Culture is not a universal concept, nor does its recognition or association imply a singular meaning or identification. But, importantly, culture requires subjects and objects to make it matter, which is to say to give meaning to materials, whether tangible, corporeal, visual, symbolic or ideological, in order for it to materialise in what is conceived of, perceived as or received as coherent and communicable. Only then can there be comprehensive inquiries into the relationships between cultural identities and subjectivities, intercultural en-actors and cultural analysts and researchers.

"Fighting organised crime effectively is not only about criminal investigation and prosecution. It is also about a comprehensive approach and cooperation by all the parties involved. The underlying structures used by organised crime will then became apparent and can then be tackled. A good example of an integrated approach is the Emergo project in Amsterdam’s Red Light district. The local authority, tax authorities, police and judicial authorities have joined forces to fight criminal concentrations of power – and inter-connections between the underworld and normal society – in any possible manner" (Dutch Ministry of Justice, Press Report: 13-December, 2007).

Sexuality in Amsterdam has become an implicit component of the city’s identity; it has become structured into the public spaces, and it has formed the basis for a large industry and a vast commodity culture; as such, it has materialised in the form cultural objects that are recognised as symbols of identification with Amsterdam. These objects or images become references to the culture, which are then inserted into myths or narratives that perpetuate a false consciousness about the individual subjects who are inhabitants of this cultural milieu. However, Amsterdammers do not appear to be the subjects who revitalise these cultural materials or their symbolic value as such; thus, as Amsterdam’s sexual spaces are transforming, it is the time to critically contemplate and take account of the organisation of relations and structures that act in objectifying cultural symbols so that they materialise or convey specific ideals or ideologies and serve certain socio-economic or political ends. This must be analysed as part of the historical trajectory of the country and the city, as this specific rupture in the social fabric can illuminate why this is taking place in the sex work industry at this particular juncture.