Difference between revisions of "328 2010--Week 3 Questions/Comments"
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I think an important fact for us to consider while reading "Bills of Sale of Chinese Prostitutes" is that these amounts owed were a lot more back then. I do not believe any of these women wanted to sell themselves, but had no other option. America was the land of opportunity and even if they had to be indebted and prostituted first, nothing would keep them from these opportunities. As for Morgan's question about prostitution for re-payment, the mistresses probably made decent money from their prostitutes. I wondered if perhaps the mistresses kept the immigrants for four years because they might have been able to use the immigrants’ ignorance and accrue more money than was actually owed. --kokeefe | I think an important fact for us to consider while reading "Bills of Sale of Chinese Prostitutes" is that these amounts owed were a lot more back then. I do not believe any of these women wanted to sell themselves, but had no other option. America was the land of opportunity and even if they had to be indebted and prostituted first, nothing would keep them from these opportunities. As for Morgan's question about prostitution for re-payment, the mistresses probably made decent money from their prostitutes. I wondered if perhaps the mistresses kept the immigrants for four years because they might have been able to use the immigrants’ ignorance and accrue more money than was actually owed. --kokeefe | ||
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| + | I agree that in 1875-1876 $630 was equivalent to over $9300. I googled the historical value of money and $1 was worth about $14.85. It is unfortunate that these women had to sell themselves but that may have been the only option that they could see for themselves at the time. –Caryn Levine | ||
I can't speak to Chinese attitudes towards prostitution in the second half of the nineteenth century, but we talked about prostitution and courtesans in my Gender in Chinese History class during the eighteenth century, and they had a different view of it than we do. Certainly, they felt that it was best to be a respectable wife and mother, but courtesans and prostitutes weren't merely sex objects, most were educated and trained in the fine arts. Sometimes they didn't even sleep with their clients, but would just sit down and write poetry or play music with them. Many of these women were famous for their beauty and learning, even their morality. Of course, I'm not by any means trying to glorify prostitution, but still, these immigrant Chinese women may have come to the United States with a different idea of what being a prostitute meant, and that's why they agreed to it, combined with the practical concern of getting themselves to America. - Alice W | I can't speak to Chinese attitudes towards prostitution in the second half of the nineteenth century, but we talked about prostitution and courtesans in my Gender in Chinese History class during the eighteenth century, and they had a different view of it than we do. Certainly, they felt that it was best to be a respectable wife and mother, but courtesans and prostitutes weren't merely sex objects, most were educated and trained in the fine arts. Sometimes they didn't even sleep with their clients, but would just sit down and write poetry or play music with them. Many of these women were famous for their beauty and learning, even their morality. Of course, I'm not by any means trying to glorify prostitution, but still, these immigrant Chinese women may have come to the United States with a different idea of what being a prostitute meant, and that's why they agreed to it, combined with the practical concern of getting themselves to America. - Alice W | ||
