Red Light City

Sex, money, and politics—no, it’s not a thriller novel. Minneapolis Madams is the surprising and riveting account of the Minneapolis red-light district and the powerful madams who ran it. Penny Petersen brings to life this nearly forgotten chapter of Minneapolis history, tracing the story of how these “houses of ill fame” rose to prominence in the late nineteenth century and then were finally shut down in the early twentieth century. In their heyday Minneapolis brothels were not only open for business but constituted a substantial economic and political force in the city. Women of independent means, madams built custom bordellos to suit their tastes and exerted influence over leading figures and politicians. Petersen digs deep into city archives, period newspapers, and other primary sources to illuminate the Minneapolis sex trade and its opponents, bringing into focus the ideologies and economic concerns that shaped the lives of prostitutes, the men who used their services, and the social-purity reformers who sought to eradicate their trade altogether. Usually written off as deviants, madams were actually crucial components of a larger system of social control and regulation. These entrepreneurial women bought real estate, hired well-known architects and interior decorators to design their bordellos, and played an important part in the politics of the developing city. Petersen argues that we cannot understand Minneapolis unless we can grasp the scope and significance of its sex trade. She also provides intriguing glimpses into racial interactions within the vice economy, investigating an African American madam who possibly married into one of the city’s most prestigious families. Fascinating and rigorously researched, Minneapolis Madams is a true detective story and a key resource for anyone interested in the history of women, sexuality, and urban life in Minneapolis.

In China today, sex work cannot be untangled from the phenomenon of rural-urban migration, the entertainment industry, and state power. In Red Lights, Tiantian Zheng highlights the urban karaoke bar as the locus at which these three factors intersect and provides a rich account of the lives of karaoke hostesses--a career whose name disguises the sex work and minimizes the surprising influence these women often have as power brokers.

A nuanced history of prostitution in Victoria told through newly uncovered stories of women who lived it. From the establishment of Fort Victoria, BC’s capital city has had a long history of prostitution. But little has been written on the lives of the women themselves—some of the most enterprising women in Victoria’s past. Instead, these women’s stories have been relegated to judgmental newspaper headlines. Now historian Linda J. Eversole takes a deeper look at their lives, from the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War and the Moral Reform movement. Story by story, from the fur trade, through confederation, waves of immigration, and attempts at reform and legislation, Eversole uncovers the histories of the women who made a living, and in some cases a fortune, from the world’s oldest profession. With accompanying maps and historical photos, new research, and the support of the descendants of some of her subjects, Eversole presents a nuanced, human series of portraits that enhances our understanding of this important strand of the city’s history.

Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves! This colorful, compact guidebook is perfect for spending a week or less in Amsterdam: City walks and tours: Six detailed tours and walks showcase Amsterdam's essential sights, including the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and the Anne Frank House, plus neighborhood walks through the Red Light District, Jordaan, and the historic city center Rick's strategic advice on what experiences are worth your time and money What to eat and where to stay: Sample pickled herring and friets with mayonnaise, chat with locals over a pint of pils, and cozy up in a canalside hotel Day-by-day itineraries to help you prioritize your time A detailed, detachable fold-out map, plus museum and city maps throughout Full-color, portable, and slim for exploring on-the-go Trip-planning practicalities like when to go, how to get around, basic Dutch phrases, and more Lightweight yet packed with valuable insight into Amsterdam's history and culture, Rick Steves Pocket Amsterdam truly is a tour guide in your pocket. Expanding your trip? Try Rick Steves Amsterdam & the Netherlands!

Mara L. Keire’s history of red-light districts in the United States offers readers a fascinating survey of the business of pleasure from the 1890s through the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Anti-vice reformers in the late nineteenth century accepted that complete eradication of disreputable pleasure was impossible. Seeking a way to regulate rather than eliminate prostitution, alcohol, drugs, and gambling, urban reformers confined sites of disreputable pleasure to red-light districts in cities throughout the United States. They dismissed the extremes of prohibitory law and instead sought to limit the impact of vice on city life through realistic restrictive measures. Keire’s thoughtful work examines the popular culture that developed within red-light districts, as well as efforts to contain vice in such cities as New Orleans; Hartford, Connecticut; New York City; Macon, Georgia; San Francisco; and El Paso, Texas. Keire describes the people and practices in red-light districts, reformers' efforts to limit their impact on city life, and the successful closure of the districts during World War I. Her study extends into Prohibition and discusses the various effects that scattering vice and banning alcohol had on commercial nightlife.

The memoir is that of a cab driver whose constant exposure to criminal violence on the night streets as a first-hand observer, resulting in his regularly being called as a court witness, opened his eyes to the practice of the justice system in action, and led to his disenchantment with the law courts' apparent lack of equitable restitution and retribution.Following an assault which left him scarred, he eventually formed alliance with underworld acquaintances whom he met in the course of nightshift working, and this subsequently resulted in a philosophy of taking the law into his own hands in response to confrontation by criminal violence.The memoir also sheds light on lesser known twilight aspects of human behaviour, and exposes the covert municipal practice of the red light traffic policy, a subterfuge which is not generally understood.

Based on extensive interviews with forty women working as prostitutes, Red Light, Blue Light examines a variety of personal developmental experiences and socio-situational factors that can combine to make prostitution neither an inevitable nor inescapable circumstance but a rational occupational choice. This book attempts to analyze why women enter the world of prostitution, how the skills and values of the business are transmitted and how the individuals themselves subjectively define, perceive and rationalise their activity. As opposed to the traditional stereotypical depiction of prostitutes as hopeless, downtrodden victims of male exploitation living lives of poverty, misery and wretchedness, the picture that emerges in this study is of an independent occupational group organizing and controlling the business in which they work. The book also presents a profile of clients of prostitutes and discusses the role of the police. Written in accessible style, the resulting monograph presents a fascinating, unique and comprehensive account of street prostitution in a northern city.