, dance halls, and brothels were all concentrated in a section of town dedicated to vice. It didn’t last, though: In the 1910s, the federal government’s red-light abatement laws swiftly shut down the districts, forcing these establishments back into secrecy. When American Waitresses Were Labeled ‘Women of Ill Repute’ By Reina Gattuso In the early 1900s, in major American cities like Chicago and the growing frontier towns, the line between sex work and the service industry often blurred. Saloons and dance halls, which paid their waitresses meager wages, often pushed women into offering more scandalous services on the side. As a result, waitressing soon became widely considered a risqué job. The Girl Who Jumped Out of a Pie and Into a Gilded Age Morality Tale By Reina Gattuso On May 20, 1895, a nearly naked Susie Johnson shocked the nation by bursting out of a pie in erotic performance. While her stunt earned wide acclaim, she wasn’t the first person—or animal—to jump out of a baked good. In Medieval Europe, live frogs hopped out of pies for the amusement of royal guests, and in 1626, a dwarf sprang from one as a gift for the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham. How the 18th-Century Gay Bar Survived and Thrived in a Deadly Environment By Natasha Frost In 18th century Britain, “Molly Houses” were places where men could gather, gossip, and indulge in “the Delights of the Bottle,” much like the gay brothels that came before them. Though non-heterosexual relationships were still highly stigmatized and criminalized, these clubs provided a safe space for queer men, and sex work occasionally took place.
Often considered one of the oldest professions—dating back to at least 2400 BC in Mesopotamia—sex work has taken many forms throughout history. Ancient Rome held festivals revolving around sex work, many American cities once had red-light districts, and waitresses in frontier towns often walked a fine line between service and sex.
Welcome to the Ancient Roman Festival for Sex Work
By Sara Mellas
From late April to early May, Ancient Rome held an annual festival full of flowers and sex. Known as Floralia, the event celebrated a fertility goddess, who may or may not have been a prostitute. The festivities included mime performances, bunny hunts, and plenty of carnal indulgence.
Most American Cities Once Had Red-Light Districts
By Sarah Laskow
Between the 1890s and 1910s, red-light districts were commonly found in many American towns. Saloons, dance halls, and brothels were all concentrated in a section of town dedicated to vice. It didn’t last, though: In the 1910s, the federal government’s red-light abatement laws swiftly shut down the districts, forcing these establishments back into secrecy.
When American Waitresses Were Labeled ‘Women of Ill Repute’
By Reina Gattuso
In the early 1900s, in major American cities like Chicago and the growing frontier towns, the line between sex work and the service industry often blurred. Saloons and dance halls, which paid their waitresses meager wages, often pushed women into offering more scandalous services on the side. As a result, waitressing soon became widely considered a risqué job.
The Girl Who Jumped Out of a Pie and Into a Gilded Age Morality Tale
By Reina Gattuso
On May 20, 1895, a nearly naked Susie Johnson shocked the nation by bursting out of a pie in erotic performance. While her stunt earned wide acclaim, she wasn’t the first person—or animal—to jump out of a baked good. In Medieval Europe, live frogs hopped out of pies for the amusement of royal guests, and in 1626, a dwarf sprang from one as a gift for the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham.
How the 18th-Century Gay Bar Survived and Thrived in a Deadly Environment
By Natasha Frost
In 18th century Britain, “Molly Houses” were places where men could gather, gossip, and indulge in “the Delights of the Bottle,” much like the gay brothels that came before them. Though non-heterosexual relationships were still highly stigmatized and criminalized, these clubs provided a safe space for queer men, and sex work occasionally took place.
