Ladies of the Night
A Historical and Personal Perspective on the Oldest Profession in the World
-
- 4,99 €
-
- 4,99 €
Publisher Description
Gene Simmons ... mega-rock star, businessman, marketing genius and self-proclaimed free spirit follows up his best-selling books Kiss And Make-Up and Sex, Money, Kiss with Ladies of the Night, an examination of the history of prostitution.
Simmons makes the case that men have been stepping out on women since the beginning of time, and that the practice is not about to stop. Simmons believes that prostitution should be legalized as it is a victimless crime that could be made safe and become a large source of tax revenues. Simmons, who has never used a lady of the night, believes no one should have to pay for sex, whether it is through prostitutes or marriage.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, Simmons' book is an arresting, informative, humorous and outrageous exploration of the world's oldest profession, drawing on human nature, history, science and public policy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Simmons, the fire-breathing leader of rock icon Kiss who once bragged that he had bedded more than a thousand women delivers an entertaining if sometimes simplistic short overview of prostitution. Simmons (Kiss and Make-up) manages to work into his narrative both the Greek philosopher Diogenes and Nevada's Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel. Other than the occasional sex joke, Simmons is serious about giving his subject its historical due, stating upfront, "I am not here to judge women's personal choices or how they choose to empower themselves." The book doesn't cover what Simmons admits is "the dark side of prostitution," focusing primarily on one of his favorite issues: money. Since "throughout history, women have never had access to power," Simmons argues that prostitution has been a way for women to "monetize" the "only thing that women have ever owned." Using numerous famous illustrations (e.g., William Hogarth's 18th-century painting A Harlot's Progress), Simmons and coauthor McCarron support this argument by adroitly exploring a range of topics: Sumerian goddess of sexuality Ishtar; the adulterous "jara and jatini" of ancient India; legal prostitution in Amsterdam's "toleration zones"; and Theodora, wife of Roman emperor Justinian, who Simmons considers "the very first prostitution reformer." All this from the man who once wrote a song on the Kiss album Love Gun titled "Got Love for Sale."