A brothel, also known as a bordello, cathouse, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, whore house, 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.
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.
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.
Before the appearance of effective contraception, infanticide was a common occurrence in brothels. Unlike usual infanticide - where historically girls have been more likely to be killed - prostitutes in ancient times preferred to kill their male offspring.
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.
Because it is a touchy subject, military brothels were often designated with creative euphemisms. Examples of such jargon are (), replacing the term "". 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 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.
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.
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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