What we call sex work — and what it says about society

A new exhibition in Bonn explores how the language surrounding sex work has historically shaped public perception, legal frameworks, and the lives of those in the profession. | Contesto: cronaca

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• What we call sex work — and what it says about society

Contesto

A major new exhibition at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, Germany, opened this week, tracing the complex cultural history of sex work and arguing that the very words used to describe it have been powerful forces in shaping societal stigma, public policy, and the lived reality of millions. Titled "What we call sex work — and what it says about society," the show presents a sweeping historical narrative, from antiquity to the digital age, using art, historical artifacts, legal documents, and personal testimonies to examine the profession not as a social aberration but as a persistent and multifaceted element of human society. The exhibition's central thesis is that terminology is never neutral. It meticulously charts the evolution of language, from biblical condemnations and medieval labels of "sin" to the clinical and often pathologizing terms of the 19th century, the criminalizing jargon of vice squads, and the modern political reclamations like "sex work." Each shift in vocabulary, the curators demonstrate, reflected and reinforced specific power dynamics, moral judgments, and legal approaches. A 15th-century woodcut depicting "women of loose virtue" next to a Weimar-era police file cataloging "registered prostitutes" illustrates how administrative language could institutionalize control, while posters from 1970s activist movements championing "prostitutes' rights" mark a pivotal turn toward self-definition and labor framing. Beyond linguistics, the exhibition provides crucial historical context for contemporary debates. It examines the rise and fall of regulated brothel districts in European cities, the devastating impact of punitive laws on women's health and safety, and the global movements that have fought for decriminalization. One section is dedicated to the legacy of the 2002 German law that legalized prostitution, framing it as a case study in how policy shifts interact with social attitudes. The display questions whether legal recognition as a service profession has successfully dismantled deep-seated stigma or merely created a new regulatory framework that fails to protect the most vulnerable. The human experience is foregrounded through audio...

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Categoria: cronaca