# White Slavery in US **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489 "2004-10-21T21:13:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blackacre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Blackacre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackacre)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/1 "2004-10-21T21:13:39Z")
From time to time, I run across a reference to “white slavery” in some serial or novel, etc., and it has set me to wondering if such a thing still exists or indeed if it ever existed here in the US. Does anyone know if young, white women (who I presume are at issue here) have in the past been or are still being spirited off and sold overseas? Or is “white slavery” in the US just some sort of urban myth? Any information would be appreciated! =D BA ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/2 "2004-10-21T21:35:08Z")
“White slavery” is the term used for organized prostitution. Just a couple of years ago there were a couple of cousins busted for bringing a team of girls (I think everyone was from Arizona) to work in the St. Louis area. Not exactly a high-level Mafia-style organization, but it did fit all the requirements of the term. ---
**Author:** ![Blackacre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Blackacre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackacre)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/3 "2004-10-21T21:38:34Z")
Ah, I see. The references I had in mind involved women being transported overseas and auctioned off into harems, etc. Thanks though for the info. =D BA ---
**Author:** ![Aldebaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Aldebaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aldebaran)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/4 "2004-10-21T22:10:30Z")
> [@Blackacre](#): > > Ah, I see. The references I had in mind involved women being transported overseas and auctioned off into harems, etc. Don’t bring me into temptation… I always kept my promise that my mother would stay the last victim of our family’s barbarism. Salaam. A ---
**Author:** ![Aldebaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Aldebaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aldebaran)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/5 "2004-10-21T22:12:56Z")
Oh … forgot. She was imported from Europe. That is not the US… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/6 "2004-10-21T22:56:30Z")
> [@Blackacre](#): > > Ah, I see. The references I had in mind involved women being transported overseas and auctioned off into harems, etc. This specific definition was a bit of an urban myth scare for quite some time; like the 1980’s Satanic Child Abuse hysteria, it was wholly fictional. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/7 "2004-10-21T23:19:07Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > This specific definition was a bit of an urban myth scare for quite some time; like the 1980’s Satanic Child Abuse hysteria, it was wholly fictional. Though in the urban myth, they weren’ t auctionned into harems, but into filthy brothels in south-america or north africe. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/8 "2004-10-22T00:18:32Z")
The OP reminded me of an opera by Mozart, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), in which a Spanish noble woman and her English maid have been captured or kidnapped by the Turks, and reside in the palace of a Turkish Pasha. Despite the Pasha’s advances and threats, the lady maintains her honor. [http://www.mozartproject.org/compositions/k\_384\_\_.html](http://www.mozartproject.org/compositions/k_384__.html) The idea that our women are going to be kidnapped and whisked away to a life of sexual slavery is very old. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/9 "2004-10-22T01:21:57Z")
Cecil delivers the truth: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990115.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990115.html) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/10 "2004-10-22T22:13:33Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > Cecil delivers the truth: > > [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990115.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990115.html) And Cecil’s article is very disappointing. Until quite recently, people were kidnapped in large numbers from European shores by Arabs and sold into slavery. Cite: ‘White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa’s One Million European Slaves’ , ISBN 0340794690. Slavery was almost universal in ancient Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; in Feudalism, the peasants or villeins, were all but considered property of their feudal lord. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-in-us/270489/11 "2004-10-22T23:08:37Z")
There have been many allegations that would be models and actresses are “lured” to places, specifically to Japan and Brunei, with promises of career help and or actress/model/TV hosting type jobs and are forced into being sex slaves. Here is an article that touches on it and deals with the most famous case – a former Miss California who alleges that the Brunei royal family was keeping her as a sex slave. [http://vikingphoenix.com/news/stn/1997/pirn9764.htm](http://vikingphoenix.com/news/stn/1997/pirn9764.htm) There was at least some question about how “innocent” these women were – and how forced - they apparently signed (lowish) six figure annual contracts, had all expenses paid and received extravagant gifts from their “friends”. What was in dispute was whether could they refuse to have sex with whomever – and at least two Ladies said that was not an option, others said they could always choose not to have sex and they would be sent home with little pressure. I hope I did no one a disservice: this paragraph is based on my memory of a program run by font of all knowledge after Cecil - that being Montel (so how could it be wrong?) :rolleyes: