Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery: Prostitutes in the American West, 1865-90

By Anne M. Butler

Book Overview

They were called "frail sisters," "fallen angels," "filles de Joie, " "soiled doves," "queens of the night," and "whores." They worked the seamy brothels, saloons, cribs, streets, and "hog ranches" of the American frontier. They were the prostitutes of the post-Civil War West.

Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery details the destitute lives of these nearly anonymous women. Anne Butler reveals who they were, how they lived and worked, and why they became an essential element in the development of the West's emerging institutions. Her story bears little resemblance to the popular depictions of prostitutes in film and fiction. Far removed from the glittering lives of dancehall girls, these women lived at the boarders of society and the brink of despair.

Poor and uneducated, they faced a world where scarce jobs, paltry wages, and inflated prices made prostitution a likely if bitter choice of employment. At best their daily lives were characterized by fierce economic competition and at worst by fatal violence in the hands of customers, coworkers, or themselves. They were scorned and attacked by the legal, military, church, and press establishments; nevertheless, as Butler shows, these same institutions also used prostitutes as a means for maintaining their authority and as a lure for economic development.

Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery is based on an enormous amount of research in more than twenty repositories in Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. Using census lists, police dockets, jail registers, military correspondence, trial testimony, inquests, court martials, newspapers, post return, and cemetery records, Butler illuminates the dark corners of a dark profession and adds much to our knowledge of both western and women's history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252014669
• ISBN13: 9780252014666
• Release Date: July 1987
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Old West

If you would like to know how the old west really was give this book a look. It isn't candy coated but will give you a idea how thing really were. I'm very happy with it. Thanks

A Solid Academic Piece

Having just read this book for an upcoming graduate level women's history course I can highly recommend it for students and others.Firstly this is not one of those books that weigh 20 lbs that would break your toe should you drop one on it. It is concisely and well written and well organized as well. It is thoroughly footnoted which in of itself is valuable because he reader can then draw upon those sources for additional study if they so desire.That being said I found the overall thesis to be solid and well thought out. I did find myself at times wondering if additional observations might be drawn from the source materials. Even if one might reach a different conclusion in some areas the main points of the book are logical and well thought out. I suspect that even if you did come up with another angle to the story it would likely be supplementary to the author's thesis.The main point here is that prostitutes contributed significantly to the development of western society in both de jure and de facto ways. While they were both citizens and members of society they were not beneficiaries of the full protection of the law with regards to violence (a great many wound up murdered and assaulted). In addition in many areas it would appear that law enforcement would both publicly decry them and at the same time tolerate them. They were routinely hauled in made to pay a fine and released thereby subsidizing the existence of law and order in the west. The mainstream societies were generally willing to have their elected officials benefit in this way provided they themselves did not have to deal with it.In addition there is apparently quite good evidence to suggest that the U.S. Army not only patronized prostitutes but condoned and perpetuated the profession as well. In many instances they actually lived on army property and at times were paid as washerwomen and supplied with rations as well. While no official order to this effect was ever decreed there is apparently ample evidence both that the upper hierarchy knew of it and then condoned it.The author also delves into what the life of the prostitute must have been like drawing from court records, newspapers, personal diaries and the like. While there were exceptions the picture is bleak. The women were young, impoverished, prone to drug and alcohol addiction, spurned by respectable society, and subject to violence that oftentimes went unpunished. There is evidence of certain individuals committing multiply murders against prostitutes who were never punished for instance.Once involved in prostitution the chances of a Julia Roberts Pretty Woman style redemption were slim to none as many often were married to men who kept them in the profession. In addition very few made enough money to escape the profession and in that era there were very limited options for a woman to work to support herself. Even if a single woman were to take up one of the available professions very often they found thems