FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What’s this website about?
Courtesan Cosplay was created to educate about courtesans (elite artisans/sex workers) throughout different time periods and geographic locations from around the world.
What is a courtesan?
More than a pretty face and a fancy dress.
Courtesans were richly adorned, highly educated and very accomplished in the arts. So much so that they earned their living by providing varieties of entertainment and companionship.
They were something to be proud of, to show off, to brag about, to demonstrate your wealth and worth to other men.
Years of education beyond the average sex worker or prostitute allowed them to dedicate their time to only a select few people while commandeering the highest tributes, in turn allowing them to continue their education, artistic projects, other businesses and public works.
The best courtesans were a trifecta of beauty, intellect and skills. Making them the ultimate luxury service provider and often a lifestyle sponsor, subtly advising, introducing or educating their patrons.
Isn’t a Courtesan just a Prostitute?
Yep.
Kind of in the way a porn magazine could be compared to an erotic novel.
Someone put in more time creating it. It’s more covert about what’s being sold. The distribution is usually much smaller. It will cost you more money. It’s gonna take you a lot longer to reach the conclusion.
Sex Worker > Prostitute > Courtesan
The word Courtesan can be found under the very large red umbrella of Sex Worker, which encompasses many sub-specialties and genders, like erotic dancers, sensual masseuses, porn performers, who all provide variations on a mental or physical service designed to inspire sexual arousal.
Supply and demand. There is a long history or people providing sexual services in exchange for something going all the way back to the beginning. As time goes on and everything gets more complex so do the names for these people. Keep in mind re-branding happens all the time. You can find the glossary I created here. (link)
Courtesan is often used interchangeably as a word for prostitute, which is a sex worker that provides physical in-person sexual contact. While technically correct, what further differentiates a courtesan from the broad category of prostitute is that one is generally left with the impression that their greater mastery of many arts and education are a large part of a bouquet of skills including advanced sexual skills, rather than just a single blossom say the specialized skill of fellatio (commonly known as a blow job, in North American slang).
A generic prostitute is not usually required to maintain such a ridiculously high standard of living as a courtesan (houses, vacations, designer clothing, shoes, jewellery etc) or education and alternately specializes in less expensive ways to beguile but with a higher frequency. (Less investment in education, classes, clothes, houses, etc. More customers. Easier to find customers. Less money per customer.)
How is a courtesan any different than a mistress?
While courtesans sometimes start out as or even become wives, concubines or mistresses, something else that helps categorize her is that she provides services for multiple customers (patrons) throughout her life rather than just one customer, one master, in places where virginity is restricted.
Where do you find courtesans?
In cultures where wives were hidden and repressed, yet cultural and artistic entertainment and events were still in demand, it is here against a backdrop of widespread misogyny where you will find the courtesan sparkling most noticeably, as the exception to the rules. Allowed out in public. Allowed to read books, to write books. To speak to men. To dance. To dress to show off. To be sexual.
What do courtesans do besides sex?
A Courtesan would often find herself in the role of artist’s muse/model, salon hostess, an artistic director or some project or other, adviser, ambassador, spy, private sex educator.
In many cultures, courtesans were among the very small percentage of females who were allowed to/had the resources to pursue higher education and became independent enough to be in control of their own finances. Many men felt that the less education or thinking a woman did the better.
Why does this matter now?
It these modern times, where we often take these things for granted it is my hope to stimulate an appreciation for the demimonde, the many women who existed in half shadow. Now when women are transcending their patriarchal restraints more than ever before, it is our chance to look back while we move forward and illuminate their often hidden influence on the arts and culture throughout history. To view the past with modern eyes and extract what inspires us, takes lessons from what disturbs us to create a better reality now. May we continue their legacy to inspire, harness our divine feminine energy, embrace our sexuality and creativity in its many forms and re-invent our archetypes for modern times.
What do I use this site for?
It is my goal to provide a dynamic yet comfortable environment online for the sharing of historical findings, costume and recreation of the arts they mastered, to share or provide spaces and events where courtesan persona and the patrons of their arts can roleplay.
Who does this sort of thing attract?
Those who simply love ornate costumes, those who enjoy historical dance, those who are shy and feel that inhabiting a persona who would be forced to learn to be social will help them, those who are seeking inspiration, those who are exploring power dynamics in regard to genders.
Who am I?
I’m nobody. A jane of all trades. You could meet me a dozen times and never realize it was the same person. We could speak once and you might never forget me. Once upon a time, armed only with my insatiable curiosity and an open mind I set out to learn what I did not know.