Artifact Friday: Brothel Token

*This Blog Contains Adult Topics*

In recognition of National STI awareness week, we find it is only fitting to discuss the role many of these diseases played in warfare. For starters, let’s debunk a common myth. Many people believe that ‘ladies of the night’ in World War One would charge extra if they had an STI because it would get soldiers pulled from the front line. On the contrary, soldiers were well-informed about venereal diseases. To compound on that, depending on where the soldier was in the war, there was no guarantee that they would be permitted to leave the front for medical treatment. That’s not to say that the trenches were free of STIs, with over 400,000 cases. However, just about every participating nation launched propaganda campaigns warning soldiers of the dangers of these diseases with posters reading phrases like, “careful, you can’t tell who has it!” or, “Don’t take a chance.” With the onset of World War II, the dangers of venereal disease reared its ugly head again, and with the lessons learned from the previous war, further steps were taken to prevent the spread of STIs. Though, some could argue the measures taken were worse. Funding for treatment and prevention of STIs increased. The propaganda doubled down, although the posters frequently depicted women as the carriers of STIs, an unfair representation. This resulted in many women being arrested if it was found they had spread an STI. Throughout World War II, combatting STIs was a constant battle. Especially with how the brothel business was booming. The mass shift of soldiers often brought massive business to brothels in certain areas, resulting in many brothels using brothel tokens like the one seen here. These coins often bear a striking resemblance to normal Chinese currency of the time but with symbols of ancient Chinese characters reading, “Minghuang Yuying,” or, “Emperor, Ming, Imperial, Shadow.” It is unlikely that these characters had much meaning in a brothel however, the other side depicts various positions that a patron would be encouraged to try. These coins were also called Chinese marriage coins and were used by newlyweds. Variants of these coins also existed in other countries throughout Asia, such as Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.