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Brothels
Defined as a place where people of opposite sexes are allowed to resort for illicit
intercourse, whether the women are common prostitutes or not
The counties and incorporated cities which allow and regulate brothels are often
remote counties
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Sociocultural
Boyfriends/family often accept/encourage work
Many brothel workers are from out of state
Socioeconomic
Lower socioeconomic status
o Women make on average $300-$1500 a day when working at
brothel
86% of women had graduated from highschool/GED
History of homelessness, mental health issues, incarceration,
emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and drug use
Why this population is considered oppressed or marginalized
Negative views/opinions from society
Strictly regulated rules placed by brothels
(Albert, 2002; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013)
Diversity factors
Women are the dominant gender in brothels
o 2010 amendments made to allow men
o Little information is available regarding diversity
o Employs mainly white women with some black and Asian women
o Ages range from 20s to 50+
Lifestyle choices that influences why this population is considered
oppressed
Selling sex dehumanizes women, making them sexual commodities
Many women enter at a young age depriving them of educational and other
opportunities
These women enter a class of human beings who are not supposed to have feelings or
allowed to say no
(Albert, 2002; Ramos, 2012)
POPULATION
Beliefs
Prostitution is just a job, not necessarily a way of
life
Values
Customer service
Respect from their customers
Respect from co-workers
Roles
Customary practices
Follow the rules of the brothel (for the most part)
HEALTH
Health insurance
Independent contractors- no health care benefits
Lifestyle
Drinking
Smoking
Drug use
Mandatory health checks (NAC 441A.800/802)
Prior to becoming licensed each time they enter a brothel to work
Weekly pap smears/rectal specimen exams & monthly blood tests for
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
(Brents & Hausbeck, 2005; Giang, 2011; Nevada Legislature, 2015)
WELL-BEING
Positive
Enjoyable and fulfilling career
o Most prostitutes do enjoy their career and view it as
enjoyable
Enough money
o Prostitutes are able to make more money in a night
than most make in a week or even month
Nutritional diet
o Cooks on staff
Regular exercise
o Varies girl to girl
Sense of purpose and meaning
o At work vs public
(Albert, 2002)
Negative
Happy relationship with partner
o Difficult to maintain relationships due to lies
Network of close friends
o Deprived of many close friendships
Sufficient sleep
o 12 hours on/12 hours off
Satisfying hobbies
o Quarantined
Sense of belonging
o At work vs public
Living in a fair society
o Objectified
o Nevada vs rest of country
(Albert, 2002)
Retrieved from:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3463/3813630820_f8589b6ac4_
m.jpg
OCCUPATIONAL
ENGAGEMENT
Occupational deprivation
Mandatory long stays limit ability to engage in necessary or meaningful
occupations
o Roles as mother, wife, caretaker, daughter, sister, employee, volunteer
o Educational pursuits, leisure
o Unable to leave compound alone or have access to personal vehicle
Occupational imbalance
Work dominates the womens occupations
Occupational alienation
Despite being required to work long shifts, some brothel workers may only see
5-10 clients a week, therefore large amounts of downtime
Only able to perform occupations available at brothel or in immediate vicinity
(Albert, 2001)
Occupational apartheid
May not be allowed in establishments unless through the backdoor
with a client
May not be allowed to settle in certain countries because previously
registered as a sex worker
Limited entrepreneurship ability, unable to legally work independently
o Required to register as independent contractors, yet required to
pay 50% of profit to brothel owners
o Do not have access to benefits like health insurance, sick leave,
disability and workers compensation
(Albert, 2002)
Occupational marginalization
Unfit to be a mother
Dirty/diseased
Mandatory, reported STD testing, despite condom use
STD testing not required of other professionals
Uneducated/ stupid
Victim
Parent Teacher Association (PTA), church, volunteer with children, hold government office
PRESS ARTICLES
Retrieved from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp
/2014/08/25/harry-reid-calls-nevada-lawmakerscowards-for-not-banning-prostitution/
(Griffin, 2012)
(Griffin, 2012)
(Brents, 2014)
(Bindel, 2011)
Retreived from:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/relationsh
ips/article3224259.ece
(Bindel, 2011)
SCHOLARLY ARTICLES
(Farley, 2006)
Retrieved from:
http://www.fotosearch.com/ill
ustration/condom.html
INTERVIEW
Embraces, educates and empowers at-risk youth and women who are currently
in the adult entertainment/sex industry
Questions
1.
Do you currently, or have you in the past, had an intimate relationship outside of your professional
career? If so how did your career choice affect your personal/professional lifestyle?
2. Have you ever personally felt victimized during your profession? If so, how did you react?
3. If you could go back and change your profession, would you? Why or why not?
4. Do you feel that the brothel work environment helps to minimize the risk of violence or drug use
associated with unregulated prostitution?
5. If you could tell the general public one thing about prostitution in hopes to change their view on the
profession, what would it be?
6. Do you advocate for your profession? If so, how?
7. If you could change one aspect of your profession what would it be?
8. How difficult is it to maintain non-romantic relationships outside of work?
9. Do you feel that the percentage of your commmission shared with the brothel owners is fair?
10. Do you disclose your profession to healthcare providers? Why or why not?
Interview Summary
Positive
Feeling safe
Condom use
Pay
Companionship among other
brothel employees
Negative
Sharing life with family and
friends
Prolong time away from
families
Lack of choice
Inability to carry true intimate
relationships outside of
brothel life
Uncomfortable clothing
Unusual sexual request
Video
References
Albert, A. (2002). Brothel: Mustang Ranch and its women. New York: Random House LLC.
Albert, A.E., Warner, D.L., Hatcher, R.A., Trussell, J., & Bennett, C. (1995). Condome use among female commercial sex
workers in Nevadas legal brothels. Americal Journal of Public Health, 85(11), 1514-1520.
Bilardi, J., Miller, A., Hocking, J., Koegh, L., Cummings, R., Chen, M., Bradshaw, C., Fairly, C. (2011). The job
satisfaction of female sex workers working in licensed brothels in Victoria, Australia. The Journal of Sexual Medicine,
8, 116-122. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01967x
Bindel, J. (2011, November 14). I sell sex like McDonalds sells burgers. The Times. Retrieved from
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/relationships/article3224259.ece
Brents, B. (2014, January 23). Nevadas legal brothels make workers feel safe. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/19/is-legalized-prostitution-safer/nevadas-legal-brothels-makeworkers-feel-safer
References
Brents, B. & Hausbeck, K. (2001). State-sanctioned sex: Negotiating formal and informal regulatory practices in Nevada
brothels. Sociological Perspectives, 44(3), 307-332.
Brents, B. & Hausbeck, K. (2005). Violence and legalized brothel prostitution in Nevada. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
20(3),270-295.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. (2013). HIV risk among adult sex workers in the United States. Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/ri
Crown Prosecution Service. (2014). Prostitution and exploitation of prostitution. Retrieved from
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/prostitution_and_exploitation_of_prostitution/
Farley, M. (2006). Prostitution, trafficking, and cultural amnesia: What we must not know in order to keep the business of
sexualexploitation running smoothly. Yale Journal of Law & Feminism, 18, 109.
Giang, V. (2011, December). Everything you ever wanted to know about prostitution in Nevada. Business Insider. Retrieved
from http://www.businessinsider.com/prostitution-legal-nevada-prostitutes-brothels-sex-2011-12?op=1
References
Griffith, M. (2012). Nevada brothel owner rides to victory in county race. Retrieved from
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nev-brothel-owner-rides-victory-county-race
Hansen, A. (2009). Top 20 STD behavioral trends by type of self-reported behavior and year of report. Office of Health
Statistics and Surveillance Zone, 1(1), 4. Retrieved from http://www.health.nv.gov/childcare/documents/OHSS_319-09.pdf
Hausbeck, K., Brents, B. G., & Jackson, C. (2006). Sex industry and sex workers in Nevada. The Social Health of Nevada:
Leading Indicators and Quality of Life in the Silver State,1-17.
Leggett, T. (2014, April 15). What is it really like to work in a brothel? BuzzFeed. Retrieved from
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tabathaleggett/what-is-it-really-like-to-work-in-a-brothel#.bbvGOj0Yv
Lydia. (2014, October). A prostitute tells all: Inside the bedrooms of a U.S. brothel. Mens Health. Retrieved February 21,
2015, from http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/diary-prostitute?fullpage=true
References
Miles, K. (2012, November 1). LA porn stars have more STDs than Nevada prostitutes, study says. Huffington Post. Retrieved
from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/la-porn-stars-stds-nevada-prostitutes-studyvideo_n_2058406.html
Nevada Legislature. (2015). NAC: CHAPTER 441A - Infectious diseases; Toxic agents. Retrieved from
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-441A.html
Ramos, N. (2012, April 19). Legal prostitution can never be safe. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/19/is-legalized-prostitution-safer/legal-prostitution-can-neverbe-safe
Schwarz, H. (2014, August 25). Harry Reid calls Nevada lawmakers cowards for not banning prostitution. Washington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/25/harry-reid-calls-nevadalawmakers-cowards-for-not-banning-prostitution/