User:Msheab/Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work Volume 1 A-N by Melissa Hope Ditmore

Prostitution was explored and tested in a multitude of ways during the Renaissance. Western Europeans viewed prostitution not as a practice but as “a category of identity defining women whose unruly sexual behavior, in becoming public, revealed their nature as whores”. Although prostitutes were highly persecuted and often faced an extreme amount of repercussions including public shaming, imprisonment, banishment from the cities they preform duties in and sometimes were given defining marks to deem them untouchable, they were also tolerated to fit the "uncontrollable" sexual desires of men. Many believed that tolerating prostitutes and courtesans (an educated women who provided sexual acts to men in return for renumeration) saved the city from an epidemic of rape and adultery. Prostitution was thought to "take away men's unwanted and unlawful desires to it deflated their sexual advances away from potential brides". It was also thought to deter men from having homosexual relationships as it was a sin and a threat to population growth.

Cranach d.Ä. - Ungleiches Paar (Veste Coburg)

Prostitution was shown in a light where these women were considered the most sinful of them all. Using famous prostitutes like Mary Magdalene and Moll Flanders, the religious aspect of this cultural experience in history was also considered religious propaganda where it showed that even the most sinful can be saved by the heavenly father. Women who openly express their sexual desires are often seen as devilish and often only demonetized the women in the sexual relationship and not the man. Prostitution was a system set up to help relieve men from the worry of going to hell because of an illegal act he may be compelled to act upon if he otherwise did not have the outlet.

There was a social hierarchy of women who were sex workers or courtesans that was derived from ones income or economic status although names that they would be called were universal and often showed little to no respect. Common names used included donna pubblica (public women), meretrice (meretrix), and puttana (whore), although these names often convey the author or speakers' opinions rather than the women’s economic and social status. Starting from the bottom of the social hierarchy, orphaned girls and homeless women had little to no respect as they would trade their withered bodies for shelter and food rather than for money. In the middle, women who paid taxes and lived within a city, used prostitution as their form and source of income rather than using it for goods and needs. At the top of the chain is women who were well respected within a community and often had a high source of income. They were favored because they did not only serve as prostitutes or escorts but also as a social companion that lonely men could confide in. They were often beautiful and very sexually attractive.