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A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of
Red-light districts are mentioned in the 1882 minutes of a Woman's Christian Temperance Union meeting in the United States. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' records the earliest known appearance of the term "red light district" in print as an 1894 article from the ''
A more plausible explanation might originate from the time when sailors came back from sea to Amsterdam (ca. 1650): Women working as prostitutes, deprived from proper hygiene and running fresh water, carrying red lanterns — with their color camouflaging boils, zits, inequalities in the face and on the skin — made clear they were available as women of pleasure. Sailors, finally getting their relative royal pay, having been at sea for quite some time and looking for relief could so easily spot who would be available. In a later stage the red lanterns evolved into red lights at brothels. Since this was close to the main harbour, this district became known as the red-light district:
One of the many terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is , literally meaning "red-line". Japanese police drew a red line on maps to indicate the boundaries of legal red-light districts. In Japanese, the term , literally meaning "blue-line", also exists, indicating an illegal district.
In the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term "sporting district" became popular for legal red-light districts. Municipal governments typically defined such districts explicitly to contain and regulate prostitution.
File:Red Light District.jpg, The Red Light district in Amsterdam
File:Reeperbahn at dawn.jpg, Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany
File:Soi Cowboy - Bangkok.jpg, Soi Cowboy, Bangkok, Thailand
File:RedLightDistrictAmsterdamBloedstraat.jpg, Rooms illuminated by red lights in De Wallen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
File:Aarschotstraat.jpg,
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip club
A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...
s, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particularly associated with female street prostitution
Street prostitution is a form of sex work in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, benches, e ...
, though in some cities, these areas may coincide with spaces of male prostitution and gay venues. Areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red-light districts.
The term ''red-light district'' originates from the red lights that were used as signs for brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
s.
Origins of term
Red-light districts are mentioned in the 1882 minutes of a Woman's Christian Temperance Union meeting in the United States. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' records the earliest known appearance of the term "red light district" in print as an 1894 article from the ''Sandusky Register
The ''Sandusky Register'' is a daily newspaper serving Sandusky, Ohio, as well as nearby Port Clinton and the Lake Erie Islands (collectively known regionally as Vacationland).
History
The ''Sandusky Register'' has been in production since 18 ...
'', a newspaper in Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...
.
Author Paul Wellman suggests that this and other terms associated with the American Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
originated in Dodge City, Kansas, home to a well-known prostitution district during the 19th century, which included the Red Light House saloon. This has not been proven, but the Dodge City use was likely responsible for the term's pervasiveness. A widespread folk etymology
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
claims that early railroad workers took red lanterns with them when they visited brothels so their crew could find them in the event of an emergency. However, folklorist Barbara Mikkelson regards this as unfounded.
A more plausible explanation might originate from the time when sailors came back from sea to Amsterdam (ca. 1650): Women working as prostitutes, deprived from proper hygiene and running fresh water, carrying red lanterns — with their color camouflaging boils, zits, inequalities in the face and on the skin — made clear they were available as women of pleasure. Sailors, finally getting their relative royal pay, having been at sea for quite some time and looking for relief could so easily spot who would be available. In a later stage the red lanterns evolved into red lights at brothels. Since this was close to the main harbour, this district became known as the red-light district:
One of the many terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is , literally meaning "red-line". Japanese police drew a red line on maps to indicate the boundaries of legal red-light districts. In Japanese, the term , literally meaning "blue-line", also exists, indicating an illegal district.
In the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term "sporting district" became popular for legal red-light districts. Municipal governments typically defined such districts explicitly to contain and regulate prostitution.
Legal issues
Some red-light districts (such as De Wallen, Netherlands, or Reeperbahn, Germany) are places which are officially designated by authorities for legal and regulated prostitution. Often, these red-light districts were formed by authorities to help regulate prostitution and other related activities, such that they were confined to a single area. Some red-light districts (such as those in The Hague) are under video surveillance. This can help counter illegal forms of prostitution (such aschild prostitution
Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent.
In most jurisdictions, child ...
), in these areas that do allow regular prostitution to occur.
Image gallery
Rue d'Aerschot
Rue d'Aerschot (French language, French) or Aarschotstraat (Dutch language, Dutch) is a street in the Schaerbeek Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is known as a hotspot of the city's underground nightlife and famous ...
, Brussels, Belgium
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
File:Kabukicho-Sinjyuku-Tokyo.JPG, Kabuki-chō Ichiban-gai gate and colorful neon street signs, Shinjuku
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...
, Tokyo, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
See also
*List of red-light districts
Red-light districts are areas associated with the sex industry and sex-oriented businesses (e.g. sex shops and strip clubs). In some of these places prostitution occurs, whether legally or illegally. The enforcement of prostitution laws varies b ...
* Prostitution by region
This is an overview of prostitution by region.
Africa
Prostitution is illegal in the majority of African countries. HIV/AIDS infection rates are particularly high among African sex workers.
Nevertheless, it is common, driven by the widespread p ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red-Light District English-language idioms