Bodies and Souls

Abstract

This article examines debates about the bodies and souls of women prostitutes in Mexico City that confronted the revolutionary Mexican government with the Catholic Church in the 1920s. We analyze the philanthropic activities of women’s organizations such as the Damas Católicas through the Ejército de Defensa de la Mujer and the ways in which they engaged in political roles at a time of fierce political struggle between the Catholic Church and the Mexican government. For both the government and Catholic women, it was deemed necessary to isolate and seclude the prostitutes’ bodies to cure them of venereal diseases and rehabilite them morally. While the government interned them at Hospital Morelos, Catholic women established a private assistance network, as well as so-called casas de regeneración, where former prostitutes had to work to sustain themselves while repenting for their sins and receiving the sacraments. By exploring the tension-filled interaction about women prostitutes between the Mexican government and the Catholic Church, we seek to contribute to the understanding of sexuality and prostitution in Mexico City in the 1920s.