Amsterdam's Red Light District is the real deal: prostitution was first legalized here in the 17th century, and it has been ever since, making this red light district the first and oldest one.
There is a myth that the red lights of the Red Light District originated because it was traditionally sailers who *ahem* "came to visit." It was said that when they did, they left their red signal lanterns in the lady's window just in case they were urgently needed. Well, thats interesting but not true. The fact of the matter is actually far more logical: people look better under red light. Skin looks smoother, flesh looks warmer, eyes look darker and more enticing... (I made that part up about the eyes- nobody is looking at those).
Now, don't be too scared (excited?) to scroll down- I don't have any photos of the women. Some were definitely a sight to behold, but as our guide very urgently warned us: they do NOT want their pictures taken. If you do and you're lucky, they'll jump and throw a cup full of urine on you (...you did not mis-read that sentence). If you are unlucky, they'll sound an alarm and every girl in the area will jump out and beat you into ground until the cops finally show up to drag your sorry butt to a hospital.
I've been around and seen a lot but still, this place was bit overwhelming for a girl raised in Northern Kentucky; you don't fully realize how many polite taboos you grew up with until they are all shattered simultaneously a few inches from your face. More than that though, I think it's just that I don't know what to make of the blatant prostitution. Is it sad? For someone in our world to feel comfortable literally selling her body for money? Or is it exciting that there's a place where sex is so openly (and vigorously) celebrated?
Well, as long as I could agonize over the philosophy of it and the cultural implications though, I'll be honest: the ladies of the Red Light district windows did not really look as if they'd care much for such a discussion. From what our guide had to say, this was strictly business: rent a room, do your thing.
The ladies, though, are not all that the district has to offer. This area has grown up in this spirit of total freedom, complete physical liberty- the surrounding shops tend to embrace this. On top of all the "coffee" shops, they've got every kind of weirdly indulgent shop or show you can imagine.
Take this as Exhibit A: "Condomerie." Guess what they sell.
If you spend any significant amount of time goofing around on the internet, it's more than possible you've already seen this picture captioned somewhere before. Well, I found the real thing in Amsterdam- these things exist, and you can buy them... although an alternate birth control method is of course necessary (the Statue of Liberty won't actually do much good keeping you baby-free).
Our guide also stopped us in front of one of the peep shows that are apparently constantly ongoing- for something like 50cents, you can get about two minutes of "peeping" in on... well, on whatever happens to be going on inside. I had to pass on this one, but according to the rest of the group I missed a tantalizing two minutes... of a middle aged woman dancing half naked.
Although I (very fortunately) have no pictures to offer (because we did not see one), also very popular are the outrageous "sex" shows, which are about ten times more ridiculous and trauma-producing than even the name seems to imply. According to our guide, the acts involve doing obscenely disturbing things with items from bananas (duh) to even non-phallic shaped objects. Via heresay, we were informed that a few years past, one of our guide's friends had received a black eye by getting hit in the face with a ping pong ball shot out of... a woman's... well, the punchline is that he had to visit his parent's the next day. There is also apparently a woman who will write you a simple message on a postcard using a pen and her... not hands. Needless to say, it's a pretty "fascinating" place.
Hilariously, just on the edge of this area was the "Old Church," built about 1300. Apparently though its presence was integrated perfectly into the thriving business of the Red Light District. Sailers came in, sinned until they couldn't see straight, then stopped by the church before they sailed out again- for just a small fee, they left sin-free again.
After the tour, our guide took us all out to a pub in the area after- it was a pretty cool group of people just looking to hang out (mostly kids our age, getting their kicks by going on the Red Light tour).
Our guide this time had a connection at the pub (the guides can usually get the group a discount somewhere after) and got everybody in the group a free shot of Jack Daniels. Haha, you needed a drink after seeing just the surface of what Red Light had to offer!
The charming men's bathroom, courtesy of Ivo.
After we'd talked a bit we headed out with the group to try and find one of the infamous coffee shops/a place for dinner, but unfortunately the girl leading got a bit turned around. After an hour of wandering around the lovely night-time Amsterdam, the three of us bid the others farewell and good luck and set off to find some food.
Prostitution has been around for as long as we can tell, and personally, I don't think it's going anywhere. I mean, I'm also a strong believer that we must never accept something we don't much like as unchangeable fact (because then that's exactly what it will be) but hey, until we can fix the major problems, the cultural issues we have with sex that seem to cause this pressured overflow, it's not going anywhere. Before we can comfortably face the legal issues though, I think we have to deal with the bigger questions...
Is the physical, the sexual act, is it sacred at all? If so, is it sacred by nature, always something special and to be respected, or is it only so when we decide to allow it to be, when we decide to make it special? And if it is not sacred at all, if the very concept is an oppressive one... what then? Is anyone who can't enjoy this place repressed, stuffy, a slave to "the man" and all that?
In general, the world I've gotten to know so far has way too many taboos and "bad" connotations associated with sex. For centuries, religion intertwined with culture told us to feel ashamed of it, to bury those desires, because the physical was split from the spiritual; the physical body's urges were associated with or blatantly made out to be sinful. Today, although such attitudes are fading, they still hold a great deal of sway over ourselves and our cultures.
On the flip side though, swinging all the way to the other end of the spectrum by throwing it up on stage on top of a gaudy, rotating bed... well, that doesn't seem such a grand idea either. It seems grotesque to imagine, an audience laughing at the most obscene and absurd things a couple or (more often) a woman can do with her body... And I don't believe that you need to have the ridiculous thrown in your face in order to appreciate what should or shouldn't be respected, so that's no reason for it either. *slap in the face to half of contemporary art*
The phrase you hear dropped over and over is "it's a business, it's just a business." I don't think it can be just reduced to the cold logistics of "business," no matter how many times you say it. And if somehow it can, then I think that might be even sadder. Yet in the end, I have no desire to see the Red Light District shut down by the fire and brimstone (or general tight-lipped disapproval) of the law. I don't say it should or must exist, but I can't help but want to celebrate a little with them and their gritty manifestation of freedom and pleasure. After all, the twisted underbellies of the cultures and systems humanity creates and imposes upon ourselves... that's where so much inspiration originates.
Interesting facts:
~ To this day, there are no male prostitutes window-posing in their skivies (unless you count those in the blue light area, but technically speaking if they're 60% on their way to womanhood I guess we should just round up). Apparently not too long ago, an attempt was made to set up a few sexy studs behind some district windows-- a massive competition was held, and the "hottest" guys were selected (how would you feel if you won THAT competition??). However, after just a few female customers, they were booted out- the ladies just weren't having it.
No comments:
Post a Comment