Full Description
First English-language book on the history of commercial sex in Belgium
In 2022, the Belgian parliament made a landmark decision by approving the decriminalisation of sex work. This move positioned the small nation as the first country in Europe - and the second globally - to abandon the hypocrisy of tolerance. But this was not the first time paid sex in Belgium gained international notoriety. The medieval bathhouses and 'frows of Flanders' were well-known throughout Europe. In the nineteenth century, Belgium faced international outrage as the alleged epicentre of white slavery. Yet while Belgians were accused of forcing white women into prostitution, they were left alone when it came to the inclusion of any suspect woman in the prostitution registers of colonial Congo. Throughout the First and Second World Wars, both allied and German soldiers sought relief in Belgian brothels. The Business of Pleasure presents the compelling life stories of sex workers and their interactions with authorities, clients and pimps. Transcending stereotypes, this history of commercial sex offers a nuanced understanding of the difficulties and opportunities associated with paid sex for women, men and trans persons past and present.
Contributors: Elwin Hofman (Utrecht University), Magaly Rodríguez García (KU Leuven), Pieter Vanhees (former researcher KU Leuven), Jelle Haemers (KU Leuven), Amandine Lauro (Université libre de Bruxelles), Maarten Loopmans (KU Leuven), Ilias Loopmans (MA history student at University of Antwerp), Sonia Verstappen (former sex worker).
Contents
Introduction: Anne-Marie's Tribulations
Elwin Hofman, Magaly Rodríguez García, and Pieter Vanhees
Guilty Pleasure (1200-1550)
Jelle Haemers
Wantons on the Scaffold (1550-1830)
Elwin Hofman
The Tyranny of Rules (1830-1918)
Pieter Vanhees
Worlds Apart (Congo, 1885-1960)
Amandine Lauro
Please Turn Off the Lights (1918-1970)
Magaly Rodríguez García
Out of the Twilight Zone (1970-2024)
Maarten Loopmans and Ilias Loopmans
'I Really Loved It': A Former Sex Worker's Testimony
Sonia Verstappen, recorded by Pieter Vanhees
Beyond the Clichés
Magaly Rodríguez García
Sources and Bibliography
About the Authors
