woman of the same kind has a little clientele of women who buy her photographs in Burlington Arcade.  In the lower ranks of the profession all this is much less common.  One often finds women who have simply never heard of such a thing; they know of it in regard to men, but not in regard to women.  And they are, for the most part, quite horrified at the notion, which they consider part and parcel of ’French beastliness.’  Of course, almost every girl has her friend, and, when not separately occupied, they often sleep together; but, while in separate, rare cases, this undoubtedly means all that it can mean, for the most part, so far as one can judge, it means no more than it would mean among ordinary girls.”

It is evident that there must be some radical causes for the frequency of homosexuality among prostitutes.  One such cause doubtless lies in the character of the prostitute’s relations with men; these relations are of a professional character, and, as the business element becomes emphasized, the possibility of sexual satisfaction diminishes; at the best, also; there lacks the sense of social equality, the feeling of possession, and scope for the exercise of feminine affection and devotion.  These the prostitute must usually be forced to find either in a “bully” or in another woman.[159]

Apart from this fact it must be borne in mind that, in a very large number of cases, prostitutes show in slight or more marked degree many of the signs of neurotic heredity,[160] and it would not be surprising if they present the germs of homosexuality in an unusually high degree.  The life of the prostitute may well develop such latent germs; and so we have an undue tendency to homosexuality, just as we have it among criminals, and, to a much less extent, among persons of genius and intellect.

Homosexuality is specially fostered by those employments which keep women in constant association, not only by day, but often at night also, without the company of men.  This is, for instance, the case in convents, and formerly, at all events,—­however, it may be today,—­homosexuality was held to be very prevalent in convents.  This was especially so in the eighteenth century when very many young girls, without any religious vocation, were put into convents.[161] The same again is today the case with the female servants in large hotels, among whom homosexual practices nave been found very common.[162] Laycock, many years ago, noted the prevalence of manifestations of this kind, which he regarded as hysterical, among seamstresses, lace-makers, etc., confined for hours in close contact with one another in heated rooms.  The circumstances under which numbers of young women are employed during the day in large shops and factories, and sleep in the establishment, two in a room or even two in a bed, are favorable to the development of homosexual practices.