When you think of those who lived on the American frontier, the sort of person who springs to mind is probably a rough-and-rowdy Caucasian cowboy with a scruffy face and spurs on his boots. But then there was Ah Toy – pronounced “Ah Choi” in Cantonese – who became one of the best-known Asian women in 19th century California.
Ah Toy was the first recorded Chinese sex worker in San Francisco, but became much more: so successful was her chain of brothels that she often attracted unfriendly attention from the local tongs, or Chinatown triads, and American authorities.
At a time when the courts did not favour women, let alone women of colour, Ah Toy was reportedly intelligent and resourceful, and she often used the law to protect her business and personal autonomy.
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