Prostitution In The 19th Century

perceptions of the rape. Likewise, domestic violence against women increased in the homes, especially in the tenement dwellings of urban New Yorkers. Cases of severe beatings and murder were often, usually caused by drunkenness on behalf of either the man or the woman.

The majority of the experiences of the lower-class female work force was bleak, but there were a few, and very minor, exceptions. One such exception can be found within the youthful work force of the Eastern side of New York, on Bowery street, where a culture was born out of the common class experience of being plebian-counterparts to the high-class aristocratic society found on the Western side of New York, on Broadway. Bowery street, and Bowery culture, was proudly developed
The reasons why the number of female sex-workers rose are varied, but one of the most obvious has to do with the money; it was no secret that a women who sold her body to men could make as much money in a few days as a needle-worker could make in an entire month. Thus the call to the morally questionable occupation seemed quite reasonable to a number of women. But money was not the only reason why women chose to prostitute themselves. Historical accounts tell us that there were many reasons and situations that led women into prostitution; testimonies gathered by William Sanger report that women entered prostitution to escape from abusive or drunken parents, to avoid forced marriage, or to run away from lives affected by dysfunctional families and poverty. In other cases, young girls were interested in joining prostitution because of the exposure they had to older women in brothels. Girls too young to find work for themselves would often run errands for their mothers, taking mended clothes and clean laundry to bawdy houses and other prostitute-frequented businesses. There they would be treated kindly by the women and impressed by their fancy dresses. Some girls reported that they became prostitutes because they were told of the leisurely life, the easy pay, and the frivolous outfits they could buy new every week if they so pleased, and they freely chose the profession without shame or destitution being main factors in their decisions. Other girls had no choice. Often abandoned by lovers, fearing the shame and hatred they would face if they went home to their families, some girls entered prostitution because it was the only means they could find to support themselves in their