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A 'brothel', also known as a 'bordello' or 'whorehouse', is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with the clients. In some places, licensed brothels are legal (see prostitution), and in many countries, places such as massage parlors are allowed to function as brothels, with varying degrees of regulation and repression. Depending on zoning, brothels may be confined to special red-light districts or 'tolerance zones'.

Contents

Etymology

History

Business models

Military brothels

Nevada brothels

Regulation

In popular culture

See also

Bibliography

References

External links

Etymology

The word 'brothel' is from Middle English, and stems from 'brothen', the past participle of 'brethen', meaning 'to waste away' or 'to go to ruin', showing the low regard brothels and prostitution have been held in throughout much of Western, especially Christian influenced, history.^[1]
Other names for brothel are 'whorehouse', 'nunnery', 'bordello', 'cathouse', 'bawdyhouse', 'house of ill repute', 'house of prostitution', 'knocking shop', 'pleasure house' or 'sporting house'.^[2]

History

Brothels have been known for most of recorded history. Early incidences include temple prostitution in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries.
By the time of the ancient Grecian and Roman civilizations, brothels were established and sometimes licensed institutions, with the latter first being recorded in Athens in 594 BC. Public sources of the time applauded the installation of said brothel by Solon, as this was deemed to reduce the disruptions caused by sexually unfulfilled transients (sailors, workers), as well as bringing money into the public purse. This first official brothel was soon followed by many others, and also influenced the creation of special schools in which various classes of prostitutes (from slavegirls to future courtesans) were trained for their profession.^[3]

Business models

Brothels use a variety of business models.

★ In some, prostitutes are held in involuntary servitude without the option to leave,^[4] receiving only a small portion (or none) of the money paid by the patron. This is typical where human trafficking procures a large percentage of prostitutes, and is common in (though not limited to) countries where prostitution is forbidden or repressed. In some cases, prostitutes are bought and sold by their keepers, reducing them to a state of chattel slavery. All of these are illegal in most jurisdictions.

★ In others the prostitutes are employees, receiving a small fixed salary and a portion of the money spent by the customer. (''Maison close'' French for "closed house")

★ In still others the prostitutes pay a fee for use of the facilities, with the brothel owner not being involved in the financial transaction between prostitute and client. (''Maison de passe'', French for "trick house")

★
★ In those countries which restrict or forbid prostitution, the latter provides some level of plausible denial to the facility owner, who often (thinly) disguises the brothel as a massage parlor, bar or similar facility. Allowing such brothels may also be a form of face-saving by politicians who are unwilling or unable to fully enforce laws against prostitution.

Military brothels

Until recently, in several armies around the world a mobile brothel service was attached to the army as an auxiliary unit, especially in long-term deployments abroad. For example, during French and Japanese colonial campaigns of the 20th century such employees were mainly recruited among the local population of South-East Asia and Africa; some were often underage. Because it is a touchy subject, military brothels were often designated with creative euphemisms. Notable examples of such jargon are ''la boîte à bonbons'' (French for "the candy box"), replacing the term "BMC". "Comfort battalions" were forced prostitutes captured in China and Korea by the Japanese occupation army, and thus the prostitutes were individually referred to as "Military comfort women" or ''jūgun-ianfu''.

Nevada brothels

In the United States, the only state where brothels are legal is Nevada (see List of brothels in Nevada). Brothels are legal in counties with populations of less than 400,000 inhabitants. County governments license and regulate brothels within their boundaries. Brothels have existed in Nevada since the old mining days of the 1800s and were first licensed in 1971. As of 2007, thirty brothels existed in Nevada. 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.

Regulation

Various countries have fully legalised prostitution (as opposed to only tolerating it) in the last decades, including countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand. Most of these countries seem to favor brothels, at least in theory, as they are considered to be less problematic than street prostitution. Laws regarding prostitution often include strict regulations for brothels, for example specifying that they may not be situated in certain zones (such as in residential areas or near schools) and usually prescribing various forms of health inspections. Actual regulations vary widely.^[5]

In popular culture

Movies depicting brothels include:

★ ''Born into Brothels''

★ ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''

★ CBS's '': Ending Happy.

★ HBO's Cathouse: The Series (Season 1)

★ HBO's Cathouse: The Series (Season 2)

★ ''Risky Business''

See also

★ Big Sister (a unique 'free' brothel in Prague)

★ Fashion health (a Japanese type of brothel)

★ Prostitution

★ Sex industry

★ Comfort women

★ Bordels Mobiles de Campagne

Bibliography

★ ''The House of Dolls'', Karol Cetinsky

References

1. Brothel (from the Merriam-Webster dictionary)
2. Brothel Synonyms (partly from synonyms.com)
3. ''Salamis, Tarts, Paedophilia and Pornikotelos'' - ''Hellenic Star'', Thursday 07 September 2000
4. ''Liberating sex slaves in India'' - ''New Internationalist'', Issue 390, June 2006
5. A summary of the prostitution regulations in the EU member states (from the website of the European Parliament)

External links

★ ''Inside a brothel'' - interview by Richard Fidler with three brothel owners, June 2006 on ABC Local Radio (audio download available)