Contemporary Nevada, Amsterdam, & Tuxtla
Nevada
Unlike 19th century Paris, in modern-day Nevada women who register as brothel employees only do so for three week increments. They cannot have a past felony charge. As in Paris, there is a minimum age of employment, which in the case of Nevada is twenty one. Nevada’s legal brothels employ a number of different safety precautions, such as alarm buttons, listening devices, and management surveillance. An in depth study by sociologists Barbara Brents and Kathryn Hausbeck concluded that safety is considered one of the most important advantages according to the women who choose to work in Nevada’s legal brothels. The researchers found that these brothels were free from drug use, violence, minors, disease, and trafficking. Another researcher, Alexa Albert, who studied Brothels and conducted interviews, described the brothel women as, “self-aware professionals there of their own free will.”[1]
Since sex workers usually charge by the hour instead of by specific services, their practice usually will cover a wide range of expertise. Michael, a 37 year old escort, sums it up:
In a way, I’m surprised that there isn’t more of a market among men for prostitution. . . . You’ll hear people talk about “cold, mechanical, detached.” But to me it’s one of the most beautiful things you can do. It’s like a sacred, wonderful, beautiful thing to do for other people and to get money for doing that. I think if more people knew that with a good whore you’re getting a lot more than sex, you know? The down side of that for me, and maybe for the clients — is that I get seized sometimes by a horrible loneliness after it. That’s why it’s so hard to do more than one [client] a day. Because it’s like I gave someone all that love and all that affection and everything, and then suddenly it’s all over, boom. [2]
Michael’s description of the emotional effort required for his relations with clients helps humanize prostitution and sex work. His insight on the exhaustion that is to be felt by sex workers gives sex workers of all kinds a new facet of depth, autonomy, and complexity while exhibiting the daily experience of life as a sex worker. Amanda is a 38 year old escort who learned this same lesson from her time working.
When I first started out, I enjoyed the sex. I’d go to work and “have sex.” Now, I don’t have that association as much. But my clients seem to think that being a nice guy means being a good lover. They do things to me that they should do with a girlfriend. Like they ask me what I’m into, and apologize for coming too soon! So I need to play along. They apparently have no idea that the best client is the one that comes immediately. [3]
Though not explicitly about brothel workers, these revelations give insight to what life as a sex worker is like. As a result of speaking for themselves, these sex workers help disband the stigma and the disadvantages tied to their occupation.
Tuxtla, Mexico
Life for brothel workers in Tuxtla, Mexico reflects the documented experiences above in that daily experiences are not painted disparagingly. Rather, brothel workers and sex workers as a whole are presented as capable humans with feelings, depth, and care for their work. In the Galactica Zone, work schedules are often flexible in that the women choose their own hours and which days to work. This enables the brothel workers to care for their sick children, attend dental appointments, take vacations, and care for their own illnesses. Even when landlords pressure women to accept more clients, they are able to assert a considerable amount of freedom over their work. Workers in the Zone have been quoted saying “hay que sacar ventaja,” which means, “One must take advantage” of the opportunity to earn money.” However, despite having control over their work hours, slow periods are common which makes a stable paycheck for sex workers rare. Workers spend a great deal of time alone in their small, dark rooms waiting for clients, watching TV, reading, and primping. Despite the state-regulation, sex workers do not receive any of the benefits associated with being an entrepreneur such as health benefits and pensions. Similar to the legalized brothel industry in Nevada, the incidence of HIV infection in female Mexican prostitutes is low -- between 0.5 and 2.2%. Additionally, there is a low rate of drug use among female Mexican sex workers.
[1] Weitzer. p. 154.
[2] Hursley, Timothy, Alexa Albert, Timothy Hursley, and Timothy Hursley. 2004. Brothels of Nevada: candid views of America's legal sex industry. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. p. 95.
[3] Bernstein, Elizabeth. 2008. Temporarily yours: intimacy, authenticity, and the commerce of sex. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. p. 104.