Sponsored by: AIA-Boulder Society
Since the 1980s studies of prostitution, a key component of red-light districts, have focused almost exclusively on female sex workers. While an important corrective to the omission of women from historical accounts of the West, the roles played by men in the construction, organization, and experiences offered by red-light districts have been largely ignored. This talk re-integrates men into the analysis of the Vanoli Block, an infamous part of the red-light district in late 19th and early 20th century Ouray. Multiple masculinities – including the middle and upper-class Victorian men who organized the construction and operation of the district, working class patrons, and Chinese laundry workers – as well as women engaged in the sex trade, are implicated in the creation of this distinctly Western venue.