In their day, the Fokken Sisters, who are twins, blonde and dress in red likely had a passionate following for their Dutch sister act. But after 350,000 johns and a combined 100 year career between them, Louise and Martine, 70, are retiring.
The pair say the pains of getting old, combined with a changing community, have forced the decision.
Louise said that her arthritis made some of her work too painful, and both twins admit that it is difficult to attract new clients.
The twins became prostitutes while they were still teenagers in order to escape violent relationships.
The duo fondly recalled the golden era of prostitution in Amsterdam that existed before the trade was legalized and dominated by the “eastern European mafia”.
Louise said: “It is very different now. We used to sit in the windows with clothes on. Today they are totally naked.
Martine and Louise became famous as the subject of a 2012 documentary called ‘Meet the Fokkens’ and they have just finished work on a book, ‘The Ladies of Amsterdam’.The twins said they hope to be able to live off their earnings from the book and film rights.
Researchers
at China’s breeding and research centre were concerned that five-year-old Ke Lin and her partner Yongyong never seemed to be in the mood. So they played the couple a video of pandas mating in the wild in an effort to get them to mate.
“Every time Yongyong tried to mount her, Ke Lin fought him off and we were worried she was going to miss her three-day breeding cycle,” said a spokesman.
“So we played them the film and she took great interest in it. After that there was no stopping her and they mated successfully.
“In the wild, Ke Lin would have seen lots of other pandas mating but in captivity, it’s no wonder she needed help.”