Red-light district: Difference between revisions
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:''For the [[2004]] album by American rapper [[Ludacris]] see [[The Red Light District]].'' |
:''For the [[2004]] album by American rapper [[Ludacris]] see [[The Red Light District]].'' |
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[[Image:Amsterdam red light district 24-7-2003.JPG|thumb|right|The [[De Wallen]] red-light district in [[Amsterdam]]]] |
[[Image:Amsterdam red light district 24-7-2003.JPG|thumb|right|The [[De Wallen]] red-light district in [[Amsterdam]]]] |
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A '''red-light district''' is a neighbourhood where [[prostitution]] and other businesses in the [[sex industry]] flourish. The term "red-light district" |
A '''red-light district''' is a neighbourhood where [[prostitution]] and other businesses in the [[sex industry]] flourish. The term "red-light district" was first recorded in the United States around 1890, and derives from the practice of placing a red light in the window to indicate to customers the nature of the business. The colour 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. |
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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. |
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. |
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Revision as of 10:56, 24 December 2006
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. |
- For the 2004 album by American rapper Ludacris see The Red Light District.
A red-light district is a neighbourhood where prostitution and other businesses in the sex industry flourish. The term "red-light district" was first recorded in the United States around 1890, and derives from the practice of placing a red light in the window to indicate to customers the nature of the business. The colour 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.
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.
In more recent years the red light district term has its name from the red lights that hang from the districts brothels.
[1] One of the many terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is akasen (赤線), literally meaning "red-line", apparently of independent origins from the English term. Japanese Police drew red-line on maps for legal Red-light area. They also have a term aosen(青線), meaning "blue-line", for non-legal area. In different cultures red-light districts are identified differently, the most common being "district of prostitutes" (e.g. in Hindi - Randi Guli or Street of Prostitutes; in Bengali - Khanki Para or Neighbourhood of Prostitutes.
See also
References
- ^ Barbara Mikkelson, "Red Light District", http://www.snopes.com/language/colors/redlight.htm, 12 March 1998