Prostitutes Berber

Otto Dix explored prostitution in works like “The Three Prostitutes” (1925) and his “Portrait of Anita Berber”. His dissertation focused on these marginalized figures.

Colonial Exploitation of Berber Women

Historically, prostitution existed across civilizations. Colonial contexts, however, often exploited specific groups. In North Africa, Berber women, like the Ouled Naïl tribe in Algeria, were frequently misrepresented as inherently promiscuous by colonial powers. This stereotype served colonial control. Places like the Bousbir quarter in Casablanca, built by the French, openly regulated prostitution, often involving Moroccan and sub-Saharan women. Studies like Venema’s (2004) document this permissive zone in the Middle Atlas.

Representation and Legacy

Anita Berber, a Weimar-era dancer depicted by Dix, embodied the era’s decadence but also faced societal judgment. Colonial postcards often reduced Berber women to either exoticized ‘prostitutes’ or romanticized ‘heroic figures’. The Bousbir district functioned essentially as a controlled space for French military personnel. This system reflected colonial power dynamics and economic exploitation. The legacy of these stereotypes and regulated spaces persists in discussions about prostitution in Morocco and Algeria today.

*TAGS* – Ouled Naïl tribe, Bousbir quarter, colonial postcards