Beginning of the 19th century - 1970s: the dominance of the male gaze on the representation of the figure of the prostitute

In june 2012, Najate Vallaud-Belkacem, back then minister in charge of women’s rights and spokesperson of the government, gave an interview (Le JDD) in which she re-asserted France’s “abolitionist stance” in terms of prostitution: “The question is not whether or not we want to abolish prostitution - the answer is yes - but to give us the means to do so.” Actually, the term “abolitionist” emerged in the 19th century and did not mean exactly what it means today. Here, there are three key words to understand: “reglementarism”, “abolitionism” and “prohibitionism”. All these terms are inherited from the debates of the 19th century which arose in the context of a growing prostitutional phenomenon in Europe but even more in France and in Paris. During the second part of the 19th century, this growing prostitutional phenomenon had reached such an extent that Paris was nicknamed “Europe’s brothel” or the “city of vice”. What was the context then ?

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