I'm sure there was ancient graffiti ("For a good time, see Clytemnestra, VI VI IX II IV VI VIII."), but the oldest commonly known review would probably be that of Mary Magdalene in The Epistles.
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There are other threads on this history topic. See, f'rinstance:
https://www.theeroticreview.com/discussion-boards/ter-general-12/gentlemens-companion-1870-835348?frmSearch=1#835348
Posted by: Nago8
Date: 2 years ago
Subj: Just curious, was there prostitution before the internet?
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(Click on link under pic in original post for PDF of 19th Century Pre-Internet Ad Board.)
HBO has a new show The Deuce, revolving around 1970's NYC prostitution,
It got me googling about the NYC hooker scene from 40+ years ago, and it looked rough.
I doubt many of today's $600+ escorts could survive that. Indies walking the streets, or managed by ruthless pimps.
There was no internet, craigslist, backpage.
Girls seem to have it much easier now. I wonder if some girls would still take escorting for granted if they knew how things were in the past.
Ever since I became a john, I've been semi-interested in the recent history of prostitution, and it's fascinating stuff they don't teach about in school. All you hear are news stories about sex trafficking, but nothing about the daily life of hookers who chose the job. America just wants to sweep that shit under the rug.
Is anyone here ancient enough to observe the changes in the scene the last few decades? Has the accessibility and quality of girls gone up greatly over time?
.... Don't be stupid enough to believe Hollywood's take on that scene.
but I will confess, I am not optimistic about it being realistic. Hollywood tends to either glamorize or otherwise distort reality in the interest of "selling tickets"
The pilot is already out, I think I will at least watch it before dismissing the entire series, and for the record I do remember how the "hobby" was, decades before anyone ever thought to thought to call it a "hobby" so if it's bullshit, I will recognize it as such, just like the pap that is put out about P4P in the modern era of "so called" human trafficking.
thanks to cell phones and the internet.
The only thing that is worse is the MP scene. Busts of these has rendered that whole scene very iffy.
I still hit AMP's every once in a while, and in certain states it's a relative bargain. Texas for example has a thriving MP scene, both AMP and LMPs can be found in all the major Texas cities, complete with GFE type services like CFS, BBBJ, DFK not to mention the usual MP's services like a Table shower and at least a "decent" massage, all for under $200.
bar/lounge in Tampa and the ladies would approach you about what you were interested in. Once a deal was made the lady told you which motel and the room number and she would meet you there. Only ventured into the place a few times and each time was a HR. No GFE but a S & F for less than $50.
Also went to a few nude bars (same time frame) and if you asked the right dancer, she would go out to the parking lot with you for a quickie [if it was night]. I had a party van and did it on the carpet a few times. Price point was equal to about 3 or 4 dances.
In my opinion the industry has not changed for better, at least not here in the US. If you look at the trends in the sex trade from the early 1900's, compare it to the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80' 90's and even now, you will see that things are pretty much still the same. Of course there are eras where it was a prosperous industry, but we take a step backwards every decade that goes by.
It all depends on the law makers and who is in the position of power at the time and how many advocates have close friendships with those people in order to make things better for all of us, high class VIPs and streetwalkers equally.
There are laws enacted recently that further hinders the ability for people with limited resources to thrive in this industry. In most states except Nevada It is illegal to use any real estate to conduct sex work. This includes hotels, apartments, private residences, etc. If you get caught you could lose your right to have shelter. If you are a tenant at a rental property you can be evicted. If your landlord knowingly lets you operate a sex business out of your rental they can be prosecuted too. If you have a mortgage your bank can foreclose on you. I bet you'll read the fine prints of your lease/mortgage agreements from now on.
This is an interesting documentary that touches on the subject of prostitution in the victorian era https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWz_m3DYPWo
I started hobbying over 20 years ago, and things are much better now for both providers and mongers. For starters, the internet and cell phones make it a lot easier to find each other and meet up discreetly.
From the provider standpoint, it is much easier to work as an indie now without a pimp, a driver, an agency, or a street corner. Screening wasn't even a thing 20 years ago, aside from agencies keeping a list of banned johns, and now providers have a national blacklist.
The mongers also have it easier now. 20 years ago, there were no online reviews of providers. All the shady practices that we now associate with lowly Backpage girls were once industry standards, like bait and switch, upselling, grabbing the money and running, and ending the call with the first pop. And outcall providers were often ridiculously late. If I booked a call for 7:00 PM, it was not uncommon to wait until 9:00 PM or later, as providers would double book or squeeze in extra appointments from last minute callers.
I agree with your point that laws that allow the government to confiscate an asset used in the commission of a crime are relatively new, very punitive (not just to sex workers), and abused in some areas.
However, the ease with which providers and clients can contact each other has greatly reduced the need for sex work to be tied to a location - whether a well-known intersection or a brothel. By reducing these sex work has become much less of a public nuisance issue (although it hasn't gone away) and so law enforcement has made it less of a priority to enforce the laws. The less the laws are enforced, the more comfortable people feel participating. When the risk attributed to getting busted goes down, it attracts people who are averse to that risk, who are more likely to be responsible participants because they are rule-followers, and when the risks attributed to participants goes down, it attracts an even more risk-averse group, who tend to be even more responsible participants. It's a virtuous cycle of vice.
I'm sure there was ancient graffiti ("For a good time, see Clytemnestra, VI VI IX II IV VI VIII."), but the oldest commonly known review would probably be that of Mary Magdalene in The Epistles.
.
There are other threads on this history topic. See, f'rinstance:
https://www.theeroticreview.com/discussion-boards/ter-general-12/gentlemens-companion-1870-835348?frmSearch=1#835348
Posted by: Nago8
Date: 2 years ago
Subj: Just curious, was there prostitution before the internet?
.
(Click on link under pic in original post for PDF of 19th Century Pre-Internet Ad Board.)
If.." Your A Good Learner, & Practice Makes Purrrfect....Meowww
I started travelling to the US around 1982. Research was done by opening up the Yellow Pages in the hotel room. If you were really lucky, some other monger had left notes about the agencies or providers , written on the side of the page. If you were really unlucky, the pages were ripped out . Some agencies paid for ads and rarely a provider would.
Today, thousands of providers have a web presence and sites like this one are all over the world.
A few examples are the casino girls back in the 70s and 80s in Las Vegas, some of those girls were smoking hot, gave the same service as today's GFE and you got to meet them in person before making a commitment. Not to mention they were only about $50 for the hottest among them, even less for the more average looking girls.
Another example (as perfect storm will attest to) was the street action in many places like Waikiki for example or Harry Hines in Dallas. Hollywood/Sunset blvds in LA, Collins Ave in Miami Beach, just to name a few. Every city had it's own "track" and many cities had several, some were actually quite good, others really sketchy and some downright fucking dangerous and places that you most definitely wanted to avoid.
Several cities had a lot of bar action at the hotel bars near airports where businessmen would stay, Not to mention strip clubs, massage parlors, higher class brothels, and yes, the good old yellow pages, which I have to admit were a poor substitute for what we have today.
I think that many of today's $600+ escorts wouldn't do well in "outdoor" work environments. It's all sexwork, but the market and the risks are different. Whether or not the lines have become even more distinct, perhaps that's an open question?
A lot of people who talk about the "history of prostitution" don't understand what a huge difference there is between indoor and outdoor work. I know a little bit about what indoor work was like, historically, before the rise of the internet. I'd really like to learn more, though.
but compared to "working the track" back in the day, today's $600+ hr sex workers have a VERY cushy life. Much the same as "internet marketers" have it a lot easier than salesmen who grew up knocking on doors.
It is what it is and it was what it was. Now get off my lawn you young whippersnappers. lol
If you're interested in somewhat less recent history, this BBC miniseries focusing on a prostitute in 1870's London is quite good: The Crimson Petal and the White (link below)
A lot of Americans like hearing about the dark side of the story, whether its then or now.
People in America like dirty dark prostitution stories, and there is like, ONE Happy Hooker story in the mix.
For me personally, the availability of STD cures, pregnancy prevention, and onlne communication about this underground scene, make the current time way more workable !!
I would not like working when syphilis was very deadly, contagious , untreatable, etc.
They were too expensive for most people to consider but there were two large markets, doctors and hookers.