The scarlet underworld: the american and british press, prostitution, and the creation of social evil, 1880-1917

This thesis focuses on the evolution of the presss portrayal of prostitution in the cities of New Orleans, New York, and London, England, between 1880 and 1917. It is concerned with the manner in which meanings are constructed, and cultural practices are organized and regulated through the public arena of the press in their articulation of a common sense of community, including the creation of social and moral boundaries. This study draws from the analytical framework of Foucauldian theory, looking upon the end of the Victorian era as a key historic moment in which the regulation of prostitution assumed the status of a major social problem.