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1 - The French Paradigm

Reconciling Individual Liberty and Sexual Slavery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2024

Elisa Camiscioli
Affiliation:
Binghamton University, State University of New York
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Summary

This chapter attends to the uniquely French stakes of this global moral panic. Early twentieth-century anecdotes attested to the prevalence of French women in brothels overseas, along with the idea that they were the most desirable and best paid in the business. In addition, state-regulated prostitution began in Paris in 1802 and then proliferated across the world. Because most anti-trafficking activists believed that regulationism caused the traffic in women, they considered France a false ally in their crusade. French representatives at international anti-trafficking conventions, and later at the League of Nations, ardently defended state-sponsored prostitution and women’s freedom to migrate for opportunities in the sex industry abroad. They also acknowledged the legitimacy of male demand for prostitution, in stark contrast to Anglo-American anti-vice crusaders. Moreover, by recognizing women’s individual liberty to sell sex, they injected the thorny question of consent into an already contentious discussion. Both proponents and opponents of regulated prostitution battled to determine the terms of the trafficking debate. Respective notions of national character and sexual morality, as well as migration policy, followed along these lines.

Type
Chapter
Information
Selling French Sex
Prostitution, Trafficking, and Global Migrations
, pp. 20 - 44
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • The French Paradigm
  • Elisa Camiscioli, Binghamton University, State University of New York
  • Book: Selling French Sex
  • Online publication: 04 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009418386.002
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  • The French Paradigm
  • Elisa Camiscioli, Binghamton University, State University of New York
  • Book: Selling French Sex
  • Online publication: 04 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009418386.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The French Paradigm
  • Elisa Camiscioli, Binghamton University, State University of New York
  • Book: Selling French Sex
  • Online publication: 04 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009418386.002
Available formats
×