hysically between 1790 and 1920) that the commercialization of sex in New York took can be helpful in interpreting the commercialization of New York more generally and indeed of the whole of the United States as the leading nation-state of institutionalized sexuality, which in the case of prostitution can be interpreted as a proxy for industrial capitalism.
What that all comes down to is that, in the early days of the republic, prostitution was instrumental in the federal period for individuals and families who lacked property and capital. Gilfoyle cites evidence that parents in some artisan families encouraged their female children toward prostitution, that some women and their daughters engaged in it, and that some girls encouraged their peers in it. Prostitution in this period was nothing so much as a survival skill, not only for women and girls with no family ties in New York but also for those who were obliged to support their families (Gilfoyle 66-7). Prostitution was distinguished by the very young age of many of the prostitutes, owing to the demand
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