Nevada Sex Trade: a Gamble for the Workers
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NEVADA SEX TRADE: A GAMBLE FOR THE WORKERS Nicole Binghamt I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 69 II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................ 70 III. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ....................................................................... 77 A. The Prostitution-As-Work Perspective................................................... 77 B. The Prostitution-As-ExploitationPerspective ...................................... 81 IV. NEVADA REGULATION OF PROSTITUTION ................................................... 84 A. Location of Brothels ................................................................................. 86 B. State and Local Law ............................................................................... 87 C. H ealth ..................................................................................................... 89 V. THE NEVADA MODEL IN TERMS OF THE PROSTITUTION DEBATE ............... 90 A. Decriminalizationv. Legalization.......................................................... 90 B. Regulation or "Freedom"for Prostitutes............................................. 93 C. ScapegoatingProstitutes for the Spread ofHV ..................................... 94 V I. C ON CLUSION .................................................................................................. 95 I. INTRODUCTION Prostitution has long been a source of controversy. Prostitution in the United States is usually associated with vice, sin, and loose sexual morals. People labeled as prostitutes are stigmatized and often looked down upon by communities. But not everyone agrees with this general characterization of prostitution and prostitutes. Prostitution is the subject of heated discussions and the source of deep divisions among many feminists. There are feminists who firmly believe that prostitution is the ultimate example of male dominance over women and those who firmly believe that women who choose prostitution as a profession are liberated rather than victimized. Prostitution endures despite the fact that it has, for the most part, always been illegal in the United States. Much of the recent feminist debate over prostitution centers on whether it should be decriminalized or legalized. Currently prostitution is illegal everywhere in the United States except Nevada.' This Article will explore and analyze the differing views on t J.D., City University of New York School of Law, 1998. I would like to thank Ruthann Robson for her guidance and suggestions on this Article and throughout the past three years. I would also like to express my appreciation to Stephen Wright for his encouragement, support, and assistance. 1. See ALA. CODE §§ 11-47-113, 13A-12-111 to 113 (1996); ALASKA STAT. §§ 11.66.100 to 11.66.130 (Michie 1996); ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 13-3201 to 3214 (West 1996); ARK. CODE ANN. §§ 5-70-102 to 106 (Michie 1995); CAL. PENAL CODE §§ 266-67, 309, 318, 647.1, 11225 (West 1996); COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 18- 7-201, 18-7-205, 18-7-206, 18-7-402 to 405.5 (West 1997); CONN. GEN. STAT. §§ 19A-345, 53a-82 to 88 (1997); DEL. CODE ANN. tit. 11, §§ 1342-52, 1352-56 (1996); D.C. CODE ANN. §§ 22-2701 to 2713 (1996); FLA. STAT. Copyright © 1998 by the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism Yale Journal of Law and Feminism [Vol. 10: 69 prostitution in relation to the only system of legal prostitution in the United States-the one that exists in the state of Nevada. Parts II and III provide a historical background on prostitution in the United States and outline the two main views on prostitution: the position that prostitution is work; and the position that prostitution is exploitation. Part IV describes the system in Nevada that allows local communities to legalize prostitution and regulate it within the confines of brothels. Part V analyzes the Nevada regulatory system from the perspectives of the two opposing views on prostitution. The Conclusion examines why the Nevada regulatory system is not a good model for changing the current situation of prostitution under either of the two views. In addition, it critiques the prostitution-as-work and prostitution-as-exploitation perspectives for lacking an analysis of prostitution within the larger context of society. IX. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Prostitution has existed in America since the colonial era. 2 While prostitution is primarily an urban phenomenon, and America was predominantly rural before 1800, prostitution did exist in the nation.3 Many of the early colonies had a disproportionate number of men and this imbalance remained until the twentieth century.4 While some women were married, there ANN. §§ 796.03 to 796.07 (West 1996); GA. CODE ANN. §§ 16-6-9, 16-6-10, 16-6-17, 4-7-18 (1997); 8 GUAM CODE ANN. §§ 95-50, 28.10 to 28.30 (1995); HAW. REv. STAT. §§ 712-1201 to 1206 (1996); IDAHO CODE §§ 18- 5601 to 5613, 39-603 (1997); ILL. COMP. STAT. ANN. Ch. 65, para 5/11-14, ch. 720, para 5/11-14, 5/11-17, 5/11- 17.1 (West 1997); IND. CODE ANN. §§ 35-45-4-2, 35-45-4-4 (Michie 1997); IOWA CODE §§ 99.1, 725.1, 725.4 (1996); KAN. STAT. ANN. §§ 21-3512, 21-3513 (1996); KY. REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 233.010 to 233.050, 436.075, 529.020 to 529.090 (Michie 1997); LA. REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 14:82, 14:82.1, 14:83, 14:83.1, 14:83.2, 14:83.3, 14:85, 14:86, 14:282 (1996); ME. REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 17-A, §§ 852 to 855 (West 1996); MD. CODE ANN. CRim. LAW §§ 16, 428, 429, 431, 432 (1997); MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. Ch. 139, §§ 4, 13, Ch. 272, §§ 2, 4A,9, 12, 13 (West 1997); MICH. COMP. LAWS ANN. §§ 333.5129, 750.449 to 750.462 (West 1996); MINN. STAT. ANN. §§ 609.321 to 609.323 (West 1996); MISS. CODE ANN. §§ 97-5-5, 97-29-49, 97-29-51, 97-29-53 (1996); MO. ANN. STAT. §§ 567.020 to 567.080 (West 1996); MONT. CODE ANN. §§ 45-5-601 to 45-5-603 (1996); NEB. REV. STAT. §§ 28-710, 28-801, 28-802, 28-804, 28-804.01, 28-805, 15-257, 15-258, 16-226, 16-229 (1997); NEV. REv. STAT. §§ 201.354,201.360,244.345,201.360,244.345 (1997); N.H. REv. STAT. ANN. § 645 (1995); N.J. STAT. ANN. §§ 2C:34-1, 2C:34-1.1, 46:8-8 (West 1997); N.M. STAT. ANN. §§ 30-6A-4, 30-8-8.1, 30-9-2, 30-9-4,30-9-6, 30-9-8, 60-7A-17 (Michie 1997); N.Y. PENAL LAW §§ 230.00 to 230.40, 240.37 (McKinney 1997), N.Y. PUB. HEALTH LAW § 2320 to 2334 (McKinney 1997); N.C. GEN. STAT §§ 14-190.18, 14-190.19, 14-204, 14-204.1 (1996); N.D. CENT. CODE §§ 12.1-29-01 to 12.1-29-04 (1997); OHIO REV. CODE ANN. §§ 2905.26, 2905.27, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.25, 2907.26 (Banks-Baldwin 1997); OKLA. STAT. ANN. tit 21, §§ 1028, 1029, 1031, 1085, 1087, 1088 (1997); OR. REV. STAT. §§ 105.555, 167.007, 167.012, 167.017, 167.027 (1995); PA. CONS. STAT. ANN. § 5902 (West 1996); P.R. LAWS ANN. tit. 33, §§ 1185, 4069A, 4070 (1994); R.I. GEN. LAWS §§ 11-34-5, 11-34-5.1 (1996); S.C. CODE ANN. §§ 16-15-90 to 16-15-110, 16-15-415, 16-15-425, 58-23-1320 (Law Co-op 1996); S.D. CODIFIED LAWS §§ 22-23-1 to 22-23-9 (1997); TENN. CODE ANN. §§ 39-13-512 to 39-13-516 (1996); TEx. PENAL CODE ANN. §§ 43.02 to 43.05 (West 1995); UTAH CODE ANN. §§ 10-8-41, 76-10-1302 to 76-10-1306, 78-38-9 (1997); VA. CODE. ANN. §§ 18.2-346 to 18.2-349, 18.2-349, 18.2-355, 18.2-368 (1997); VT. STAT. ANN. tit 13 §§ 2602, 2631 to 2637 (1997); V.I. CODE ANN. tit. 14, §§ 121, 1622 to 1624 (1996); WASH. REV. CODE ANN. §§ 7.48.110, 9A.88.030 to 9A.88.090, 43.63A.720 to 43.63A.740 (West 1996); W.VA. CODE §§ 16-4-1, 61-8-6 to 16- 8-8 (1997); WiS. STAT. ANN. §§ 823.16, 944.30.944.34,948.08 (West 1997); WYO. STAT. ANN. §§ 6-4-101 to 16- 4-103 (Michie 1997). 2. See VERN BULLOUGH & BONNIE BULLOUGH, WOMEN AND PROSTITUTION: A SOCIAL HISTORY 210-11 (1987) [hereinafter BULLOUGH]. 3. Seeid. at211-13. 4. See id. at 211. 1998] Nevada Sex Trade: A Gamble for the Workers were "always unattached females willing to look with favor on the sexual approaches of unattached males."5 These unattached women were primarily of European descent, Native Americans, and slaves or former slaves.6 Often women were servants or slaves who were not able to successfully challenge men's sexual advances.7 Servants and apprentices were not allowed to marry. Many servants had relationships, but if they were caught having sexual relations they could be punished by being required to marry, required to pay a fine, or given corporal punishment. Usually a fine or whipping was given. If a woman became pregnant the law required the father of the child to pay for the child's support and education.9 The authorities were concerned about the problem of prostitution in colonial America. In early seventeenth-century New England, some residents were charged with running a brothel or being a prostitute.'0 Sometimes prostitutes were "stripped to the waist, tied to the tail end of a cart, and whipped as the cart moved through town."'"I Sarah Ensigne, in Plymouth, was sentenced to this treatment for being found a prostitute and Alice Thomas, in Boston, for managing a brothel.2 Laws were enacted to prohibit and discourage prostitution, but it continued to exist due in part to lack of enforcement.' 3 Organizations such as the Society for the Suppression of Disorders were formed by people concerned about the lack of enforcement.' 4 The situation regarding prostitution was similar in the southern colonies as well. I' Initially, early settlements in places like Virginia were mostly comprised of men, but shiploads of women were soon sent to stabilize the colony.' By the end of the eighteenth century, increasing industrialization and 7 urbanization had changed the previously unorganized state of prostitution.1 The creation of factories in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, which employed many single women, drew women from rural areas as well as a large 5.