Browse Exhibits (2 total)
College Student Sex Workers
This exhibit examines the lives of college student sex workers in various parts of the world. A recurring theme among the narratives of prostitutes is their poverty and lack of agency. Yet, college student sex workers are a minority group within prostitutes, as many of them come from privileged backgrounds, but choose to enter prostitution to attain prestige. They can be compared to grisettes in 1830’s France, who developed relationships with male students in pursuit of social mobility.
Grisettes: Then and Now
In the early 1800s in France, the grisette was a young girl who left the countryside to pursue a new life in Paris. She worked in the world of fashion, often as a seamstress. A rich university student would seek out a grisette to live with him and help with domestic chores. The two would then have a mutually beneficial relationship. Learn more about aspects of the grisette and where they are now by browsing our exhibit!