Sure, There Was Sex but History’s Harems Also Had Terror And Trouble

Hint: It generally worked out way worse for the women

WikiCommons: Entertainments In The Harem — Belisario Gioja

It’s a Catch-22 job with a lot of problems. When you were a member of the royal harem, you either had to have sex with the boss — or the harem was so large that your turn never came up and you spent your unintentionally sexless life with the eunuchs.