Old West Prostitution Research Paper

Words: 1728
Pages: 7

Since the beginning of currency, there has always trade of service for good. Prostitution has been dated all the way back to 2400 BCE. Women involved in prostitution lead fascinating lives and were an important part of the western landscape in the 19th century, they lived in a shadowy world, where it can be difficult to determine fiction from reality. In the American West, a woman who lived on her own could barely make ends meet. The business of prostitution was cutthroat, and many women who found themselves in this career lived and died in poverty. A life of prostitution typically led to being poor, diseased, and addicted to drugs. Old West prostitution was a million dollar business with money flowing in from from madams, pimps, and landlords. …show more content…
If a prostitute befriended a so-called decent woman, it was common for them to be ran out of town. If the wedding bells did not ring, or a husband died, a woman's options become limited. It is wrong to assume the only reason women looked into this profession was because they liked sex, when however it was a more complex issue. They felt as though sex was the only thing hey had to sell. In Gold Rush San Francisco, there were reported to be 300 prostitutes: of those women 90 were caucasian, 75 were Chinese, 135 either were African, Indian or of Mexican descent. After the Civil War, the number of African prostitutes increased in the West, Texas had the highest numbers. In Austin, 35-40% were African descent since Texas had been a former slave state. This opened a new door in prostitution due to the thought that the fairer and whiter skin the …show more content…
Amarillo, Texas housed a large number of brothels and crib houses. It was said a person could find anything they wanted there. In Waco, Texas a law was passed that legalized prostitution. Brothels and working girls had to be licensed, which meant they could work without legal hassles; each woman had to have a medical examination, so venereal disease could eventually be cured and contained. Army doctors did what they could to treat general disease; all one army doctor did when he was not on patrol was treat the clap in soldiers and prostitutes. People believed that prostitutes could contract a Vernal disease because their hearts were not pure. They were falling woman, nevermind the fact that the men might have been carriers of the disease, once again the burden of responsibility was on the wayward of women’s shoulders. Every one in six pregnancies was an abortion in the world of prostitution. After 1873 birth control, abortion, and product advertisements