Modern American Courtesans

This week I read Sex and the King which was a gossipy, jumbled book dealing with king's mistresses and watched Dangerous Beauty, a great movie about a courtesan. Both the book and the movie suggested to one extent or another that these positions were so important because there was very little other choice of employment for women in those bygone years.

And I thought, surely in these days of enlightened feminism and such, courtesans no longer exist though their seedier partners still stalk the streets. If you're rich and unhappily married one has so many other choices that they certainly wouldn't have to hook up with a prostitute. That's what gold diggers are for, surely?

As I was musing on this, I turned on E! to discover Girls Next Door playing. There they were the modern American courtesans. The concept behind this show for those not familiar is to follow three of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends through their charmed, glamorous lives. Just like mistresses and courtsans of old, they are lavished with expensive gifts solely for existing. They are installed in a large manor house and expected to always be pretty and perky. The three girls are never shown with a hair out of place and when one of them says something unintelligent, only the show's editor seems to notice or care.

I applaud these three girls. While I consider myself a feminist and applaud women succeeding in the workplace, there are always going to be those who don't fit in. These women took their best assets and gained the highest position for their kind. Hugh's girlfriends are well taken care of and will most likely enjoy the benefits long after their looks have faded. Positions will be found for them when they are no longer quite perky enough and they will continue on.

Some of the kings' mistresses didn't have it nearly as good.


Catch you on the flipside,
CGL