Dr. Kate Lister – sex work historian: ‘It was actually the Victorian writer, Rudyard Kipling, who first coined the phrase ‘the world’s oldest profession’ in his short story, On the City Wall (1898).
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The tale opens with the immortal line “Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world”. Since then, the expression has fallen into common parlance as a historical truth.
A brothel is a place where people can go to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. It is illegal in many countries around the world, but it still exists in some form in many places.
In some cases, brothels are run by organized crime groups and offer a wide range of services, including drugs and other illegal activities. In other cases, brothels are simply places where people can pay for sex.
The legality of brothels varies from country to country, and even from state to state. In some places, brothels are considered to be a form of business, while in others they are seen as a form of exploitation. There is much debate over the morality of brothels, and whether or not they should be legalized.
‘Whore’ is an old Indo-European word, related to the Old Indian word Kama (like in Kamasutra) meaning lust. Historically, levied at any women who stepped outside the norms of modest behaviour that upset the status quo. Whore originally derives from the Germanic ‘horon’ meaning “one that desires’. (Source: Dr. Kate Lister – sex work historian)