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======New York City, Prostitution, and the Commercialization of Sex, 1790-1920 By: Timothy J. Gilfoyle======

=====Social Entitlement and the Harassment=====

I observed an interesting detail when reading the first few pages of this chapter which was that men in 1830s New York felt that female prostitutes were fair game to be harassed. This entitlement to harass these people reflects how female prostitution was seen as a lower social status, therefore, making these people worthy of being used to release their frustration. This attitude towards prostitutes is reflected in a larger scope by the higher frequency of assaults on brothels during this time as well. (Henry Prior)

This article describes how female prostitutes used the law to its fullest extent when prosecuting these men. I think this also highlights Gilfoyle's claims about the widening gap between these women who made a lot of money and where in a lot of instances public figures, vs the men who in most cases were working class men who had been excludes from these businesses on that basis. (Hannah Covin)

T. Gilfoyle's account analyzed the socio-economic and gendered origins of the violence against sex workers and, as an extension, brothels in New York in the 1830s. He argued that a particular form of violence called a "spree" (the destruction of several brothels in a row under the influence of alcohol) was an expression of misogynist, masculine recreation. This act was used to reestablish a sense of authority by attempting to exercise otherwise lacking power over female sex workers and simultaneously to demonstrate belonging to a certain homosocial group. However, T. Gilfoyle suggests that sex workers were not defenseless victims, because they appealed to the law to punish the criminals. In this sense, their attempts were often successful, as the judicial system had to support them based on the doctrine of property rights. Thus, these cases can be interpreted as a complex interconnection between crime, masculinity, sex workers, and law. - Nikolai Kotkov

Based on Gilfoyle's discussion, the commercialization of sex in during the late 1700s to early 1900s implicated manhood and shifted social expectations of masculinity. For instance, Gilfoyle described the prevalence of public, destructive attacks on  women and brothels. Due to the rise in prostitution and sex work, women were further marginalized and reduced to sexual objects, while also being seen as potential economic opportunities for exploitation. I appreciate how the author incorporated information about alcohol and how being intoxicated can give people a false sense of pride and embolden them to act out. Because alcohol was inexpensive and easy to access during the antebellum period, many men drank, and drinking alcohol eventually became associated with masculinity. Ultimately, Gilfoyle made a compelling argument about how interconnected the party scene was with prostitution, sex work, and how these areas challenged traditional ideas of masculinity. While Gilfoyle acknowledged traditional states of drunkenness, he also highlighted how consuming alcohol and false senses of autonomy and independence push back on traditional ideas of manhood. Gilfoyle described the paradox of “crowd behavior” and Western masculinity as “a collective attempt to achieve unfettered social equality and political fairness” (p. 77). [Allisya Smith]

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