Algerian Prostitutes Labeled as "Other"
A lot of the negativity regarding prostitution in Algeria was related in part to the class of the various women. This can be seen in the research completed by a doctor named Alexandre Baptiste which was included in a later edition of Parent du Chatelet's work. It seems as though in Baptiste's research he found a mixture of women who turned to prostitution as a necessary lifestyle, those who were offered by their wealthy parents in order to cement class position, or others who were simply women of leisure who had no qualms with prostitution. This pulling of women from across all levels of class into prostitution greatly upsets Bertherand who seems determined to understand prostitution as something reserved for women of the lower classes. This cross-class prostitution interferes with the strict class structure in Paris and the social necessity of viewing prostitutes as firmly lower class; if prostitutes in Algeria can be daughters of wealthy men or members of the middle class then preconceived notions of prostitution formed in Paris become complicated. Furthermore, this writing also states that after retiring from prostitution many women are welcomed back into family life and make good marriages which just continues the upheaval of Parisian notions of prostitution in regards to class boundaries. In short, the cultural norms of Algerian do not provide the rigid control of Paris and as such leads the tourist doctor to interpret Algeria as uncivilized. On what he saw in Algeria he writes:
"the plurality of wives, a dogma of the Koran; social inferiority, because of the ignorance in which religious law condemns females, confined to a narrow rut of habitual idleness or menial studies; the common ease of divorce, the promiscuous mixing of slaves and legitimate in the sanctuary of the family, all these sad conditions of domestic life could fail under the hot climate and exciting Algerian sky, throwing it open for the relaxation of morals and prostitution." [1]
Confronted by women who do not adhere to the strict confines that existed in Paris, Baptiste feels compelled to search for a difference in Algerian society that would lead to such a difference. This search for a fundamental separation between Algerians and Parisians leads to a process of "othering" [2] which works to place Algerians as inferior to white people. Parisians cling to the idea that women turn to prostitution only when in dire financial need, even if there are many examples of this being incorrect [3]. The doctor comes to the conclusion that the factors leading to this are the Islamic religion and the weather. There is no real connection to be made between these factors and prostitution in Algeria, this is clear because prostitution exists everywhere. The only difference seems to be the possibility of Algerian prostitutes getting married and being treated as family. It is a result of the Doctor’s impulse to separate his nationality from Algeria that has lead him to make this conclusion. The desire to other is the reason that religion is used as an explanation.
Another traveling Frenchmen who felt the need to comment on the prostitution in Algeria was the painter Délacroix. His painting of a harem of women in Algeria reveals a lot about how he viewed Algerian women. Délacroix was unable to capture the image of most women in Algeria as it was considered highly wrong to represent people, but women especially, in art. In order to study women, the artist then was forced to only draw from his time spent with harems. There is a clear emphasis on the sensuality of the harem; decadent fabric, rich colors, detail of clothing, all create an atmosphere of sex. Suggesting that the women of Algeria are constantly at the beck and call of men, always ready for sex. This was harmful as it ignored the multiplicity of these women. Furthemore, the darkest body in the painting, that of the black servant, is explicitly separated from the lighter skinned women. Cementing her position as servant instead of something onto which fantasy could be projected. Reminding the viewer of the black servant in Manet's Olympia which similarly establishes the black female body as a desexualized worker.
Orientalism did not just occur on grand scales like that of Olympia or Women of Algiers, but also on a smaller scale. Included on this page is an etching done of two people dressed in exoticized clothing. Etchings like this one were brought back to France and used as true-to-life representations of places that most Frenchmen would never visit. The proliferation of images like this then heightened the exotic image that French people had of their colony. While also furthering the idea that Algerians were predisposed to laziness and vice, requiring the strict control of France.
[1] Alexandre Jean Baptiste B. (1857). On Prostitution in the City of Paris. pg. 536.
[2] Said, E. W. (1988). Orientalism (25th ed.). New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
[3] Parent Du Châtelet, Alexandre Jean Baptiste B. (1840). On Prostitution in the City of Paris. From the French of M. Parent Duchatelet. Second edition. London: T. Burgess.