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Amsterdam is one of not-so-many places in the world where pleasure work is legal, and the city has worked hard to blend their reputation of tolerance with one of accountability when it comes to pleasure work. However, when it comes to dealing in terms of flesh, regulation is easier said than done, and the history of this district reveals the ups and downs encountered along this controversial road.
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Aside from being one of the few places where sex work is legal
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Amsterdam has worked long and hard to make their red light district not only profitable, but safe and tolerant
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And with the history of the district going all the way back to the 13th century, it may pique your interest to learn how the Dutch city became the pleasure work capital of the world
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So, today we're giving you the steamy history of the Amsterdam red light district
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It's time to give the green light to the red light. Many people like to go into a city and do some window shopping
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to literally look through a store's front window and see what they might like
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Amsterdam's Red Light District is just like that, except what you're shopping for is a little different
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In the district, there are about 250 windows for one to shop, beyond countless other adult attractions waiting for you at your fingertips
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See, the Dutch have a culture which embraces pleasure as a normal aspect of life
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So the Red Light District exists to provide almost anything one's heart may desire
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From multi-floored adult cinemas to a working Donkey Kong arcade machine. Talk about a high score
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But where did the concept of selling from the window come from? In the old days, business was usually conducted by a woman pursuing a man inside and in with specially designated rooms
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And call girls were legally barred from luring potential lovemakers through the doorway
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So these women had to get a little creative. In a classic air bud loophole, while there was a law against working from doorways
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none of the rule books said you couldn't work from the windows behind the safety of a glass partition
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And thus, Amsterdam's infamous windows were born. Despite the red light district being associated with all things Amsterdam
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the term likely did not originate there. The most popular theory comes from the old railroad days in America
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Railway workers wandering out for some female company were said to bring a red lantern with them
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to hang outside their door while the deed was doing, in case their bosses needed immediate work
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like a sexy red bat symbol. And while foreigners refer to this area
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as the red light district, Dutch locals have always just called it Duvala
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which translates to The Wall, like Game of Thrones or Pink Floyd
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Take your pick. This name comes all the way back from the 13th century where that part of the city happened to be surrounded by earthen walls So Davala is like that childhood nickname that stuck with you forever
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If you haven't checked out Ridley Scott's Napoleon, your European history might be a
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little rusty. But it turns out that he ruled Holland for four glorious years, from 1806 to 1810
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And with a name like Bonaparte, you can imagine the jokes that flew
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The newspapers really did call him Little Boney, and he hated it
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During this time, the pleasure business was booming. And while Napoleon tended to care only for himself, he also prioritized the power of
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his army. So in order to make sure his men were fighting fit and not succumbing to any matter of sexually
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transmitted diseases, he started mandatory health checks for sex workers. Twice a week, workers would check in and be tested, all in the name of a more powerful army
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In other words, Napoleon ran the world's first urgent care clinic. Folks from countries where pleasure work is criminalized might be surprised to find out
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that when something is done legally, there are organized, even bureaucratic practices
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happening behind the scenes. Sex work in Amsterdam's red-light district is no different
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It may seem pretty straightforward. You get a window, you get a client, you get it on
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Repeat. But the infamous windows don't feature an open-door policy. Instead, requiring workers to obtain their spots through a scheduling system
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Normal window shifts are rented on an 11-hour, half-day basis. Workers can rent their windows up to six days a week
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although a lot of that time is spent killing time, waiting for customers, breathing on the window and playing tic-tac-toe, etc., etc
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A 2014 report says the average rental rate would set someone back about €150
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or around $200 U.S. A standard 15-minute session is listed as €50, or $70
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which means a worker only takes home about 150 euros for every six clients
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And that's before the taxman gets involved. While it sounds like a character from the Star Wars cantina scene
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the Yab-Yum is a red light district museum that was originally one of the most exclusive cat houses in all of Amsterdam
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If you were wealthy back in 1978, you were probably a patron
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The cat house boasted luxurious interiors, a bulletproof entrance, and even a caviar room We assume that a room that serves caviar not a room made of caviar It a brothel not Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory Expensive champagne and high clients aside
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the Cat House was forced to close in 2008 due to a citywide crackdown
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attempting to clean up dangerous areas of the district. Plus, there were rumors that the most exclusive men's club
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was being secretly run by a group of hell's angels. Rather than let such a swanky club go to waste
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the whole place was transformed into a museum in 2013, though it reportedly shut down three years later due to financial difficulties
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Hmm, if only there was another way for that building to earn some money
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Amsterdam's road to pleasure work was paved with many speed bumps along the way
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before Holland legalized pleasure work in the year 2000. Previously, pleasure work was such an ingrained part of Dutch culture
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that the authorities often let it slide. Plus, it was great for tourism
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But after legalization, the industry was finally regulated properly, including the unionization
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of workers. These efforts helped pleasure workers become recognized as normal members of society
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They pay taxes, have access to health care, and have a dedicated police force patrolling
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the streets of Davala to protect both workers and clients. But the ugly side of the industry still rears its head, with authorities unable to control
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an industry they allowed to grow out of their control. Underground, black market cat houses still pop up here and there
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sometimes with trafficked underage workers from Eastern Europe and Asia. It only strengthens the necessity for Amsterdam's policies and regulations on pleasure work
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Outerkerk may sound like the part William Shatner played in his last Star Trek film
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but it's just Dutch for old church. And the Outerkerk in question is one native's claim to be not only the oldest parish church
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in the city, but the oldest building. The church has been around since 1213 and boasts an illustrious history
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Artist Rembrandt and his wife, Saskia van Arlenburg, were big proponents of the church
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and had all their children baptized there. In fact, Saskia is actually entombed there, which is about the most permanent Yelp review
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you can give. Aside from its storied history, the church also rubs elbows with some of Amsterdam's
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busiest cathouses. Window workers have been known to put on a show while parishioners make their way in
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and out. could probably fill a lot more pews that way In fact the early days saw a lot of monastery street sharing And with streets like Ness having nicknames like Prayer Without End
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you can get a pretty good idea of just how holy this area was
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And we ain't talking potholes, though that is a legitimate infrastructure concern
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However, some other streets had less savory nicknames, including Bludstraat or Blood Street
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where torture was said to have been a regular activity in the monastery's blood chamber
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which is a room that monasteries generally should not have. Another cruelly named street was Kruppelsteeg, or Krippel Alley
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where disabled people were said to hang out, hoping to be cured by some divine miracle
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Sex, torture, church, miracles? Is there anything the red light district can't do
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Gentrification reared its well-intentioned way into Dutch government through their Project 1012
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named after the postal code of one of the seedier areas in the district. The idea was to clean up the area of the city with the highest concentration of cat houses
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pleasure shops, cannabis shops, and other quote-unquote questionable businesses. And while many trades were targeted
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the pleasure workers making their living in Amsterdam were among those hit the hardest
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and they're mostly independent contractors. If they don't have a place to work, they simply don't work
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While the aim of Project 1012 was to help fight illegal pleasure rings
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the shutdown may actually have put more at risk. Without window rentals, many women had to turn to pimps to make their living
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which was especially difficult after working for themselves for so long. At the heart of Amsterdam's red light district sits a statue titled Bella
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a tribute to pleasure workers worldwide. Bella is a proud woman standing in a power position with her hands on her hips
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The attached plaque reads, Respect Pleasure Workers All Over the World. The idea for the first-of-its-kind statue came from Mariska Mayor, the director of the
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Prostitution Information Center located in that same square. Mayor hoped the statue would honor and pay tribute to millions of pleasure workers around
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the world. While the statue is generally considered a fitting tribute, not everyone feels so positively
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about it. Mayor reported she was assaulted prior to the unveiling by an elderly woman who was
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not a fan of Bella, believing the statue to be disgraceful. Maybe she didn't care for the Superman pose