“By the daily practice of their profession for many years their eyes acquire a piercing, rolling expression; they are somewhat unduly prominent in consequence of the continued tension of the ocular muscles, since the eyes are principally employed to spy out and attract clients. In many the organs of mastication are strongly developed; the mouth, in continuous activity either in eating or in kissing, is conspicuous; the forehead is often flat; the occipital region is at times extremely prominent; the hair of the head is often scanty—in fact, a good many become actually bald. For this reasons are not lacking: above all, the restless mode of life; the continued running about in all weathers in the open street, sometimes with the head bare; the often long-lasting fluor albus from which they suffer;[289] the incessant brushing, manipulation, frizzling, and pomading of the hair; and, among the lower classes of prostitutes, the use of brandy.

“The rough voice is the physiological characteristic of the woman who has lost her proper functions—those of the mother.”

However, the majority of youthful prostitutes exhibit purely feminine characteristics; it is only late in life that the above-described type becomes predominant, and this shows us that the masculine characteristics are the result of objective influences. From five to ten years bring about a notable difference. In the year 1898 I treated a maidservant for syphilis. At that time she was of an elegant, genuinely feminine appearance. Seven years later, in the year 1905, I saw her once more. What a change! Her face was bloated and widened; her eyes, once so bright and clear, had become cloudy and expressionless; her voice was rough; all the specific feminine forms and characters had been obliterated by extreme corpulence. It was no longer a woman, it was a “prostitute,” a special type of humanity, but one which had been gradually produced, and as a result of no more than six years of the practice of professional prostitution.

These facts do not by any means exclude the existence of genuine degenerates among prostitutes in a greater percentage than among non-prostitutes;[290] nor do they exclude the existence of genuine homosexuals among prostitutes. To this extent Lombroso’s theory contains a nucleus of truth; but it concerns only a fraction of the entire world of prostitutes. Lombroso has himself been repeatedly compelled to recognize the frequency with which he has encountered among prostitutes women of normal appearance, and even beautiful women.[291]

Finally, the doctrine of the “born prostitute” is contradicted by the fact that the same types of degenerate which are described by Lombroso among prostitutes are found also among women who are not prostitutes.[292] In fact, Lombroso has been led to this view by the recognition of an “equivalent of prostitutes among the upper classes”; but in this way he has only proved that the same moral degeneration that is encountered in a certain proportion of prostitutes is also seen in misconducted women of other and higher classes. There are, in fact, prostitute natures among the “upper ten thousand.”

The best limitation of the general value of the doctrine of the “born prostitute” is the concluding chapter of Lombroso’s book upon “Occasional Prostitutes.” He begins with the pertinent remark:

“Not all prostitutes are ethically indifferent—that is to say, they are not all born prostitutes; in this province opportunity also plays its part.”

Lombroso proceeds to develop this thesis, thus markedly limiting the application of his own theory, and recognizing that, in addition to natural predisposition, quite other causes and influences come into play in the production of prostitution.

Above all, the economic factors are of greater importance in the genesis and growth of prostitution, even though their influence is not an exclusive one.

I distinguish here between real, genuine poverty (lack of food, proper housing accommodation, etc.) and merely relative poverty. Hitherto, in considering the economic causes of prostitution, these two elements have not been distinguished with sufficient clearness.