Those two terms in the title to this blog post get mixed up so often these days. But they should not. A real courtesan is not simply an expensive whore with rich and powerful clients. A real courtesan has sexual allure and erotic capital at the centre of her charm and being. But, frankly, so can – or could – most women. Some of the greatest courtesans in history were not even that good looking. Queen Cleopatra of Egypt (yes, a queen can be a courtesan when her patron is an emperor or just plain Julius Caesar) had a hook nose and rather squinty eyes – but years of in breeding by Macedonians to keep the Egyptian riff raff at bay will do that. Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman was not unattractive, but honestly nothing special. She even told her daughters that she was not even that good in bed. But the fact that she could actually have that conversation with her daughters gives the clue. She had wit, brains and sensuality. But then she must have had something going on the be the mistress to Ed Murrow, John Hay Whitney, Aly Aga khan, Alfonso de Portago, Gianni Agnelli, William S Paley and Baron Elie de Rothschild.
William Paley said that “She is the greatest consort of the (20th) century.” Whereas Max Hastings the journalist once said somewhat more cynically that “she was …described as having become a world expert on men’s bedroom ceilings”. Which makes her sound rather more like one of the most active escorts Malaga has to offer than the classy, intelligent and dynamic woman that she actually was. After the death of W Averill Harriman in nineteen eighty six she became heavily involved in Democratic Party politics, to which her former husband had introduced her and effectively became the queen of Washington society. She is credited with developing the career and profile of the – eventual – President Willian Jefferson Clinton. Without her smoothness taking off his rube edges there is a strong chance he would never have been President.
And no, there will be zero Monica Lewinsky jokes here, thank you very much. It does not matter at what point of history you look, there have always been women who exchanged their beauty and their sexual power for financial security and the access to power. It is great that women can now become Presidents and Prime Ministers in their own right. Except in the United States which claims to be the most equal society on earth (yeah, right). But that does not mean that women do not still gain power directly through their looks and sexual allure.
