The Business of Pleasure

In 2022, the Belgian parliament made a landmark decision by approving the decriminalisation of sex work. This move positioned the small nation as the first country in Europe – and the second globally – to abandon the hypocrisy of tolerance. But this was not the first time paid sex in Belgium gained international notoriety. The medieval bathhouses and ‘frows of Flanders’ were well-known throughout Europe. In the nineteenth century, Belgium faced international outrage as the alleged epicentre of white slavery. Yet while Belgians were accused of forcing white women into prostitution, they were left alone when it came to the inclusion of any suspect woman in the prostitution registers of colonial Congo. Throughout the First and Second World Wars, both allied and German soldiers sought relief in Belgian brothels. 'The Business of Pleasure' presents the compelling life stories of sex workers and their interactions with authorities, clients and pimps. Transcending stereotypes, this history of commercial sex offers a nuanced understanding of the difficulties and opportunities associated with paid sex for women, men and trans persons past and present.