The State of Sex: Tourism, Sex and Sin in the New American Heartland
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THE STATE OF SEX The State of Sex is a study of Nevada’s legal brothels that situates the nation’s only legal brothel industry in the political economy of con- temporary tourism. Nevada is part of the “new American heartland,” as its pastimes, people, and politics have become more central to the nation. The rise of a service and leisure economy over the past 60 years has propelled sexuality into the heart of contemporary markets. Yet, neoliberal laws in the United States promote business but limit sexual commerce. How have Nevada’s legal brothels survived, while the rest of the country criminalizes prostitution? How do the brothels operate? Who works in them? This book brings social theory on globalizing econ- omies, politics, leisure consumption, and emotional labor in interactive service work together with research on contemporary prostitution and sexual commerce. The authors employ an innovative, multi-method sociological approach, combining historical analysis of how the brothels came to be with over a decade’s worth of ethnographic research on the current state of the industry. Barbara G. Brents, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Sociology and Faculty Affiliate in Women’s Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Crystal A. Jackson, M.A., is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Kathryn Hausbeck, Ph.D., is Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate College and Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Edited by Valerie Jenness, University of California–Irvine and Jodi O’Brien, Seattle University This innovative series is for all readers interested in books that provide frameworks for making sense of the complexities of contemporary social life. 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Jackson, and Kathryn Hausbeck First published 2010 by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2010 Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brents, Barbara G. The state of sex: tourism, sex, and sin in the new American heartland / Barbara G. Brents, Crystal A. Jackson, Kathryn Hausbeck. p. cm.—(Contemporary sociological perspectives) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Prostitution—Nevada. 2. Brothels—Nevada. 3. Sex oriented business—Nevada. I. Jackson, Crystal A. II. Hausbeck, Kathryn M. III. Title. HQ145.N3B74 2010 306.7409793—dc22 2009030856 ISBN 0-203-86025-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN 10: 0–415–92947–4 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0–415–92947–4 (pbk) ISBN 10: 0–203–86025–X (ebk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–92947–9 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–92947–9 (pbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–203–86025–0 (ebk) To everyone who has ever sold or traded sex. CONTENTS Series Foreword ix Preface xi Chapter 1 Introduction: The State of Sex 1 Mapping the Terrain of Nevada’s Brothels 4 Nevada’s Brothel Laws 8 Situating Prostitution: Context Matters 10 Researching the Brothels 11 The Brothel Industry Uncovered 17 Chapter 2 Contexts of Sexual Commerce 20 The Growth of the Leisure Economy 20 The State of Commercial Sex in Late Capitalism 34 Conclusion 40 Chapter 3 The Making of Nevada Prostitution 42 Prostitution in Industrial Societies 43 Wild West Businesses and Mining Culture: The Leisure Economy in Nevada, 1900 to 1940 45 Gaming, Girls, and Sun: The Resort Industry and the Institutionalization of Legal Brothels, 1940 to 2000 64 Conclusion 88 Chapter 4 The Business of Selling Sex 90 Rural Places, Modern Businesses 90 Running the Show: Brothel Ownership 94 Marketing Legal Sex 98 vii viii • Contents How Sex is Sold 117 Management and Workplace Relations 131 Conclusion 149 Chapter 5 Paths to Brothel Work 152 Coming from the Service Industry 157 Coming from Illegal Prostitution 162 Sexual Women in Sexual Careers 166 Cash-in-Hand: Managing Finances 169 Mobility in Brothel Work 173 Conclusion 175 Chapter 6 Brothel Labor: Making Fantasies at Work 178 Doing Sex: Labor Strategies 180 Body Practices 182 Caring Practices 190 Holistic Practices 193 Being a “Prostitute” 199 Conclusion 219 Chapter 7 Conclusion: Learning from Nevada 222 The State of Sex 224 The Social Relations of Sexual Commerce 226 Nevada’s Legal Brothels as a Model? 230 Appendix A: Nevada Brothel Guide 237 Appendix B: Nevada County Brothel Laws and Income (2007) 240 Appendix C: Sex Workers Interviewed 242 Notes 244 Bibliography 275 Index 292 SERIES FOREWORD This innovative series is for all readers interested in books that provide frameworks for making sense of the complexities of contemporary social life. Each of the books in this series uses a sociological lens to provide current critical and analytical perspectives on significant social issues, patterns, and trends. The series consists of books that integrate the best ideas in sociological thought with an aim toward public educa- tion and engagement. These books are designed for use in the classroom as well as for scholars and socially curious general readers. The State of Sex draws on over a decade of ethnographic work and a multi-method sociological approach to provide a comprehensive analysis of Nevada’s legal brothels. At the macro level, Brents, Jackson, and Hausbeck utilize sociological theory on globalizing economies in general, and the leisure economy in particular, to situate modern-day legal brothels as sites of well-institutionalized sexual commerce. Along the way, they demonstrate how historical, institutional, political, and legal contexts shape the social organization of sex for sale. Likewise, they explain how and why legal brothels survived in select Nevada counties while the rest of the country criminalizes this form of sexual commerce. At the micro level, they provide an insightful empirical analysis of the protocols and practices within suburban and rural brothels. The focus is on how women come to work in Nevada’s brothels, the social relations between brothel workers and those who own and frequent brothels, and the emotional work that accompan- ies—and in some sense constitutes—labor in brothels. Combining these macro and micro analyses in a seamless and creative way, The State of Sex ultimately advances an innovative way of understanding the sale of sexualized leisure in the “new American heartland.” It is a way of understanding that includes compelling lessons about the dynamics ix x • Series Foreword of gender, class, and racial inequalities; indeed, the book is ultimately about how almost every element of the brothels—from marketing to performing the labor—reproduces and challenges traditional concep- tions of masculinity and femininity as well as what constitutes appropriate sexual activity. Understood in this way, this book is first and foremost about the socially constructed nature of sexuality, gender, and market activity in a global economy. It is also, simply put, an interesting and valuable read about the changing contours of the world’s oldest profession, both historically and in the modern moment. Valerie Jenness Jodi O’Brien PREFACE In 1998, we were flying from Las Vegas to Reno in one of our first visits to a northern Nevada brothel. Sitting in front of us on the plane was John Ensign, the Republican U.S. Senator from Nevada, quietly but intently reading the Las Vegas Review Journal. In that newspaper, and in just about every paper in the country, people were reading lengthy verbatim excerpts from the just-released Kenneth Starr report on the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, including details about acts that may or may not count technically as sex.