Red-light district

Red-light district

A red-light district is a neighborhood where prostitution and other businesses in the sex industry flourish. The term "red-light district" was first recorded in the United States in 1894, in an article in "The Sentinel", a newspaper in Milwaukee. Other mentions from the 1890s are numerous, and located all over the United States.

Some say the origin of the red light comes from the red lanterns carried by railway workers, which were left outside brothels when the workers entered, so that they could be quickly located for any needed train movement. Others speculate that the origin comes from the red paper lanterns that were hung outside brothels in ancient China to identify them as such. It was said that the lights were thought to be sensual. The color red has been associated with prostitution for millennia: in the Biblical story of Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, aided the spies of Joshua and identified her house with a scarlet rope, which saved her household from the massacre that a successfully besieged city usually suffered. During World War I there were many brothels in Belgium and France; blue lights were used to indicate brothels for officers, red lights for other ranks.

One of the many terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is nihongo|"akasen"|赤線, literally meaning "red-line", apparently of independent origins from the English term. Japanese police drew a red line on maps to indicate the boundaries of legal red-light districts. They also have the term nihongo|"aosen"|青線, meaning "blue-line", for a non-legal district. In different cultures red-light districts are identified differently, the most common being "district of prostitutes" (e.g., in Bengali - "Khanki Para" or Neighbourhood of Prostitutes.)

ee also

* List of red-light districts
* Sex tourism
* Gropecunt Lane
* De Wallen
* Soho

References

*Mikkelson, Barbara. [http://www.snopes.com/language/colors/redlight.htm "Red Light District"] , Snopes.com, 12 March 1998.
*The RLD [http://www.TheRLD.co.uk "Red Light District"] , , 12 March 2008.(www.geohive.com ,http://www.xist.org/cntry/netherlands.aspx)(Amsterdam as a global city: reconstructering identity, rearticulation, and resistance in the service sector. The Review of Policy Research, January 1, 2006, By Dorfler, Tobia, Marchand, Marianne H., Pirchne, Claus.) (Amsterdam tries upscale fix for red light district crime, New York Times, February 24, 2008, By Marlise Simons)(www.dictionary.com)


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  • Red light district — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Red Light District peut désigner : Red light district (littéralement en anglais : « Quartier des lanternes rouges ») lieux de la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Red Light District — can refer to several different topics:* Red light district a neighborhood where prostitution is common * The Red Light District the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris * Red Light District Video a pornography studio based in Los Angeles,… …   Wikipedia

  • Red-light district — A district or neighborhood in which houses of prostitution are located; so called in allusion to the red light kept in front of many such resorts at night. [Colloq. or Cant] [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • red light district — The red light district is the area of a town or city where there is prostitution, sex shops, etc …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • red-light district — ☆ red light district [red′līt΄ ] n. a district (in a town or city) containing many brothels: such brothels formerly displayed red lights …   English World dictionary

  • red-light district — ► NOUN ▪ an area with many brothels, strip clubs, etc. ORIGIN from the use of a red light as the sign of a brothel …   English terms dictionary

  • red-light district — red light .district n the area of a town or city where there are many ↑prostitutes …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • red-light district — red light ,district noun count an area with many PROSTITUTES (=people who have sex for money) …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Red Light District — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Red Light District peut désigner : Red light district (littéralement en anglais : « Quartier des lanternes rouges ») lieux de la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • red-light district — noun a district with many brothels • Hypernyms: ↑city district * * * ˌred ˈlight district [red light district red light districts] noun a part of a town where there are many ↑prostitutes   …   Useful english dictionary

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