Prostitution in the Victorian Era Essay - 630 Words

Prostitution in the Victorian Era There were many prostitutes during the Victorian era. Most were lower-class women, with the exception of the mistresses kept by upper-class men. According to Victorian standards, respectable women did not consider sexual intercourse pleasurable. It was their duty to be intimate with their husbands. Having affairs was disgraceful (Waters). Prostitutes, on the other hand, were sexually intimate with men because they enjoyed sex. Men enjoyed prostitutes because they could not enjoy their wives. Victorian femininity was not defined by sexual pleasure, while Victorian masculinity was defined by sexual pleasure and conquest. Prostitutes did not necessarily â€Å"enjoy† their sexual†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Respectable† men and women would lure young women, usually from a lower-class background, away from their homes and sell them into prostitution. Rarely did these young women go back to their families; not because they free to go, but because the procurator s and procuresses never allowed these women a moment to be truly alone in public. These horrible men and women controlled these young women’s lives as if they were possessions. In the off chance that a young woman escaped her â€Å"bondage,† she was not welcome back into her family with open arms. She was an outcast because she was a â€Å"prostitute† (by society’s standards). Unfortunately, there was no help for these young girls, or any other prostitute. The people in a position to help them, like The Society for the Protection of Women and Children, turned a blind eye towards these women. The Society for the Protection of Women and Children only helped the privileged, not the needy (Wells 56). Prostitutes were not confined to one way of presenting their services. There were many types of brothels that serviced men from all social classes visited. Streetwalkers lived in Accommodation houses, which is one type of brothel (Wells 56). These women d id not pay a â€Å"Madame† for their room and board, but accountable to themselves. Other prostitutes lived under the watchful eyes of their procuresses. These women lived inShow MoreRelatedVictorian Era: The Start of Corruption in Moral Values1594 Words   |  7 PagesLasting from 1837 to 1901, the Victorian Era followed the Romantic Era. Starting and ending with the reign of Queen Elizabeth, this time period is now viewed as strict, prudish, and â€Å"old fashioned,† especially in comparison to today. During those times, the people had to follow a certain standard of living; they were upright people that were modest and controlled. 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