Museum of Prostitution: Fascinating Facts, Tips & Exploring Red Light District

Museum of Prostitution: Fascinating Facts & Red Light District History

 

Ok. I see your face as you click this with a quickness. Lol.

No, this isn’t about how to “navigate” the Red Light District, but you will learn very fascinating facts that you never consider about the Red Light District. My second solo trip to Amsterdam in May 2019 grants me extra time to indulge in museum and attraction experiences, which I love.

My first Amsterdam solo trip in 2018 is a 10 day Benelux tour and 48hr Amsterdam city culture sprint, before day trip exploring Brussels, Ghent, Bruges and Luxembourg City.

I have the Museum of Prostitution on my list and with my complimentary iamsterdam 72hour card and Press Kit, I saunter along Amsterdam’s famous canals a-searching with Google Maps. I’m grateful for T-Mobile unlimited data because Google Maps is the MVP of my solo travels as there is only so much real-time direction a paper map gives.

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Exploring The Red Light District

Museum of Prostitution is in the Red Light District area of Amsterdam where free spirits and even freer bodies reside. It is an area to let all your inhibitions go – if you’re up for it – or just drink in all the libertine sights in shock and awe. I mean, I’m no prude, but it is very interesting to see bold sex on display without any foibles especially coming from a country and culture that frowns upon and heavily politicizes sex.

I’m quite familiar with areas of Amsterdam’s Dam Square and it is via one of the numerous side streets off Dam that I access the Red Light District.

#Tip 1: You can recognize the Red Light District by Oude Kerk (old church) in the middle of the district. This edifice seems at odds with the character of the area but I’m sure there is a story to it. I don’t remember street names but I memorize conspicuous landmarks that help me keep my bearings, like architectural breadcrumbs.

I saunter onto a side street off Dam and the first thing that catches my eye is the Condom Store! Lmao.

There is a male mannequin in the window and seeing as Ajax played the Champions League or some match, it is in a red Ajax scarf next to a rack of dangling condoms. Now, just imagine the gaggle of tourists giggling and photographing this very interesting sight. Am I among them? Maybe…

One of the condoms resembles a mushroom – slim shaft and bulbous tip and my overactive imagination gasps. The store is full but I see marijuana & fruit flavour edible condoms of all sizes; I take a short video and watch tourists exit the store with bags of product, giggling heartily.

 

Here is a Red Lights Secret Entry Ticket to explore Amsterdam prostitution history, lover boys, legalization, and so much more!

 

 

Further down, I see more stores: a virtual reality station, chocolate shops, the usual coffee shops and sex shops. I weave in and out of streets, unconsciously memorizing landmarks as breadcrumbs. I’m in no rush and open to exploring the Red Light District till I find the Museum of Prostitution.

I pass the famous pink curtain windows of sex workers but they are dark and empty.

 

Tip #2: It is said that once the pink curtain is drawn, business is in progress.

 

Tip #3: Don’t forget to look down at the cobblestones with chalky facts and figures. For example, there is a constant reminder to never take pictures of sex workers and to respect them as a client or tourist.

I weave through more streets and take the odd lefts and rights just drinking it all in, reading facts and plaques, taking canal pics and gawking at erotica.

Doing all this, I suddenly stumble upon a 5D porn cinema advertising itself in bold with a cartoonish red lip on its awning. I literally stop dead in my tracks, which is a mistake, as a fellow immediately invites me in. Click To Tweet

“Come inside. Come, come! It’s in 5D HD and you can see everything.”

I hesitate as I remember my home training. As we say in Nigeria, “who home training epp?” Lol

“Where are you from?”, he asks. “America”, I respond.

“Ah! It’s only $12. You’re American. You can afford it. Come in!” He says, waving me inside.

I howl in laughter, shake my head and thank him as I walk away.

“5D porn?!?” I muse and snicker to myself. “4D anything is already hi-def so will 5D porn feel like you’re an active player in the game??” *still thinking of this months after*.

I get my 5D answer when I experience This is Holland 5D flying tour days after. You feel sensation – from ocean spray to soaring with the feel of near falling. Is this what 5D porn would feel like if a 5D flight feels so intense?? Interesting…

 

 

 

It is so interesting to observe how free everyone is about sex and erotica and even though there is a whole lot more to Amsterdam than exploring the Red Light District, sex and cannabis, these are key tourist draws to the city.

Tip #4: There is an outdoor pissoir for guys near one of the canals in the Red Light District. Just follow signs for toilet… and pungent urine will announce your proximity to said “toilet”. It’s a large open can for cover with a drain below. Nothing for women, though. Just as well.

 

Museum of Prostitution Fascinating Facts & Stories

I’m ambling along canals glancing at Google Maps when I stumble upon the Museum of Prostitution across the road. I saunter into a dim room, pay my entry fee less 15% because of the complimentary iamsterdam card, and walk to a viewing nook narrating stories of the Red Light District and history of sex work in Amsterdam.

There is a lot I learn at the Museum of Prostitution that I never consider prior to my visit, like the legality and business side of sex work, and the Museum of Prostitution has fascinating facts regarding history and stories of the Red Light District.

Fascinating Facts #1: History of the Red Light District

Known as De Wallen, the Red Light District is built around 1385 and is the oldest district in Amsterdam. Click To Tweet

• Sex work is legal at the time but patronizing sex workers is illegal; that changes in the 16th c. with Amsterdam becoming Protestant and prostitution is forbidden.
• Sex work grows in the Dutch Golden Age when folks turn a blind eye to the Red Light District and returning Dutch East Indies sailors seek the pleasures of consenting women.
• STIs spread and the 18th c. sees enforced morality seeking to eliminate sex work. As this is nigh on impossible, officials legalize prostitution: sex workers report twice a week for check up. Healthy ones receive a red card and infected ones receive a white card with name and treatment of infection. Working is prohibited.

Fascinating Facts #2: Prostitution As A Profession?

Who is it that said that “prostitution is the oldest profession in the world”? That’s a fact, Jack!

With sex workers from nearby cities travelling to Amsterdam to try their luck for a quick buck, it is hard for authorities to curb sex work… but they find a way. They insist that women attract men from behind windows and not on the streets. This leads to women tapping window panes to attract clients resulting in the plethora of windows we see in the Red Light District today.

In 2000, the Netherlands legalizes brothels and sex work as a profession resulting in sex workers paying income tax.

Fascinating Facts #3: Is It Safe to Practice?

The Museum of Prostitution delves into prostitute murders in the past that ironically, shifted prudish public opinion to legalization of sex work. Five women were brutally murdered in the 1950s and the killers were never caught. A famous murder is of Chinese Annie, a Dutch woman with a Chinese appearance, according to Museum history. Her name is Anna Zentveld.

Fascinating Facts #4: Sole Proprietorship Business

The Museum of Prostitution really delves into how sex workers register in Amsterdam and it is fascinating to hear. First, you have to be over 21 and and EU citizen or permanent resident, of course. Next, register at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce for an intake interview to ensure independence. This curbs sex trafficking as many non-consenting women and girls arrive Amsterdam for sex work.

Seriously, this is like an exam. After intake, you can then rent a window.

Sex workers are entrepreneurs and as such, must arrange their own social insurance and follow local ordinance rules. Now, to the nitty-gritty…

 

 

Fascinating Facts #5: Ka-ching! Bish Better have My Money.

You’re thinking, “how much do they even earn and is all this worth it?” Let’s do the math here…

• The average rate for a round is between 35 – 50 Euros. Let’s use a round figure of 50 Euros.
• The average round is 6 minutes.
• 1 shift =10 hrs
• The women pay 150 Euros a day to rent a window.
• A shift does not usually exceed 10 hours.
• If a woman works back to back for 10 hours, she can make 5,000 Euros, but…
• It is highly competitive and she’ll be lucky (really????) to have 100 clients in a shift. I cannot imagine the fatigue and chafing…sheesh!
• The average number is 16 clients in a 10 hour shift. Many times, it is lower because of competition.
• You’re thinking – I do the same too, lol – “what happens if the client isn’t done in 6 minutes?” Well then, sis has got to get him done because if he takes 20 mins, that’s 166 Euros lost to his tardiness! She works hard for her money too, ya know.

Fun Fact: I listen to the audio tour and the narrating sex worker says that even after using hands, feet and tongue to “urge the gentleman to completion”, some do not “attain nirvana” – I’m using euphemisms here lol. The men get rather rough if the women hint at ending the round but at the end, they come to glory. All’s well that ends well.

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Fascinating Facts #6: Red, Red…Everywhere

“Why is there a red hue everywhere?”

This is my early thought as I walk into the Museum of Prostitution. Lights are a dim red and I assume it is to set the mood but apparently, that’s not it.

Remember all those STIs back in the early days of the Red Light District? Well, some smart alec discovers that red light hides STI scars and makes the skin of sex workers smooth and attractive. Thus, the red light is more of a holdover from the day.

Fascinating Facts #7: They Call Them Mr Lover Lover…Boy

Loverboy.

I read this and immediately, the Shaggy song pops in my head…”they call me mister lover lover…”

“Loverboy” is no romantic name for a boyfriend, at least regarding sex work and the Red Light District. Instead, it’s a term given to a man that forces women into prostitution, usually via trafficking, and collects their money. A pimp. This is also why authorities conduct intake interviews at registration – see fact #4 – to ensure independence because sex trafficking is rampant.

Fascinating Facts #8: Where Are The Men?

There are obviously more female sex workers than male in the Red Light District but according to the Museum of Prostitution, there are a number of men and transgender women in the District. There is an average of 900 working sex workers per day in Amsterdam and approx. 3,000 male sex workers in the Netherlands.

Fascinating Facts #9: What Happens To A Senior Sex Worker?

Just like any profession, senior folk make way for younger ones and it is no different within the Red Light District.

So, what happens when a prostitute ages? She becomes an SM professional with no need for actual sex. She gets clients off with toys and devices of their choosing. I see implements at the Museum of Prostitution that honestly remind me of the Torture Museum I visit on my first Amsterdam solo trip. Seriously, spikes, studs and balls are in full abundance in the SM rooms at the Museum of Prostitution.

There are cages, swings and full-size crosses that leave the client splayed for the mistress's plays. All of them have cuffs, spikes and what-not attached. Click To Tweet

Fascinating Facts #10: Orgies, Threesomes & Other Secrets

Like I say above, the general ambience in Amsterdam is comfortable and free with no inhibitions regarding sex work, paying for sex or even discussing sex. I’m exploring the Red Light District and overhear a conversation between a college age American guy and and older man from one of the brothels.

“How many are you?”, man asks young fellow.

“There are ten of us. Is that too much?”

“Oh no, no. We can arrange something. Where is your group? We will be ready for you in no time.”

Young man darts away excitedly and I increase my pace of exploring the Red Light District. Another time, I walk by a group and overhear the word “threesome”. Of course, this is the Red Light District so anything goes and you are encouraged to drop all Victorian prudishness in one of the grachts.

Gracht is Dutch for canal, the only word I know. Well, if you don’t count stroopwafel and broodtje.

The Museum of Prostitution has a full wall of tourist confessions to the Red Light District and I read some and audibly gasp. These escapades are not just in the Red Light District but other parts of the city, with random strangers, step-children, siblings… yes! *insert banshee shriek*

 

The Museum of Prostitution is not titillating, so if you are looking for that, it’s best to go to an open pink curtain. Instead, the museum actually informs on the history, safety, legality and lives of sex workers with stories of women that do it for tuition, as a side hustle or a second job.

Are you intrigued by these Museum of Prostitution facts?

Here is a Red Lights Secret Entry Ticket for you to learn and explore Amsterdam prostitution history, lover boys, legalization, and so much more!

 

The interesting part of it for me were their voices, devoid of emotion when recounting their work, exploitative loverboys or violent tendencies of some clients. It is chilling as it hits home that this is survival and not all pleasure. Click To Tweet

I love Amsterdam for its many unique museums and I’ve been to a fair few so best believe that I’ll be returning to Amsterdam for more adventures and exploring.

I truly hope you enjoy reading and learning fascinating facts on the Museum of Prostitution as well as walking tips and breadcrumb landmarks exploring the Red Light District.

Please comment and don’t forget to share! See you on the social streets xoxox

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