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France legalised sex work in 1791. Bordellos were legalised in 1802. Paris brothels ran dedicated PR campaigns throughout the nineteenth century and were the favourite haunts of artists, writers and members of the British Royal Family. https://twitter.com/rievaulx_/status/1339018806178537477
Like Le Chabanais, which built the Siege d’Amour, a sex chair to help Bertie, Queen Victoria’s son and heir to the throne, enjoy more than one woman at a time.
And before we go any further let’s be clear: Sex work is work. Something Labour MP Tony Benn understood by the 1980s. https://www.nswp.org/timeline/event/the-occupation-the-holy-church
And while France was showcasing a legal sex industry, let’s not forget the Wild West was run by 19thC sex workers. https://fyeahhistory.com/2017/08/19/how-brothels-built-america/amp/
But let’s get back to “Christian” “Europe”.
In 1161 Henry of Blois, Grandson of William the Conqueror and Bishop of Winchester, was granted the power to license prostitutes and brothels by King Henry II.
In 1161 Henry of Blois, Grandson of William the Conqueror and Bishop of Winchester, was granted the power to license prostitutes and brothels by King Henry II.
The women working in Southwark, the area under the Bishop of Winchester’s control, became known as ‘Winchester Geese’ - a term still used centuries later. Like on this gorgeous plate c. 1660 https://www.museumofsexobjects.co.uk/museum/winchester-geese-plate
The history of that plate also tells us St Paul’s owned brothels in the city, and Dulwich College was funded by sex workers so AT BEST, Christian Europe was heavily invested in sex work and AT WORST it demonised and criminalised our women to gain greater financial control.
And for everyone obsessed with how Bertie used the Siege d’Amour, you are showing a disappointing lack of imagination and I can’t help you with that.
