Og by Mea 0 Why is the area where prostitutes work ‘ called a red-light district? ef The first printed mention of a red-light district was made bie A in 1894 in a Milwaukee newspaper, the Sentinel, but the semantic origin of the term is open to debate. Ure Sony One explanation, which dates back to about the time of the Sen- t Alyy tinel’s article, relates to the red lanterns that railroad workers took in/;.. with them into town when they had time off during a trip. The Me lanterns were kept lit so that the crew could be rounded up quick- "ly if needed. If the men were engaging prostitutes, who tended to cluster in one section of town, that area was marked by many red lanterns. Others suggest that the term refers to the red shades that prostitutes of the early twentieth century put over candles and lamps as a discrete signal to passersby of their services. The color red has long been connected to prostitution. Red paper lanterns were placed outside brothels in ancient China, and in the Biblical story of Rahab, a house of ill-repute was indicated ai with a red rope. During World War |, red lights in Belgian broth- els indicated that the available services were for non-officers. "| (Brothels for officers sported blue lights.) Color theorists—scholars who study the effects and meanings of colors to humans and animals across time and geographical boundaries—widely note that red is associated with sensual matters. In the United States, the color red has long been as- sociated with the concepts of “stop” and “love.” And aren’t the women who work in a red-light district just trying to get men to stop and love?