ABSTRACT

The maison close [brothel] in French history and culture, particularly during the nineteenth century because of its representation in art and literature, could be argued to be a lieu de mémoire [site of memory]. In light of the gaps in material that gives direct voice to women in sex work, especially during this period, the maison close could equally be termed a lieu d’oubli [site of forgetting]. In contemporary popular culture, the brothel has become a popular setting for fiction, as with the Canal+ series Maison close (2010, 2013), set in 1870s Paris. The series reflects a fascination with sex work in popular culture, as well as offering a commentary on the legal standing of sex work between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. This paper interrogates the extent to which Maison close attempts to offer alternative or more nuanced visions of history than simply categorising sex workers as victim/criminal/femme fatale, informed by abolitionist debates during its production and emerging critiques of the Nordic Model of sex work. It also analyses how the series provides an alternative vision for sex workers, and workers more generally, that moves from exploitation to collective action and attempts to increase their agency.

摘要

法国历史和文化中的maison close [妓院]，特别是在 19 世纪，因为它在艺术和文学中的代表性，可以说是 lieu de mémoire [记忆场所]。鉴于在性工作中给予女性直接发言权的材料存在差距，尤其是在这一时期，maison close同样可以称为lieu d'oubli [遗忘场所]。在当代流行文化中，妓院已成为小说的热门场景，如 Canal+ 系列Maison close（2010 年、2013 年），背景设定在 1870 年代的巴黎。该系列反映了流行文化中对性工作的迷恋，并对 19 世纪至 21 世纪性工作的法律地位进行了评论。本文质疑Maison close在多大程度上试图提供替代的或更细微的历史观，而不是简单地将性工作者归类为受害者/罪犯/蛇蝎美人，在其生产过程中废奴主义者的辩论和对北欧性工作模式的新批评提供了信息。它还分析了该系列如何为性工作者以及更普遍的工作者提供另一种视角，即从剥削转向集体行动，并试图提高他们的能动性。