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The Business of Pleasure: A History of Paid Sex in the Heart of Europe
- GenresHistory
184 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2024
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December 11, 2024
Can't remember how I came across this book before it was published in English translation but I am glad I did. The book is a well ordered collection of essays by Belgian and Dutch academics regarding the history of paid sex in Belgium mostly centering on Antwerp and Brussels.
The book goes from the medieval age up to the very present to give the reader a very wide timeline to regard the history in Belgium. The book even, rather unexpectedly, has a chapter on the Belgian Congo. I've read a few books on the Congo (David Van Reybrouck's magisterial Congo: The Epic History of a People). I think this is a growing trend in European academic works to include the history of the colony in with the history of the mother country - one that I fully support.
The penultimate chapter is a transcript of an interview with Sonia Verstappen, a former sex worker, to round of the rest of the book by academic researchers. This lent the book some first hand evidence of the primary thesis - that sex work is real work and should not be treated as a crime or with a stigma.
This book is of interest not only to those interested in the history of the sex trade or Belgium but for people wishing to read about subjects most consider problematic.
The book goes from the medieval age up to the very present to give the reader a very wide timeline to regard the history in Belgium. The book even, rather unexpectedly, has a chapter on the Belgian Congo. I've read a few books on the Congo (David Van Reybrouck's magisterial Congo: The Epic History of a People). I think this is a growing trend in European academic works to include the history of the colony in with the history of the mother country - one that I fully support.
The penultimate chapter is a transcript of an interview with Sonia Verstappen, a former sex worker, to round of the rest of the book by academic researchers. This lent the book some first hand evidence of the primary thesis - that sex work is real work and should not be treated as a crime or with a stigma.
This book is of interest not only to those interested in the history of the sex trade or Belgium but for people wishing to read about subjects most consider problematic.
Displaying 1 of 1 review