Ah Toy

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Ah Toy (c.1828 - 1928) was a Cantonese[1] prostitute and madam in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush, and purportedly the first Chinese prostitute in San Francisco.[2] Arriving from Hong Kong in 1849,[3] she quickly became the most well-known Asian woman in the Old West.[4] She reportedly was a tall, attractive woman with bound feet.[5]

When Ah Toy left China for the United States, she originally traveled with her husband, who died during the voyage. Toy became the mistress of the ship's captain, who showered gold upon her, so much so that by the time she arrived in San Francisco, Toy had a fair bit of money. Noticing the looks she drew from the men in her new town, she figured they would pay for a closer look. Her peep shows became quite successful, and she eventually became a high-priced prostitute. Toy then opened a chain of brothels, importing girls from China as young as eleven years old to work in them. Towards the end of her life she supposedly returned to China a wealthy woman to live the rest of her days in comfort,[6] but returned to California not long afterward. From 1868 until her death in 1928, she lived a quiet life in Santa Clara County, returning to public attention only upon dying three months short of her hundredth birthday in San Jose.[7][8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Stephens, Autumn (1992). Wild Women: Crusaders, Curmudgeons, and Completely Corsetless Ladies in the Otherwise Virtuous Victorian Era. Conari, 164. ISBN 0943233364. 
  2. ^ Asbury, Herbert (2002). The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld. Thunder's Mouth Press, 172. ISBN 1560254084. 
  3. ^ Espiritu, Yen Le (1997). Asian American Women and Men: Labor, Laws and Love. Rowman & Littlefield, 32. ISBN 0803972555. 
  4. ^ Okihiro, Gary Y. (2001). Common Ground: Reimagining American History. Princeton University Press, 99. ISBN 0691070075. 
  5. ^ Pryor, Alton (2003). Fascinating Women in California History. Stagecoach Publishing, 36. ISBN 0966005392. 
  6. ^ Pryor, Alton (2006). The Bawdy House Girls: A Look at the Brothels of the Old West. Stagecoach Publishing, 36-38. ISBN 0974755176. 
  7. ^ Yung, Judy (1995). Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco. University of California Press, 34. ISBN 0520088670. 
  8. ^ Smith, James R. (2005). San Francisco's Lost Landmarks. Quill Driver Books, 76. ISBN 1884995446. 

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