The Reputation of Red: How a Color Defined Women as ‘Fast’ or Sacred Across Cultures

When you were a kid, did your mom ever forbid you from wearing red nail polish? Maybe she said something like, “That color is a bit too grown.” Perhaps she warned that red lipstick was for “fast” girls, or that a red dress would send the “wrong message.” These warnings didn’t emerge out of thin air. Generations of women were taught that red was dangerous — a color that could draw the wrong kind of attention, one that marked you as unruly, provocative, or “loose.”

But why does a shade of pigment hold so much weight? Why did red nail polish carry more moral baggage than pink, nude, or even black? To answer that, we have to explore the historical, spiritual, and cultural meanings of red — from scarlet letters to sacred ceremonies.

The History of Red as Loose

Red has always lived on the edge of scandal.

In Western history, it often symbolized danger, lust, and social transgression. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (1850) immortalized this link. Hester Prynne, condemned for adultery, was forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her chest.

The color was chosen deliberately: red was a visual shorthand for shame, passion, and sin. Hester’s scarlet letter didn’t just mark her crime; it branded her entire being as scandalous.

The Walter Art Museum, Baltimore.

This association wasn’t born in literature alone. Medieval European societies frequently connected red with prostitution. In some cities, sex workers were forced to wear red clothing to distinguish themselves from “respectable” women. The biblical “Whore of Babylon,” draped in scarlet and purple (Revelation 17:4), became the archetype of sexual excess and moral corruption.

Fast-forward to the early 20th century, and the whispers persisted. Red lipstick was condemned by some as vulgar, “paint for harlots,” yet embraced by suffragettes as a symbol of defiance. During World War II, red lips were even encouraged in the United States as patriotic — “red lips to defeat Hitler” campaigns urged women to wear it proudly. Still, the shadow of suspicion lingered.

Red lips might rally a nation, but they still carried undertones of seduction and scandal.

The result is a paradox: red became both weapon and wound, a symbol of empowerment and a scarlet warning of deviance.

Photo from BBC.

Yet outside the Western gaze, red took on vastly different meanings. In many African cultures, red has been a color of power, vitality, and transition. Among the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania, red ochre is used to cover the body and hair, symbolizing strength, bravery, and unity. Warriors (moran) are often adorned in red shúkàs (robes), which not only stand out visually on the savannah but also convey courage in battle and the ability to protect the community (Hodgson, 2001). The Himba people of Namibia also famously use a mixture of red ochre and butterfat called otjize to cover their skin and hair, signifying beauty, health, and connection to the earth (Farnell, 1999). In these contexts, red is not a stain of shame but a life-affirming color tied to fertility, endurance, and social identity.

The Scientific & Spiritual Energy of the Color Red

Why does red provoke such strong reactions? Science offers some insight.

Studies show that red stimulates the nervous system: it quickens heart rate, increases blood pressure, and draws the eye faster than any other color (Elliot & Niesta, 2008). In psychology, it’s often called an “arousal color” — signaling danger, passion, or vitality. Even animals respond; in nature, red feathers or markings often signal sexual readiness or dominance.

Spiritually, red has always carried primal weight. In Hinduism, red symbolizes Shakti — divine feminine energy, fertility, and power. Red powders like kumkum or sindoor are applied to the forehead or hair parting of married women to symbolize vitality and protection. In Christianity, red has an equally complicated identity: it represents sin (blood, temptation, hellfire) but also salvation through Christ’s sacrifice.

This duality — sacred yet profane — explains red’s complicated place in human imagination. It is the color of both the altar and the forbidden fruit. No other color carries so much contradiction.

Red as a Marker of Puberty & Maturity

For many women, red first appeared in their lives through the body itself. The first menstrual cycle — the “red” — marked a profound transition. Suddenly, red was not just on lips or nails, but tied to identity, fertility, and social perception. In many cultures, this change was celebrated; in others, it was hidden in silence and shame.

Eastern cultures have historically embraced red as a marker of maturity and prosperity. In China, red is the color of luck and joy, symbolizing life force and abundance. Brides wear red on their wedding day, surrounded by red lanterns and envelopes to invoke blessings. In India, red saris and henna mark weddings as a celebration of fertility and sacred union. Rather than “fast,” red becomes a declaration of life itself.

Compare this with the Western warnings about red nail polish for young girls. What one culture treats as divine and celebratory, another frames as taboo and over-sexualized. These contrasts reveal how much meaning is projected onto color — and, by extension, onto women’s bodies.

Allure. Getty Images. Designed by Sarah Olin.

Red as Resistance & Reclamation

What happens when women reclaim red?

In modern times, red has been taken up as a color of power rather than shame. Think of suffragettes in red lipstick, activists in red cloaks from The Handmaid’s Tale protests, or red carpet gowns worn not just for glamour but for bold self-expression. Fashion designers like Valentino built entire brands around the unapologetic glamour of “Valentino Red.”

Red is no longer just something to be forbidden — it is something to be owned. When a woman chooses red lipstick today, she does so knowing its history, its danger, its allure. It’s not just paint on lips — it’s a declaration: I am here. I am powerful. And you will see me.

The Power in a Shade

From the scarlet letter to scarlet brides, red has carried centuries of weight. It has been used to shame women, to mark them as sinful, to strip them of innocence. Yet it has also been reclaimed — as a color of love, of rebellion, of maturity, and of divine energy.

When our mothers told us red polish was “too grown,” they weren’t just being protective. They were echoing centuries of cultural messaging, shaped by history, religion, and society. But maybe, just maybe, it’s time to shift the narrative. Red does not have to mean “fast and loose.” Red can also mean fierce, free, and fully alive.

Dig Deeper for Yourself

Further Reading:

• Hawthorne, N. (1850). The Scarlet Letter. Ticknor, Reed & Fields.

• The Holy Bible. Revelation 17:4.

• Elliot, A. J., & Niesta, D. (2008). Romantic red: Red enhances men’s attraction to women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1150–1164.

• Entwistle, J. (2000). The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress, and Modern Social Theory. Polity Press.

• Turner, T. (2011). Color and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction. Berg Publishers.

• Khanduri, R. (2004). Red in Indian weddings: Symbolism and practice. Asian Folklore Studies, 63(2), 257–272.

• Peiss, K. (2011). Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture. University of Pennsylvania Press.

• Pastoureau, M. (2017). Red: The History of a Color. Princeton University Press.

• Hodgson, D. L. (2001). Once Intrepid Warriors: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Cultural Politics of Maasai Development. Indiana University Press.

• Farnell, B. (1999). “Body Moves: The Anthropology of the Body and Movement in Africa.” Annual Review of Anthropology, 28, 341–373.