Lindsay Perrillo

Abstract:

I examine the repressive and strict Victorian attitudes surrounding both sexuality and gender, how they intersect, and how they create a paradox surrounding sex. Men are seen as animalistic creatures in need of, and entitled to, sex, meanwhile women, or at the ones society bestows its respect upon, are not only not supposed to have sex until marriage, but are supposed to not enjoy it. I connect these societal expectations to the increase in popularity of prostitution seen in the Victorian era. I use primary sources such as prostitution statistics, Victorian night guides, Victorian legislation and the anonymous account of a Victorian sex worker to prove the thriving of this market. I argue that the conflicting male and female ideals of this period, and the attempt to repress female sexuality, is a cause in the growth of sex work in this era, and thusly that repression failed in this case.