A posse of soldiers intent on revenge after one claimed — likely wrongly — to have been shot by the madam of a Kingston brothel is the subject of one of the more infamous stories Margaret Ross tells.
One soldier was shot in the melee and the madam, Minnie Smith, was arrested. For Ms. Part of Ms. This history of sexuality may also offer a valuable new lens through which researchers in various disciplines might see potential solutions to other problems facing Canadians and the global community, such as climate change, health-care inequalities, wealth gaps, the erosion of gender, trans, and queer rights, political misinformation, and war.
Her research also shows how economics and politics shaped prostitution regulation, which was especially heavy-handed, says Ms. Minnie Smith, for example, called for the police when her brothel was set upon. But fearing that arresting the men would interfere with the military, they arrested the women under attack instead. Ross also found records in Toronto showing how the property values of middle--class men were affected by the brothels run by their female neighbours, leading to a crackdown on sex work.
In Northern Ontario, Ms. Ross says, the judicial system was standardized across the region to address concerns about prostitution. Little has changed. Sex work is still highly regulated, through zoning rules, tenancy agreements, and federal laws, says Ms.
This could also make her research a valuable resource for sex worker advocates, such as the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, which continues to challenge a law that criminalizes activities related to sex work. Exploring how sexuality came to justify repressive political and economic goals, which largely scapegoated sex workers, is at the heart of my project.
