Fun Facts about Prostitution During the Great Depression

It’s Timewarp Tuesday and since I am a lover of all things during the 1930’s, I thought it would be fun to hijack DC’s blog for the day and talk about the Great Depression. And prostitutes. And feminine hygiene.

Historically, prostitution can muster through any economic crisis and it should be no surprise that it was on the rise during the Great Depression.  Women, particularly those who didn’t have men to rely on, had to eat, too.  Their pictures are awesome.

A few things to know about these ladies and their profession:

1. A Las Vegas blowjob cost between $1.00 and $5.00, depending on what part of town you found yourself in.  In today’s money, that is between $13.00 and $65.00.

2.  Popular opinion was that prostitution was one of the causes of the Great Depression.  As individuals moral standards decreased, the economy crashed.  Not the other way around. Funny.

3. One of the birth control methods of choice was post-coital douching with Lysol as it supposedly killed sperm.

Now I have to go back to Lysol, the wonderful sperm killer and saver of marriages across the country. Yes, Lysol can save your marriage, or at least it was advertised to do so.  Mixed with water and used as a vaginal douche, those unbearable female odors that were the cause of marital strife are cleansed away and bliss reigns.  And Lysol advertised their product as such.  Amazing.  It wasn’t until many years later that the medical community decided maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

To read about Prostitution during the building of the Hoover Dam, check out “Desert Darlings” on Kelly’s blog at www.kellystonegamble.blogspot.com