Sumario: | From 1897 to 1917, the red-light district of Storyville commercialized and even thrived on New Orleans's longstanding reputation for sin and sexual excess. This notorious neighborhood, located just outside of the French Quarter, hosted a diverse cast of characters who reflected the cultural milieu and complex social structure of turn-of-the-century New Orleans, a city infamous for both prostitution and interracial intimacy. In particular, Lulu White - a mixed-race prostitute and madam - created an image of herself and marketed it profitably to sell sex with light-skinned women to white men of means. The author examines the social history of this famed district within the cultural context of developing racial, sexual, and gender ideologies and practices.
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