Browse Exhibits (1 total)

Prostitution and Stigma Cross-Culturally: Paris, Nairobi, and California

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This exhibit compares the stigmatization of indoor prostitution with that of outdoor prostitution. These two forms of prostitution carry significant (but varied) meanings with regard to stigma in that they are reflective of class lines.  To explore this comparison more deeply, I juxtapose three different cultures: Paris in the 1830s, Nairobi in the 1900s, and California in the late 1990s-early 2000s.  In doing so, I examine how the dominant attitudes affiliated with indoor and outdoor prostitution inform kinship and living structures for female prostitutes in each of these places and time periods.  The patterns and differences between these three cases demonstrate that stigma (like prostitution) varies across cultures.

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