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SOCIETAL VIEWS ON PROSTITUTION IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND Prostitution is often referred to as the worlds
oldest profession so it is not hard to believe that this is the case for
London, England. Women in nineteenth-century England were not supposed
to engage in sexual activity unless it was solely for the purpose of procreation.
Nonetheless, in Victorian England, Victorian societal ideals placed women in the role of
the virginal 'angel in the house', expecting them to be pure and dutiful.
In contrast then, those who turned to prostitution were considered 'fallen
women'. However, a growing acceptance of the belief that men naturally
possess very strong sexual desires seemingly began to pose a social dilemma.
How could men's sexual needs be met without corrupting the purity of the
women? As historian Susan Kent suggests, "Prostitution operated through
the double standard of morality to accommodate both the recognized waywardness
of men and the purity of the middle class wife and home
The system
of prostitution was the squalid basis of much Victorian rectitude and
respectability. It must be understood and interpreted as an essential
element in Victorian sexual morality." Victorians' societal views toward prostitutes evolved
from an initial sense of compassion, to an unbearable hatred. People became
increasingly aggravated by the growing number of prostitutes and wanted
the industry stopped.
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