Escorts around the world – geishas and ganicas
It would be a
mistake not to mention the most colourful escort (sub) culture, the geishas
before discussing how the modern escort industry developed. Geishas actually
were escorts, but if we want to be more punctual, they were more than escorts.
The meaning of the word signifies a person who is an entertaining artist.
Geishas began to be trained in their early years, which meant artistic,
literary and musical literacy, as Japanese men who paid for the time of geishas
wanted to be fascinated by them. Of course, sexuality was included in the
service as it was the integral part of it.
In the 1900s
geishas would spied for the Japanese government, trying to obtain important
information from US military leaders. The espionage of escorts for governments
was a well-established strategy across Europe. For example, the former Italian
porn actress who was a member of the parliament, called Cicciolina, spied for
the Hungarians during communist era. She had begun the escort trade quite early
at the age of 16 and she worked for the government, but the porn industry made
her world-famous.
Beside geishas,
the next famous escort group around the world was the Indian ganicas. By the
end of the 19th century, ganika had been at the highest peak of the
prostitution hierarchy. They possessed tremendous wealth and knowledge, like
the Greek hetairas or the Japanese geishas. They would serve emperors and noble
men. They were able to paint, write poems, were familiar with theatre and
everything that was an integral part of the contemporary Indian arts. Ganikas
still exist in India, though they are no longer wealthy and have no extensive
education like their predecessors had.