Brothel

"Lupanar" redirects here. For the Pompeii brothel, see Lupanar (Pompeii).

"Cathouse" redirects here. For other uses, see Cathouse (disambiguation).

For the 2008 film "The Brothel", see Brothel (film).

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Salon at the Rue des Moulins, 1894

A brothel, also known as a bordello, cathouse, whorehouse, sporting house, gentleman's club, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, bawdy house etc., is an establishment where people come to engage in sexual activities with prostitutes.

The style and sex services available in each brothel vary considerably, as do the laws which regulate brothels. These laws vary considerably between countries as well as within countries, and have varied over time. In some jurisdictions, brothels are legal and regulated, while in others they are illegal. However, even in jurisdictions which regulate brothels, there are brothels which operate outside the officially approved system.

Legality

Main articles: Prostitution and the law and Prostitution by country

In most countries, prostitution is illegal, as are brothels. Brothels are illegal in the United States (except in rural Nevada). In many countries where brothels are officially illegal, the laws are ignored; often brothels in such countries are not only tolerated, but also regulated by authorities. Such situations exist in many parts of the world, but the region most often associated with these policies is Asia - a notable example being Thailand. Such brothels often operate (thinly) disguised as legitimate business, such as massage parlors, saunas or spas. See also massage parlor.

In other countries, prostitution itself is legal, but most activities which surround it (such as operating a brothel, pimping, soliciting in a public place etc.) are prohibited, often making it very difficult for people to engage in prostitution without breaking any law. This is the situation, for example in the United Kingdom.

In a few countries, prostitution and operating a brothel is legal and regulated. The degree of regulation varies widely by country. Most of these countries favor brothels, at least in theory, as they are considered to be less problematic than street prostitution. In parts of Australia, for example, brothels are legal and regulated. Regulation includes planning controls and licensing and registration requirements. Brothels are not permitted to advertise and there are other restrictions. However, the existence of licensed brothels does not stop illegal brothels from existing. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph (Australia), illegal brothels in Sydney now outnumber licensed operations by four to one; according to a 2009 report, in Queensland only 10% of prostitution happens in licensed brothels, the rest remains either unregulated or illegal.

The Netherlands has one of the most liberal prostitution policies in the world, and attracts sex tourists from many other countries. Amsterdam is well known for its red-light district and is a destination for sex tourism. The largest brothel in Europe (the Pascha) is situated in Cologne, Germany.

Business models

Window prostitution, in De Wallen, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Brothels use a variety of business models:

• the prostitutes can operate as contract workers who split their earnings with the brothel. They can at times be expected to "tip" support staff (cleaners, limo drivers, etc.). They will usually receive no benefits, such as health insurance, and no withholding for taxes.
• the prostitutes can be employees who receive a small fixed salary and a portion of the money paid by the customer, the balance of which is retained by the brothel.
• the prostitutes pay a fee for use of the facilities, with the brothel owner not being involved in the financial transaction between a prostitute and client. In cases of illegal brothels, this arrangement provides some level of plausible deniability to the facility owner, who maintains that the facility is legitimate, such as a massage parlor, bar, strip club or similar business.

History

The earliest recorded mention of prostitution as an occupation, appears in Sumerian records from before 4000 BC, and describes a temple-bordello operated by Sumerian priests in the city of Uruk. The 'kakum' or temple, was dedicated to the goddess Isthar and housed three grades of women. The first group performed only in the temple sex-rites, the second group had the run of the grounds and catered to its visitors as well, and the third and lowest class lived on the temple grounds but were free to seek out customers in the streets. In later years, similar 'temple' or 'sacred' bordellos and similar classifications of females were known to have existed in Greece, Rome, India, China and Japan.

State brothels with regulated prices were created in ancient Athens by the legendary lawmaker Solon. These brothels catered for a predominantly male clientele, with prostitutes being women of all ages and young men. (see Prostitution in ancient Greece.) In ancient Rome, soldiers had sexual access to female slaves, with brothels being located close to barracks and city walls. Brothels opened everywhere. They displayed candles to signal that they were open. Prostitutes wore yellow clothes, yellow being the color of shame and insanity, and their shoes were bright red.

From the 12th century, brothels in London were located in a district known as the Liberty of the Clink. This area was traditionally under the authority of the Bishop of Winchester, not the civil authorities. From 1161, the bishop was granted the power to licence prostitutes and brothels in the district. This gave rise to the slang term Winchester Goose for a prostitute. Women who worked in these brothels were denied Christian burial and buried in the unconsecrated graveyard known as Cross Bones.

By the 16th century, the area was also home to many theaters, (including the Globe Theatre, associated with William Shakespeare), but brothels continued to thrive. A famous London brothel of the time was Holland's Leaguer. Patrons supposedly included James I of England and his favourite, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. It was located in a street that still bears its name and also inspired the 1631 play, Holland's Leaguer.

The authorities of Medieval Paris followed the same path as those in London and attempted to confine prostitution to a particular district. Louis IX (1226-1270) designated nine streets in the Beaubourg quartier where it would be permitted. In the early part of the 19th century, state controlled legal brothels (then known as "maisons de tolérance" or "maisons closes") started to appear in several French cities. By law, they had to be run by a woman (typically a former prostitute) and their external appearance had to be discreet. The maisons were required to light a red lantern when they were open and the prostitutes were only permitted to leave the maisons on certain days and only if accompanied by its head. By 1810, Paris alone had 180 officially approved brothels.

During the first half of the 20th century, some Paris brothels, such as le Chabanais and le Sphinx, were internationally–known for the luxury they provided. The French government sometimes included a visit to the Chabanais as part of the program for foreign guests of state, disguising it as visit with the President of the Senate in the official program. The Hotel Marigny, established in 1917 in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, was one of several that were well known for catering to gay male clients. Premises suspected of being gay brothels, including the Hotel Marigny, were however subject to frequent police raids, perhaps indicating less tolerance for them from the authorities.

In most European countries brothels were made illegal after World War II. France outlawed brothels in 1946, after a campaign by Marthe Richard. The backlash against them was, in part, due to their wartime collaboration with the Germans during the occupation of France. Twenty-two Paris brothels had been commandeered by the Germans for their exclusive use; some had made a great deal of money by catering for German soldiers and officials.

Italy made brothels illegal in 1959.

Military brothels

A young ethnic Chinese woman who was in one of the Imperial Japanese Army's "comfort battalions" is interviewed by an Allied officer after being liberated in Rangoon in 1945.

Further information: Comfort women, Bordel militaire de campagne, and Sexual enslavement by Nazi Germany in World War II

Until recently, in several armies around the world, a mobile brothel service was attached to the army as an auxiliary unit, especially attached to combat units on long-term deployments abroad.

Because it is a touchy subject, military brothels were often designated with creative euphemisms. Examples of such jargon are [la boîte à bonbons] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (English: "the candy box"), replacing the term "bordel militaire de campagne". Women were forced into prostitution by the Japanese occupation armies as a form of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. Drawn from throughout East Asia, the prostitutes were individually referred to as "military comfort women" or [jūgun-ianfu] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) and were collectively known as "comfort battalions".

It has been estimated that 34,140 women from occupied states, particularly in Poland, were also forced to work as involuntary prostitutes for the Nazis during WWII.

Nevada brothels

The Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Mound House near Carson City.

Main article: Prostitution in Nevada

In the United States, Nevada is the only state where brothels are legal. Prostitution outside the licensed brothels is illegal throughout Nevada. Brothels are allowed only in counties with populations of fewer than 400,000 inhabitants, and not all qualifying counties have allowed them. Currently eight out of Nevada's 16 counties have active brothels (these are all rural counties). As of June/July 2008, 28 legal brothels existed in Nevada. All forms of prostitution are illegal in Las Vegas (and Clark County which contains its metropolitan area), Reno (and Washoe County), Carson City, and a few other places.

The brothels and their employees must register with the county sheriff and receive regular medical checkups. Brothels have existed in Nevada since the old mining days of the 1800s and were first licensed in 1971. The legendary Mustang Ranch operated from 1971 through 1999, when it was forfeited to the federal government following a series of convictions for tax fraud, racketeering, and other crimes.

See also

• Sex industry
• Sex worker
• Soapland
• Spintria
• Dumas Brothel
• Gay bathhouse

Further reading

• Burford, E. J. The Bishop's Brothels. London: Robert Hale, 1993. ISBN 9780709051138.
• Ka-tzetnik 135633 (Karol Cetinsky). House of Dolls. Moshe M. Kohn (trans.). New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955. A novel about the Holocaust, including a description of a brothel staffed by concentration camp inmates.

External links

• "Inside a brothel"—interview by Richard Fidler with three brothel owners, June 2006 on ABC Local Radio (audio download available)