13 Oct 2007
My mother...
My mother is called Ruby, and is now based upon the character suggestion for Mrs Johnson from the nano forum; “an elderly woman that used to be a high-class whore in her youth.” She is a strong, sexual and manipulative woman who has tried to control me her whole life. I have run away from her and feel liberated. I do not feel guilty about this; its a futile emotion.
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5 comments:
That sounds like a woman who would call her daughter Vivelle. Where does the name come from? Are there any famous Vivelles?
Is that why Lily can live with an alcoholic? Is she trying to recreate and improve her past? What does Max´s mother do? His father?
Where is she? When is she? Is she rich or poor? Does she go by her own surname or her partner's? What nationality is she? What race? What age? Does she work? At what? Do they have children? Does she have children separately from this partner? When you say alcoholic are you talking wall-falling pink-elephant-seeing down-and-out or someone depressed and selfish maintaining a mean little habit? Does she have a drink problem herself? Does she drink at all? Does she smoke? Is she a cook-from-the-start homemaker or a working career woman? Etc.
Hi, I'm London based so I don't specifically about what happened in America, but I would imagine things would be similar to what happened in London.
During the war time and the fifties organised crime had more influence than it does today. In London the Krays - a gang that controlled East London and the West End - the tourist area including Soho - the main red light district, but also a very good dining area and the centre where the media is based - it was next door to the theatre district - there were also quite a few legitimate night clubs -eg Rommie Scotts jazz club. The gang had in their pockets many senior policemen and had contacts with politicians etc. They were prominent in charity events and were seen as celebrities in the entertainment industry. I believe this is similar to what was happening in the US.
Part of the reason the criminals were tolerated was that the gang did a fair bit of law enforcement - ie they would beat up muggers and drunks who misbehaved in or near areas they protected.
They controlled most prostitution either directly through pimps or indirectly through protection paid by pimps.
Sadly girls were lured in by attraction to the bright lights and a pimp first flatters a girl, buys her expensive presents and then uses a combination of manipulation and violence to control the girl. Other girls would be hooked through drugs and the other driver would be poverty.
I would suspect that having an illegitimate child - which could lead to a girl being thrown out of the home - would be a way that quite a few girls ended up on the streets. This was certainly the case in Victorian times and I think that many blue collar and lower middle class girls would be thrown out because of worries of 'what the neighbours might think' or because it as a sin against God.
Some girls would go into the business - to start with - as a way of making money. They would mostly be good time girls who hang around night clubs who would be sleeping around anyway.
In London in the fifties you also had the growing of rival criminal gangs being formed from people displaced by the war. So the Maltese mafia became quite established in Soho.
Relatives of mine, Italian, had built up a very successful restaurant before the war - most were interned and sent to Australia during the war - but re-established themselves after the war - only to get themselves hassled by the Maltese mafia. Above the restaurant was a discreet dining area - used by the wealthy to meet their mistresses - but nothing naughty on the premises.
The Maltese turned this area into a brothel and when they were at war with the Kray gang the police started raiding the Maltese operations - my relatives were the stooges and a couple ended up in jail.
I hope this of help
Just a few more thoughts there were people on the edges of polite society who were fixers and would supply cocaine and girls to the wealthy. Girls used in this business would be volunteers and would probably have sex for 'gifts' and would not really consider themselves hookers.
You should be aware that people in the fifties had just come through the war and for example soldiers, who had been in action, were often seriously changed though their experience. In addition the war had been liberating for women and to put it bluntly would not take so much crap from men. Also during the war a lot of women had been unfaithful as of course had the men in the army.
From my experience of working as an all night petrol/gas station operator I got to know quite a few of the local prostitutes. Some were definitely controlled by really nasty pimps. However about half were in a relationship with petty criminals - and it was the sad thing of two inadequates surviving together - but in an area where sharks - eg protection people would exploit them.
For a real hoot the life of Cynthia Payne - an English brothel owner - would be worth reading.
eferences to the white slave trade go back at least to the 1920ies and continue today in eastern europe
prostitution is driven by poverty above all
and abuse with in the family as an early initiation
class discrimination appled then as now
if there ae telephones so there could be call girls
especially wor´king the hotels in cooperation with the hall porters
Hugh W
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