Welcome back
I read your reply above . There are a lot of provoking contradictions indeed and I am planning to explore this thought much more.
I also see a lot of contradictions in the world. If prostitution is the world's oldest profession, then that would mean that women were just as powerful if not more powerful than men from the very beginning. They are an important part of history and the economy that is often left out of textbooks by our modern repressive society. This would also mean that the feminists were the original slut shamers who were jealous of the truly strong women.
Reading your article reminded me of a fantastic book by an interesting lady Lynne Lawner, I met in New York .
"Lives of the courtesans: portraits of the Renaissance" , describes the lifestyles of 16th century courtesans and analyzes the treatment of courtesans in art and literature.
During the Renaissance courtesans became the personification of ancient love goddesses in art and literature, and, according to Lawner, it is difficult to separate the myth from the reality of their lives.
This just popped in my mind:
Thanks, fascinating stuff. I'll add it to my reading list!
I heard that it was discontinued but not sure . I am lucky I got a hard copy :)