Lesson 6: Prostitution in the West-Soiled Doves
Soiled Doves-The Working Girls
It is believed that the red light in the window signifying a house of prostitution and the later term "red light district" got its origins from when trainmen left their red glass lanterns, which they carried for use in their work, outside these establishments when paying them a visit so they could be located in case of an emergency.
In mining camps, working girls often went by colorful names such as "Spanish Queen," "Contrary Mary", and "Diamond Lil". In the early days, they followed the mining camps and worked from tents until more solid establishments were built. Not all saloon girls were prostitutes, though many of them offered their services "on the side". Singers and actresses often came under suspicion of being of questionable morals. Because many of the performers went on stage scantily clothed for the times and were often immersed in scandal, the reputation of an actress was tarnished in the eyes of society, whether or not they did engage in prostitution.
Women bandits often got their start as prostitutes or their career of outlaw and prostitute overlapped. Many of the women associated with the Wild Bunch Gang, such as Annie Rogers and possible Etta Place, hailed from Fanny Porter's bordello in San Antonio, Texas. The outlaws often used brothels as places to hide out from the law, and the women protected them. Doc Holliday's girl, Big Nose Kate, was a prostitute when he met her and continued to ply her trade even after they were married. Some of the outlaw women, such as Pearl Hart, had been known to pretend to be prostitutes in order to roll drunks of their money. Working with a male accomplice, they would often lure a potential customer up to a room where a man was waiting to rob him.
For further reading about prostitution in the West:
Ladies of the Lamplight Blair, Kay Reynolds. Western Reflections Publishing, Ouray, CO. 2000.
Soiled Doves:Prostitution in the Old West Seagraves, Ann. Wesanne Publications, Hayden, Idaho 1994.
Women of the Western Frontier in Fact, Fiction and Film, Lackmann, Ron McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina, 1997.
