Thargelia of Miletus
Ancient Greek courtesan
Category Archives: Sex worker
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Leaena
The love affair of Leaena and Megilla is referenced in the Dialogues of the Courtesans in the 2nd century CE
Philaenis of Samos
4th century BCE courtesan who became famous for writing a manual on lesbian sexual positions and the proper etiquette for courting a member of the same or opposite sex.
Esther Arscott
1800s Canadian brothel-keeper
Peggy Leeson
1700s Irish sex worker, brothel-keeper, and memoirist
Ella D Wilson
African American sex worker living in Skagway, Alaska during the gold rush
Veronica Franco
1500s Italian courtesan and poet
Neaera
Ancient Athenian courtesan
Nina Clifford
Nina Clifford, a child of immigrants who evolved into the “richest woman of the underworld,” made a name for herself as an affluent sex worker who contributed to the buildup of St. Paul’s downtown Red Light District in the late 1800s. She invited other women to establish their businesses nearby while police sanctioned an environment in which vice could thrive.
Ida Dorsey
Employing the racial prejudices and fantasies of elite male clients once used against her, Ida Dorsey established herself as one of the Twin Cities’ most notorious madams, running multiple brothels between the 1880s and the 1910s.