Why a gay 19th century London brothel owner had to pretend to be a woman to avoid police persecution – My London
The central plea from pretty much any group protesting for their identity is a simple one, “Can we just… live?”
Can we please just live without the constant threat of violence, murder and blame?
And over the years the answer has been pretty consistent: ‘Not yet. Ask again later.’
READ MORE: The woman who dressed as a man in Regency London and always drank 2 bottles of wine
There is no time in history when these various groups did not exist, rather the way they had to behave in order to survive is usually somewhat more extreme than today.
Women had to be overtly subservient to men, whereas gay and transgender people had two options: either hide it completely, or be discreet on pain of death.
One such figure was Madame Parsons, who ran what is said to be the best brothel in Burlington Arcade, Mayfair.
She almost certainly had both men and women working for her.
(Image: Wikimedia)
In such a sexually repressed time, there were certainly no neon lights spelling out “GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS”.
Instead, Madame Parsons let it be known her brothel was open for business by placing certain indications in the window.
In the winter, a red handkerchief with a candle behind; and in the summer, a stocking hanging from the windowsill.
If business was really slow, the sex worker would stand by the window and make a clicking sound against her gums – like Flipper. (Yes, I make very sexy comparisons.)
Enticed punters would enter the shop, but how to go about the awkward business of taking her up on her services?
You couldn’t just march in and belt out, “How much is that prossie in the window?”
Get London’s biggest stories straight in your inbox
MyLondon’s brilliant new newsletter The 12 is packed with news, views, features and opinion from across the city.
Every day we’ll send you a free email at around 12pm with 12 stories to keep you entertained, informed and uplifted. It’s the perfect lunchtime read.
The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. Our 45 journalists cover all the news you need – from City Hall to your local streets.
Never miss a moment by signing up to The 12 newsletter here.
The punter would purchase an item – perhaps a hat or a brooch – and make a discreet comment about heading to the upper floor.
He would then give her the item as a “show of appreciation”, and she would then come downstairs and sell it back to the shop.
Nothing as coarse as money changed hands.
But nevertheless, the arcade gained a seedy reputation simply because the services were there.
Men feared being seen there at certain times, lest the rumours get back to their wives.
The simple innuendo of it would be enough to cause a scandal.
Madame Parsons’s death: a discovery
Madame Parsons died on the premises of Burlington Arcade in the 1860s.
When a doctor came to pronounce her dead, she was discovered to be biologically male.
Why, in a time that was so wretchedly difficult for women, would a man choose to live as a female?
Mark Lord, the Head Beadle at the arcade, explains that dressing as the opposite sex was not necessarily a sign of the person being transgender, but a survival tactic for gay men – and alternative to simply pretending to be heterosexual.
“Homosexuality was illegal,” he points out, “but the police would often turn a blind eye as long as one of the parties dressed and lived convincingly as the opposite gender. It was very common in Victorian society for homosexual couples to live that way.”
The central plea of pretty much any group protesting for their identity is a simple one, “Can we just… live?”
And the answer back then was pretty consistent: “Yes. But only if you pretend.”