Eros Live in New York

The book, City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and the Commercialization of Sex 1790-1920, written by Timothy J. Gilfoyle, explains the sexual transformation New York and its inhabitants experienced. Gilfoyle emphasizes the idea that sex had not been commercialized prior to this time. This new sex industry expanded all throughout New York City. Gilfoyle states that the public saw prostitution in a numerous ways; there were citizens who viewed it as a necessary urban evil and others as a moral disease. Many people thought that prostitution consisted of wretched women, who chose to sell themselves for the thrill of it, a common misconception. A handful of prostitutes became successful madams, acquiring mass amounts of wealth and power. With the increase in commercialized sex, there also was a dramatic increase in violence against women, leading to the creation of the pimp. Gilfoyle also writes about the transition that the male sexual psyche underwent in the 1900s, referred to as the “sporting man” culture. Prostitution’s prevalence in New York City extended from the brothels to other public spaces, such as museums. For some individuals, this sexual freedom resulted in the creation of guidebooks and pornographic literature. During the 1900s, prostitution also became heavily intertwined with law enforcement and its politics. With the visibility of sex exponentially increasing, some citizens resorted to vigilantism to combat it. The ideology of taking matters into one’s own hands led the social Reverend Charles Henry Parkhurst’s successful reform of prostitution.

At the beginning of the 1900s, there was a “sexual revolution” in New York City. During this time, sexual acts and desires were not hidden, but instead they were openl...

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... increased, men became more involved in the sex industry. From the case of Helen Jewett and Robert P. Robinson, a new image of prostitution was created, as well as the new sporting man culture. Prostitution was not unique to women, for subcultures of male prostitutes and homosexuals existed. In the sex community, women formed support networks with one another, creating sisterhoods. As the years progressed, sex became more integrated into popular culture and public space, accessible to all classes of New Yorkers. Police and politics were often ineffective with handling prostitution, and often time’s police officers were handsomely paid off by well-known establishments; vigilantism was a result of this inadequate policing. Finally, in the late 1900s, Charles Henry Parkhurst led the most popular anti-prostitution campaign, resulting in the decline in the sex industry.