The Kickstarter for “Contemporary Prostitution”, a translation of “La Prostitution Contemporaine” (1884) by Léo Taxil is now live!
Within it are letters from real 19th century sex workers, long discussions of male prostitution and lesbianism among French prostitutes, and the trafficking scandals at the time. You can read criticism of the morality police who both registered and arrested sex workers, see the author discuss the racist fear-mongering around “white slavery” which was later used to justify the criminalization of paying for sex or of prostitution entirely in other countries, and segments with talk about prostitution in ancient Greece and Rome.
You can support the translation from the original French and get yourself a copy here:
Please reblog and share with others!
I'm a sex worker myself and I have been translating this work for free for many months - I'd love to be able to fund the completion of it and get copies out so we can keep this history alive!
This is nauseating. The French government has banned the wearing of abayas to school. This includes both students and faculty. Teenagers and grown women alike are now no longer allowed to wear one of the few things they have left under strict French laicity laws. If it is anything like the restrictions against hijabs, burkas, chadors and niqābs, this means these women will not be allowed inside a school building with one on, and will be restricted from entering the premises while wearing one.
Unlike a hijab or other headcovering, this cannot simply be removed. Students are going to be sent home and miss educational hours because the government said they cannot wear a dress, because of religious backgrounds, entirely ignoring cultural backgrounds and the fact that it is one of the few things these girls have left to hold on to their culture and faith.
I school in a large city. Over half the women in my classes sport an abaya, because they are already forced their head coverings off at the door in the name of peace and laicity, are forced to give in to Islamophobic, European sentiment, and now they cannot even wear a long dress. Teachers who give up their prementioned garments for the name of educating the youth, now have to give this up as well. The French government also bans burkinis and any sort of modest, covering bathing suit, and has for years, in the name of 'hygiene', instead pushing for speedos and two pieces.
They give different excuses, but it is all the same, and this is the most blatant form yet. This dress has been banned for women and children to wear in school because christians think it shows too much faith. We eat fish on fridays as a nationwide standard, and this shows too much religion. This dress in the eyes of the french government, is anti secularist. This is horrifying, and I haven't seen anything about it on Tumblr yet, but I am disgusted. This is Islamophobia, always has been, and terribly, continues to be.
English translation under the read more.
Header:
3rd Change
First paragraph:
The abaya, an article of clothing with widespread origins in several Gulf States and the Maghreb, will be prohibited in all educational establishments in France.
Second paragraph:
The government has judged that this article of clothing is religious garb and thus contradictory to laicity.
[Vêtement could also be garment, whatever you prefer.]
I'm Jack, a sex worker activist in the UK.
I’ve been translating “La Prostitution Contemporaine” for many months, a book by Léo Taxil from 1884 about prostitution in France in the time period. It’s never been translated into English before and it’s incredibly important to me that we preserve sex worker history. The book covers the experiences of sex workers in France and surrounding countries during the 1800s. It includes letters from women and girls who sold sex, in-depth discussions of courts cases surrounding brothels, data about prostitution, stories about the habits and lives of sex workers, and a lot of criticism of the Parisian police. There are large segments about male prostitution and lesbian sex workers.
It is extremely important to me that we preserve sex worker history, and I do not want this work to be lost to time. It can be made accessible to so many more people with an English translation!
If you think you’d be interested, please take a look at the pre-launch page and sign up to be notified when it launches - if you know anyone who'd like to read this kind of history about prostitution then tell them about the project!
Salut à tous mes amis francophones. Je viens de réaliser que je ne vous ai jamais dit que je parlais français. Chuis pas français ( je suis italien et britannique ) , mais j'essaie d'améliorer mon niveau. J'adore apprendre de nouvelles langues et j'aimerais donc que vous me posiez des questions en français. à plus !
We couldn’t be happier to tell you that our new book “Salut la Terre” is out today in French!
It’s a world premier and we think this is an incredibly beautiful and funny book that everyone should read! It will be out – at some point – in English, too. So if you don’t speak French yourself and don’t know anyone to give the book to, you’ll have to be patient a little bit longer.
If you want to learn the Language of Love, this is perfect for you. It features some of your favorite characters from the War and Peas world and each comic strip is self-contained and completed. Find details and order links here.