Sex Work the American Way
The DailyYou’re reading The New Yorker’s daily newsletter, a guide to our top stories, featuring exclusive insights from our writers and editors. Sign up to receive it in your in-box.In today’s newsletter, selling sex, and then:Remembering Nikki GiovanniKenneth Branagh’s life in ShakespeareIs Kash Patel the new J. Edgar Hoover?American schemes were informed by French and British models of managing prostitution—either by regulating it or by trying to eliminate it.Illustration by Fanny BlancWhen the United States Tried to Get on Top of Sex WorkOn Christmas Day in 1872, half a dozen women broke out of the Social Evil Hospital, an isolation institution for STD-positive female sex workers on the outskirts of St. Louis, and went looking for some good times downtown. Authorities quickly tracked them down and, a few days later, the mayor explained, “We cannot get at the men, and hence we have to take charge of you.” The hospital had been discreetly established the year before, as part of an attempt to regulate sex work in the city, which had been the first city in the U.S. to legalize prostitution.In her book “Empire of Purity,” which Rebecca Mead reviews for this week’s issue, Eva Payne details this and other episodes in the history of controlling the sale of sex, both domestically and abroad. Payne argues that ideas of American exceptionalism permeated the regulation of prostitution, even as those rules were informed by overseas models of managing the sex trade. “The combined efforts of social reformers and government officials drew upon notions of sexual continence as a moral strength with which Americans were especially endowed,” Mead explains. “Americans invoked an ethic of strenuous sexual self-mastery that justified their mastery over others.” Read or listen to the story »The LedeSince the announcement of Patel’s nomination, most concern has centered on the idea that, under his leadership, the F.B.I. would launch criminal investigations of Trump’s political opponents and media critics.Photograph by Nathan Howard / Bloomberg / GettyHow Would Kash Patel Compare to J. Edgar Hoover?Critics have warned that Donald Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to be the director of the F.B.I. will create an environment reminiscent of the days of J. Edgar Hoover. “The F.B.I. should be so lucky,” Beverly Gage writes. Whereas Hoover felt the Bureau was a bulwark against an underground left-wing conspiracy to take over American life, for Patel “the F.B.I. is the conspiracy.” Read the story »Further reading: Margaret Talbot reviews Beverly Gage’s “G-Man,” about how Hoover’s secret programs subverted American democracy from within.More Top StoriesThe Year Creators Took OverNikki Giovanni’s Legacy of Black LoveRemembering Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean Heyday (and Forgetting His Recent Lear)Gift Ideas from the Rudy GiulianiDaily Cartoon“He’ll do a lot more damage this way.”Cartoon by Jeremy NguyenCopy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copiedShopShopMore Fun & GamesPlay today’s beginner-friendly puzzle. A clue: Seasonal song such as “Deck the Halls.” Five letters.P.S. Kimberly Guilfoyle is the President-elect’s pick for the next ambassador to Greece. Four years ago, when Guilfoyle was one of Donald Trump’s top fund-raising officials and his son’s girlfriend, Jane Mayer chronicled her departure from Fox News, where a former assistant had accused her of sexual harassment. “Ordinarily, allegations like those that have trailed Guilfoyle would likely prove disqualifying for someone seeking a prominent role in the political arena,” Mayer writes. But not in Trump’s Administration.
In today’s newsletter, selling sex, and then:
- Remembering Nikki Giovanni
- Kenneth Branagh’s life in Shakespeare
- Is Kash Patel the new J. Edgar Hoover?
When the United States Tried to Get on Top of Sex Work
On Christmas Day in 1872, half a dozen women broke out of the Social Evil Hospital, an isolation institution for STD-positive female sex workers on the outskirts of St. Louis, and went looking for some good times downtown. Authorities quickly tracked them down and, a few days later, the mayor explained, “We cannot get at the men, and hence we have to take charge of you.” The hospital had been discreetly established the year before, as part of an attempt to regulate sex work in the city, which had been the first city in the U.S. to legalize prostitution.
In her book “Empire of Purity,” which Rebecca Mead reviews for this week’s issue, Eva Payne details this and other episodes in the history of controlling the sale of sex, both domestically and abroad. Payne argues that ideas of American exceptionalism permeated the regulation of prostitution, even as those rules were informed by overseas models of managing the sex trade. “The combined efforts of social reformers and government officials drew upon notions of sexual continence as a moral strength with which Americans were especially endowed,” Mead explains. “Americans invoked an ethic of strenuous sexual self-mastery that justified their mastery over others.” Read or listen to the story »
The Lede
How Would Kash Patel Compare to J. Edgar Hoover?
Critics have warned that Donald Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to be the director of the F.B.I. will create an environment reminiscent of the days of J. Edgar Hoover. “The F.B.I. should be so lucky,” Beverly Gage writes. Whereas Hoover felt the Bureau was a bulwark against an underground left-wing conspiracy to take over American life, for Patel “the F.B.I. is the conspiracy.” Read the story »
Further reading: Margaret Talbot reviews Beverly Gage’s “G-Man,” about how Hoover’s secret programs subverted American democracy from within.
- The Year Creators Took Over
- Nikki Giovanni’s Legacy of Black Love
- Remembering Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean Heyday (and Forgetting His Recent Lear)
- Gift Ideas from the Rudy Giuliani
Daily Cartoon
- Play today’s beginner-friendly puzzle. A clue: Seasonal song such as “Deck the Halls.” Five letters.
P.S. Kimberly Guilfoyle is the President-elect’s pick for the next ambassador to Greece. Four years ago, when Guilfoyle was one of Donald Trump’s top fund-raising officials and his son’s girlfriend, Jane Mayer chronicled her departure from Fox News, where a former assistant had accused her of sexual harassment. “Ordinarily, allegations like those that have trailed Guilfoyle would likely prove disqualifying for someone seeking a prominent role in the political arena,” Mayer writes. But not in Trump’s Administration.
