Rue St Denis – Parisian prostitutes in single file
Prostitute posing on the Rue St Denis
When asked to conjure up three words which describe Paris, it would not be a paradoxical feat to incorporate ‘romance’, ‘love’ and ‘prostitution’ in the same list. The Parisian prostitute is surely part of an age-long folkloric past which has created mythical beliefs that Paris is indeed the city where sex has no taboos or untoward connotations.
Whether these mythical images which surround the prostitute are true or not, it cannot be denied that Paris is probably the only major city where the folklore attached to prostitution has not been surrounded by scandal, dirt and immorality. Rather, prostitutes in Paris are said to entertain, dance on podiums in the Moulin Rouge and practice the art of love making.
Prostitution in Soho is an underground affair of seediness, sordid urges and red raw buttocks. The London red light district is extremely localised and greatly uncared for, contrary to Parisian hot spots which are treated more like tourist attractions. Why the difference in attitude? Is it because institutional expectations of public behaviour in Britain do not entertain the idea of flippant, irrational behaviour, or are the French a nation of citizens which glorifies and celebrate the act of love making.
Two years ago, prostitutes in Paris held a demonstration in order to preserve the right to sell their own bodies. Such public displays which unequivocally admit to the practice of ‘no strings attached love making’ is simply unimaginable in many other countries.
Rue St Denis, in the heart of the first arrondissement, is just as raunchy as the famous sex district Pigalle, where the Moulin Rouge was founded. However, Rue St Denis is not quite so glamorous. Sex shops are less obviously signposted and prostitutes are generally an ageing bunch of seriously over-tanned make-up artists. Yet, they litter the streets conspicuously in an admirably shameless fashion.
Bravo! We have known for centuries that prostitution is a commonly practised activity. It is high time that we accept the profession as one which exists and give these woman – whether they’re in the gutter or on a podium – a public face.
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