Then: 1830's France
Then: Parent-Duchatelet was one of the first to ever research prostitution. As a pioneer in his field Parent-Duchatelet not only grappled with constant negative feedback, but also was tasked with confronting many unexplored questions. With these two struggles in mind analyzing his research ethic and design is revealing of the social pressures he faced at that time.
Ethics: As a researcher from 1830’s France it would be expect that Parent-Duchatelet, compared to contemporary times, may be flawed in some of his research ethics. However, his desire to obtain objectivity definitely exists in his work.
“For my own part, I, who believe in seeing things under their true light and who know that the esteem attached to works is not always proportionate to the good that men who see and appreciate good intentions and even as I acknowledge the prejudices of other, I deplore their blindness... As a free and independent man, I will impartially distribute praise and blame; as a religious man, I won’t be ashamed of what my pen will write; as a man free from prejudices, I will say everything demanded of me by science, by the good of society and the good of that unfortunate class that has provided me so many topics of study and reflection.”[1]
Although we can condemn him for his inability to remove himself from the perceived social prejudice associated with prostitution, there are strong words suggesting that Parent-Duchatelet is trying to observe his work from a neutral position.
Design: During this time no one had conducted notable social research on prostitution, so Parent-Duchatelet was tasked with creating research questions. Remarkably, this lack of previous research allowed Parent-Duchatelet to focus on the prostitutes themselves. Some of his questions included:
- What is the cause of prostitution?
- Why won’t prostitutes visit doctors?
- Why do they have low voices?
- Why do they have tattoos?
- What are their habits/behaviors?[2]
These questions represent a discourse in which Parent-Duchatelet is focused on the individuals involved in the field. Although Parent-Duchatelet can be critiqued for some of the ways he follows up on these questions, he should be credited for spending time with prostitutes and trying to understand the inner workings of their careers and minds.
[1] Translation of Parent-Duchatelet Composite File, 2013. Translation by Greggor Mattson, PhD, 2016.