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Chargement... Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute (édition 2016)par Ivy Anderson (Directeur de publication), Devon Angus (Directeur de publication), Josh Sides (Avant-propos)
Information sur l'oeuvreAlice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute par Ivy Anderson
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The collected memoirs of a 1913 San Francisco sex worker, their effect on society at the time, and where they fit in today's world. In 1913 the San Francisco Bulletin published a serialized, ghostwritten memoir of a prostitute who went by Alice Smith. "A Voice from the Underworld" detailed Alice's humble Midwestern upbringing and her struggle to find aboveboard work, and candidly related the harrowing events she endured after entering "the life." While prostitute narratives had been published before, never had they been as frank in their discussion of the underworld, including topics such as abortion, police corruption, and the unwritten laws of the brothel. Throughout the series, Alice strongly criticized the society that failed her and so many other women, but, just as acutely, she longed to be welcomed back from the margins. The response to Alice's story was unprecedented: four thousand letters poured into the Bulletin, many of which were written by other prostitutes ready to share their own stories; and it inspired what may have been the first sex worker rights protest in modern history. An introduction contextualizes "A Voice from the Underworld" amid Progressive Era sensationalistic journalism and shifting ideas of gender roles, and reveals themes in Alice's story that extend to issues facing sex workers today. Winner of the California Historical Society Book Award "Essential reading for anyone interested in the rich history of sexual commerce in the United States."--Gretchen Soderlund, author of Sex Trafficking, Scandal, and the Transformation of Journalism, 1885-1917 "Not only for Bay Area history buffs, Alice will enlighten all readers to early shifts in gender roles and societal correlations today."--Cassie Duggan, Literary Hub Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)306.74090794Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Culture and Institutions Relations between the sexes, sexualities, love Sex work Biography And HistoryClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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The Introduction by the editors occupies about a third of the book, and gives extensive background for San Francisco history. They’re sympathetic to sex workers, both contemporary and of Alice’s era, noting that attempts at “reform” usually confirm the proverb about the use of good intentions as a paving material. In 1917, San Francisco cracked down on brothels; the net result was not redemption of the inhabitants but forcing them out of a situation where women had at least some control and into the streets, where they were quickly at the mercy of pimps and johns. In 2015, after Amnesty International called for decriminalization of consensual sex work, the “Coalition Against Trafficking in Women” responded vehemently, in letters to newspapers signed by various Hollywood celebrities. In turn, “Molly Smith”, a sex worker from Europe, countered that if criminalization was so beneficial, why couldn’t the Coalition find and quote a single sex worker in favor of it, and why were the Hollywood actresses the center of the argument rather than women actually doing sex work?
After the Introduction we get to Alice’s story proper. She’s not happy with her life on the farm; some relatives invite her to “Westville”, where the streets are paved with gold; this turns out not to be the case and Alice finds herself in a series of low-paying jobs. She meets a “friendly” cigar store owner who discretely advises her that there’s a better way to make money than working in a laundry. She gives in, and compares with some amazement the $10 she made for a few minutes of her time with the $6/week she got as a laundry worker. Well, that was that; Alice finds herself first as sort of a call girl, with “dates” set up by the cigar store owner; then as a brothel prostitute, then as a madam. She and another girl try to “go straight” and open a restaurant, but it doesn’t pay (Alice claims the other girl was too generous with food portions). Along the way, Alice observes contemporary society: the limited options available to women; the argument that many “respectable” married women were essentially trading sex with husbands they didn’t love for money and security; the claim that many of her clients were not bad sorts; and the suggestion that shop window displays of such things as fine clothes and silk stockings seduced young girls into “the life” by creating yearnings for things they couldn’t possibly afford – “making her soul seem empty”, in Alice’s words.
Alice eventually gets out; she saves enough money that she and her sister are able to go into the landlady business. Her advice for other girls is that only they can break the cycle, and they shouldn’t depend on anybody else to help them.
Well, one wonders how much of this is real and how much was invented to sell newspapers? The editors think Alice’s story is plausible; I concede it does seem to have the right “look and feel”. There’s absolutely nothing titillating about it. A few illustrations – just duplicates of pages from the Bulletin. No footnotes or index. A short bibliography. For another take from about the same time, see The Underworld Sewer; for a scholarly study see City of Eros; for something contemporary try Brothel. ( )